Mono Lake

Water provides conditions necessary for life on our planet. For human life, however, this involves more than satisfying only physical requirements of existence. Water nourishes our imagination, perhaps our most essential human survival need. The reflective capacities of water inspire reflective capacities of the human spirit. Understanding the ways of water as it flows through our environments, our bodies, and our imaginations may enable us finally to better understand ourselves... We will be better able to imagine a world in which the ways of water will still reflect the beauties of birds, mountains, clouds, and stars - and the imaginative spirit of the human soul. Mark A. Schlenz "Mono Lake. Mirror of Imagination" Companion Press, Santa Barbara, 1996


On the larger island there are hot springs and orifices through which heated vapors escape...In the legends of the Kuzedika people...there is a story about diminutive spirits, having long wavy hair, that are sometimes seen in the vapor wreaths ascending form the hot springs. The word Pa-o-ha, by which these spirits are known, is also used at times to designate hot springs in general. We may therefore name the larger island Paoha Island, in remebrance, perhaps, of the children of the mist that held their revels on moonlit nights in times long past. (Israel C. Russell. Quaternary History of the Mono Valley, California, 1889).



When I photograph Mono Lake, I am most often alone. After I set up my camera, I let my imagination take hold. I am flooded with the sublime beauty of this inland sea, with its awesome diversity, nurturing solitude, and miles of shoreline vistas. I listen to the sounds of the birds and let the salt-scented air fill me with the presence of the seashore, here where the gently waves breaking echo the memories of all oceans in the continuum of geologic time. As the colors of the sky grow richer and deeper, I await the magical moment when nature will display its most vivid secrets. Celebrating these special times at the lake by sharing my photography with others helps me communicate my passion for Mono Lake's subtle beauties. Mono Lake  is rare, precious and wild - yet we have come perilously close to losing this most ancient of American Lakes....(Mono Lake. Mirror of Imagination by Dennis Flaherty & Mark Schlenz, 1996)
...Saving Mono Lake is a matter of saving and healing ourselves. (David Gaines, Mono Lake Newsletter)