Garnet lake in Prescott Arizona - Essay Example

The geology is quite breathtaking with the banner peak, which stands at 3,943 meters, being Ritter Range’s second tallest peak in the Sierra Nevada region (Siragusa 46). The lake is surrounded by a mountainous landscape whose slopes are adorned by a few glaciers. The lake and the surrounding mountain peaks are to be found within the Ansel Adams Wilderness and is part of several lakes that lie within this area. The other lakes include Lake Ediza, Shadow Lake, Lake Catherine, and the Thousand Island Lake (Siragusa 50).

Banner peak was the most striking geological feature around the lake. During the observation period, I was able to witness the formation of banner clouds at the top of the adjacent Banner Peak. Garnett Lake is best known for the work that was done by Ansel Adams, an American film maker and photographer, as well as environmentalist, whose black and white pictures photographs of the surrounding area became famous around the same time that Americans began to get environmentally conscious (Siragusa 61).

It was at this site that Ansel Adams, together with Fred Archer, developed the zone system so as to make a determination of proper exposure, as well as the improve the, final print’s contrast. In conjunction with Willard van Dyke, Adams Ansel, founded Group f/64 and the pictures, films that they reproduced as a group are famous and have been reproduced in books, on posters, and calendars, making photographs of the region, and especially Garnet Lake, distributed widely around the world. On my trip to garnet Lake, I was so enchanted by the lake and surrounding scenery that I could not stop taking photographs.

I had seen the lake on numerous geographically themed shows, calendars, and postcards, but seeing the lake first hand was just breathtaking. I found solace in its solace, artistic inspiration, and its pure sense of adventure, which I found in plenty among the brooding and cloud-laden skies, snow swept passes, and jagged granite peaks. I was inspired to visit the lake in the hope of seeing what had inspired Ansel Adam in essence I was not disappointed. Approaching the lake from the River Trail from the trees at 9,833 feet, I truly admired the splendid prospect set against strong and slanting sunlight.

The lake, strewn with boulders, was surrounded by alpine meadows and anchored by Mount Ritter and especially Banner Peak. Suddenly, everything seemed to fall into place in an unbelievably agreeable manner with the mountain, clouds, and rock providing magic of unity that was simply unprecedented in my book. I wandered around the lake carefully, balancing, sometimes precariously, on large boulders, and scrutinizing the scene. The sun, peeking intermittently through the clouds, was roasting at times.

I attempted to locate a scene from one of Ansel Adams’ famous photographs and found one of them that captured Banner Peak, the clouds, and the glimmering lake. The scene was more enchanting than I expected, except for the lack of pine to its right and feathery clouds that hugged the mountain peaks in the photograph. This was my only disappointment since the many photographs that I had seen of this beautiful lake had