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Stretching out at 7,800 feet
After visiting Glacier Point in Yosemite, my wife and I decided to hike to Taft Point. It's a less frequently visited location that is a couple of miles from Glacier Point Road. The main attraction at Taft Point is the vista of Yosemite Valley. There's an outcrop with a small railing where you can stand and safely enjoy the view. While I was standing against the railing and enjoying the view, a woman approached and began waving at someone off in the distance. I later found out that she was waving at her husband. She was encouraging him to climb out onto a tiny outcrop above Yosemite Valley. He was clearly uncomfortable, seeing as he was crawling on his hands and knees, presumable afraid to stand up, and she had to keep encouraging him to crawl out farther. While I appreciate that this woman and her husband gave me a great subject for these shots (she even asked her husband to wear a brightly colored shirt so he would show up in her photos), I would never go out there myself, nor would I ever ask my wife to go out there. In fact, while I was taking this photo, my wife was safely sitting under a shade tree about 30 yards away. Taft Point is about 4,000 feet over Yosemite Valley. That's an awfully long way to fall. Very scary, but boy does it make for an interesting photo.
Yosemite FallsI took these photos of Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls in August. Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls are usually nothing more than trickles of water in August, but last winter, Yosemite received roughly double the usual amount of snow, leaving a steady flow of water even in late summer. I felt very lucky.
For the first shot, I tried to put the falls in some context. I love the tall trees in Yosemite and I thought it would be fun to frame the falls between giant redwoods. I like the mix of primary colors, viz. red, green, and blue. The following is a shot of just Lower Yosemite Falls. I took this shot from a closer vantage point. Being closer helped me eliminate some of the atmospheric haze that robs the previous photo of detail around the falls. I like the soothing colors and all the texture in the trees and rocks.
I also took some close-up shots of Lower Yosemite Falls—well, closer at least. I'm not sure which version I like better—the landscape or portrait variation.
If you look closely enough, you can see people climbing around the rocks beneath the falls, giving you some notion of scale. (The area beneath the falls is off limits, but folks tend not to pay attention to the signs.)
North Dome and Half Dome at SunriseI took this photo of Yosemite Valley from Glacier Point. In the photo, North Dome is on the left and Half Dome (once commonly called "South Dome") is on the right. High above the Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point provides one of the best vistas of the valley. It's a very popular destination—particularly to watch the sunset. Very few people go there to watch the sunrise. My guess is that it's because it's at least an hour drive from any accommodations and because the most interesting vista is facing into the sun instead of away from it. Most consumer cameras aren't capable of handling the sun shining right into the camera. Even with my nice camera, this photo took a considerable amount of effort and experimentation to tease out the detail and color. I think it looks good and I hope it's considered a unique shot of the valley. In a later posting, I'll share the sunset photos I took from Glacier Point.
Morning in Yosemite ValleyIn continuation of my series on Yosemite, here are a few photos from Yosemite Valley. I took the following photo in the morning from Sentinel Bridge. In the foreground is the Merced River and in the background is Half Dome. One of the biggest attractions in Yosemite Valley is Cook's Meadow. During the late spring, the meadow is filled with wildflowers, but even in August, the meadow is beautiful. I think the beautify of the meadow lies in the juxtaposition of the flat wetlands with the giant peaks and tall trees that surround the meadow.
I've been trying for some time to create a photo with trees in the foreground and met with varying degrees of success. I think the following photo works. Behind the trees is the Merced River and then Cook's Meadow. The bright background behind the trees pulls you into the photo. When I see this photo, it makes me feel like I'm there and that I can just walk through the trees and into the meadow. It gives me a sense of place. Yosemite Valley is one of the most beautiful places on earth. It's clear from the crowds and the traffic that I'm not the only one who knows this. Fortunately, most people aren't willing to get up at 4:20 a.m. while on vacation. So, if you're willing to get up early enough, you can have the valley all to yourself. The following photo is of the Merced River with Upper Yosemite Falls in the background. I took the photo from Swinging Bridge, a very popular place for picnicking and swimming. When I was there at 7:30 a.m., I found only one other person. I like the photo. To me, it looks very calm and peaceful. I really like the reflection of the mountains in the water.
Sunburst over Yosemite Valley
Here's another sunrise shot of Yosemite Valley taken from Tunnel View. I took this photo just as the sun crested over the rim of the valley. The sunburst effect and lens flare add color and drama to an otherwise very nice photo, making it something special. I created the sunburst effect by using a particularly small lens aperture and pointing my camera directly into the sun. The lens flare is a side effect caused by including the sun in the photo. Normally, lens flare is considered a flaw when it appears in a photo, but here, I intentionally left it in because I think it adds extra color and excitement. I particularly like how it streaks towards the bottom left-hand corner. The following is another sunrise photo that I really like; I took it just 2 minutes before the sunburst: While taken only 2 minutes apart, the photos are very different. The light was changing very quickly. I had only a few minutes to capture these images before the sun got too bright, making it impossible to take any photos while facing my camera directly into the sun. |
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