I can't even begin to say how many times I have stopped at Minaret Vista over the years. Winter, Summer, Autumn! I made this image in the smoky August of 2015. The six weeks in this timeframe were one of the worst air pollution alerts of my career here in Mammoth. That being said, smoke can make wonderful photographs. The contrast of scenes like this one is much reduced, allowing me to shoot directly into the sun while maintaining detail throughout the scene. This capture is one of few instances that I used the built in Pano techniques of Lightroom to make the final print. I made four captures, and then blended them together in Lightroom CC.
