Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Vintage Mono Lake Committee videos make a comeback

This post was written by Erik Lyon, 2012 Mono Lake Intern.

When was the last time you watched a movie on VHS? I can’t remember either.

The Mono Lake Committee’s media library is filled with VHS tapes, cassettes, and a number of other outdated formats. Until recently, the tapes sat unloved in boxes on the library floor, and we could view virtually nothing in our media library. Fortunately, Dan McConnell of local television station Mammoth Channel 72 volunteered to help us make use of our vintage footage.

Videos ranged from full-length documentaries to 30-second news clips about Mono Lake embedded in a 30-minute news show. Dan showed us how to record our films onto digital video tapes for the archives, and capture the tapes onto our computers. The Committee owes Dan a huge thank you for his knowledge, patience, and generosity. We’ve only just begun the process of bringing our media into the 21st century, but already we have gleaned some great movies, including a copy of the old Mono Lake Story slideshow. Check it out!