Mono Lake winter kayaking

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Buck Forester
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Mono Lake winter kayaking

Post by Buck Forester »

This isn't technically the "High Sierra" but hey, you can see the High Sierra from here and it's a place all of us High Sierra-ites recognize and love!

These were all taken on a solo winter kayaking trip I took this last February. It was a 3-night trip and I had to drag my fully loaded kayak a mile over the snow to reach the shore of Mono Lake via snowshoe. It was awesome!


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Keep your eye out on the February issue of National Geographic Adventure magazine in the "There & Back" section in the back. This image should be there. It was a fantastic experience working with them and I hope to contribute more.


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This was taken around the same time as the above image, looking west towards the Sierra crest in a break in the weather. There is no Photoshopping on this image, it's just as the original Velvia 50 slide captured it.



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Here I am dragging my kayak through the rabbitbrush and sage. I took this image with a 15mm fisheye lens right up against my rudder. Thank God for tripods and 10-second timers!



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I paddled out to the island and spent one night out there, and on the way back late in the evening I hit a storm during the 2-mile open water paddle which was pretty exciting. When I set up my tent it flew off into the lake and I had to wade out and retrieve it. This was about a 20-minute exposure which shows the wind whipping my tent around. I layed down inside with my headlamp to warm up which is why there's a hot spot in the back of the tent. It was c-c-c-c-old. I wanted to do a much longer exposure but I wanted to go to sleep even more.



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Here's my baby ready to go! It was an odd combination of paddling and snowshoeing. This is really a unique opportunity to paddle a high elevation inland lake in the winter. The water is 3 times saltier than the ocean so it doesn't freeze over. I'm surprised more people don't do it. In fact the rangers who issued my boating permit thought I was crazy! Maybe I am, I hope to do it again this winter.
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krudler
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Post by krudler »

Wow Buck, awesome pictures!!
And congrats on getting one in the magazine! :)
"Krusty, you know Bette Midler?"
"Yeah we own a racehorse together - the Krudler!"
wingding

Post by wingding »

Buck - I'll be looking for that picture in National Geographic. They are very beautiful pictures.
Shawn
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Post by Shawn »

Absolutely beautiful pictures...err, artwork!
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Hikin Mike
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Post by Hikin Mike »

Them's some nice pictures Buck© ! I'll definately be on the lookout for that magazine!
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madeintahoe
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Post by madeintahoe »

Buck..thats great! You of all people deserve your work to be in a magazine like that. :D
I will for sure get that issue.

I love those pictures...especially the second one, something with your red paddle..that bright red burst of color with the other more softer colors..I really can't explain it..I just know it is very beautiful to look at.
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Windwalker
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Post by Windwalker »

Awesome Buck© !!!
I'm not a subscriber...but I'll pick up that issue!
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Buck Forester
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Post by Buck Forester »

Gracias! Someone told me they just received their Feb issue of Nat'l Geo Adventure and it's there, but due to the fact they had to make a vertical image by cropping the horizontal, the image quality isn't very good. I haven't even seen it yet myself. Oh well, I'm just thankful and honored they asked me for it! I developed a good relationship with a couple of the assistant editors and they were a blast to work with! This year I'm going to start submitting adventure trips to various publications and hopefully I'll at least recover some gas money and film expenses. :)
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JM21760
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Post by JM21760 »

Fantastic Buck. I mean, those are superlative pics! The second looks like an air brush work of art. Those shots are great!
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mountaineer
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Post by mountaineer »

Spectacular! Man I am jealous! 35mm?

Caroline Hirsch seems very friendly. She requested some pics from me for an article about high country lightning a while back but I guess mine weren't up to snuff! You are one up on me Buck! :)

I know what you mean about the cropping. I had a couple of images purchased for a Sierra guide and they made a vertical shot out of one of my horizontal ones...just didn't do the picture justice.
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