asiwalkirun wrote:This thread just makes me think "show me a lake which ISN'T beautiful in the Sierra Nevada."
To be honest in my personal opinion, many of the lakes mentioned, rate rather middling. And most of the pictures posted have modest aesthetic value though I'm not going to be specific and hurt anyone's feelings. Just making a point that just because forum members mentioned various lakes does not count for much.
To the fisherman, the lake they fished at and caught nice fish is beautiful. To the peakbagger, the remote lake they found on some bench on the way to the summit is beautiful. To the urban resident newbie Sierra hiker, every lake they visited was beautiful. To the young photographer any lake next to impressive peaks is beautiful. So to some extent beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The majority of ordinary people have a low threshold for beauty out in nature. It is all good for them. Outdoor photographers like this person however tend to evolve a more discerning narrow aesthetic they can articulate about at length. Much like the art critic disecting a painting. It does not mean they don't see beauty in ordinary art that others gush over. Just that they reserve "most beautiful" to a higher standard of aesthetics, the theory of beauty
Are all Sierra lakes beautiful to this old person? No not at all but that is just my opinion given my experience. Likewise everything in the Sierra is not beautiful. There are a few natural places that are butt ugly. And there are lakes and ponds that are likewise. However the majority of lakes are neither particularly beautiful nor ugly but rather somewhere in between, pleasantly nice visibly, and a quiet pleasant joy to visit. Spectacular landscapes and peaks are uncommon and much of a lake's aesthtetic beauty is a result of landscapes it resides in. On this Summitpost mountain page linked below, the title image at page top that I captured in 1986, is a rather shallow sterile bedrock pond with granite rock dully encrusted with centuries of black organics. It is not particular beautiful if just looking at the pond alone. And the majority of Sierra lakes conversely don't have particularly exceptional landscapes near them so at best are simply nice.
http://www.summitpost.org/isosceles-peak/151840The most beautiful lakes when visited at the best time of year at the best time of day, under fine weather conditions, are simply stunning experiences. Like the image linked to above of Vee Lake on a calm mid morning when turf is in peak summer green, dappled with wildflowers, looking towards Seven Gables under gorgeous deep cobalt blue skies. Many lakes look their best when calm, reflecting impressive mountain scenery around them. And that usually means early morning before breezes have started. However lakes can look superb even at midday with waves rolling across aqua waters, from limited perspectives under some atmospheric conditions. Many have never noticed for instance that lakes can be bluest near midday and are usually not too blue early or late in day. So a photographer interested in capturing beautiful blues in a lake would be wise to do so at that middle time of day.
David Senesac
http://www.davidsenesac.com