The starburst effect in the first photo was made with a Cokin
cross-screen filter. The second picture was resulted from a longer
exposure by blocking the bright light with a Cokin neutral density
filter. It sounds easy, but actually it was a frustrating experience.
My Cokin adaptor was accidentally dropped into the water in King's
Canyon and I never found it again; even worse is that one of the legs
of the tripod fell apart in Rainbow Fall. To rectify the situation,
the filters were hand-held; and as a result, sometime my fingers
showed up in the picture! In both Rainbow Fall and Mono Lake, I had to
use a low angel due to a shorter leg of my tripod.
It is advisable to visit Rainbow Fall during
daytime and Mono Lake in the evening or early morning. The former, as
the name implies, shows a rainbow under bright sunlight, whereas
lighting in the latter looks more dramatic during either sunrise or
sunset.
