Bridalveil Fall in Yosemite was incredible this year. Even for a fall famous for its mists, I've not quite seen it so heavy in any previous visit.
The view from the far side of the Merced River offered a really good view at one break in the route that was breath-taking. The crash of water on the rocks at the base and the winds whipping the plume up like a backwards letter "J" was impressive. What I especially liked was how the trees were silhouetted by the mists. It looked so much like a Japanese or Chinese painting to me. I did a few shots trying to balance the white of the water with the dark green of the trees. I was quite happy with this shot.
After the borrowed filter incident on the bridge I bought a set of graduated neutral density filters at the Ansel Adams Gallery the next day in Yosemite Village. I got a chance to try them out after we got back from Glacier Point that day in the valley North of the bridge in the meadow area near Yosemite Fall.
As you can see the contrast between the shadowed foreground and the brightly lit face of Half Dome was pretty severe. This was one of the best balanced images I got during that sunset.
I was switching between the digital and the film cameras - literally switching as I was using the same tripod. It was quite the fire drill, but I was glad to get the practice and some hands-on experience with the holder and new filters. All in all, I was quite satisfied with the end results.
One of the more iconic images of Yosemite is Half Dome, and one of the most popular spots to photograph Half Dome is Sentinel Bridge. Like Tunnel View (Inspiration Point) and Glacier Point, this becomes a camera magnet, especially at sunset.
This was a bit of a challenge. I realized I needed a graduated neutral density filter to bring out the details of the trees in the mid-ground as the sun had set on them but was very intense on the face of Half Dome. Unfortunately, the holder that I had that fit the lens was too big for the filters. I tried hand-holding the filters in front of the camera with pretty poor results. Fortunately a fellow photographer next to me - who coincidentally was holding a small seminar for some folks - let me borrow his filter that fit my holder. That worked much better as the above photo shows. I purchased a new set of larger filters in a range of densities at the Ansel Adams Gallery the next day.
I'll show you the results of those filters another day.
Further to the South from Glacier Point a storm seemed to be brewing over the Sierras. As can be seen, there was still plenty of snow on the mountains feeding the streams and rivers flowing into the Yosemite Valley. Fortunately, the vast quantity of water hadn't crested the banks of the Merced River while we were there. It was very close, though, and the meadows were saturated and pooling in many places. The warming trend would make the area more tenuous the following week.
On this day, though, the clouds provided a dramatic display. The elemental forces that produce such towering formations are both incredibly beautiful and terrifying in turn. It is easy to forget the barely cloaked power and destructive potential hidden inside. That is until the lightning fire and flooding rains appear. Then the full appreciation of the awesome power of Nature comes back with a rush.
Self-deception and denial of that power are very human traits and we never seem to learn from our tragedies. Perhaps it is just as well...otherwise we'd never rebuild or press forward. There may be dangers in remembering too well.
Yosemite was phenomenal the four days we were there. We missed the cold snap and snow by a couple of days and the week after we left saw a heat wave. The Merced River was near flood stage even so as the huge snowfall this past year created a lot of spring run-off. The falls were as full as I've ever seen them.
Glacier Point, while a bit of a drive to get there, is always amazing. The overview of the valley below affords some stunning views. This is one of them, a quarter-front shot of Half Dome that is almost level with its crown. The extra-dark staining on the face of the rock is the result of it being continually wet with the running snow melt.
The weather was cooperative that day with some clouds to bring interest to the sky. The view further to the right (South) was even more amazing with a spring storm brewing over the Sierra Nevada range. We'll see that another day.
On my 3 June post I had a shot of Yosemite Fall in winter. That February image showed mist in the valley and an ethereal ground fog. This particular shot was taken from about the same spot as the 3 June image, ironically on the same Memorial Day weekend as my 27 April post. It was a nice, warm day in the valley that morning, but as I recounted in April, a snowstorm closed Tioga Pass that night, so the weather was volatile.
In any event, the colors were gorgeous that day. Yes, the grass was really that color of green. It was amazingly vibrant; it almost hurt your eyes to look at it. With the wind blowing the water of the Upper Yosemite Fall and the blue of the sky nearly covered by clouds, it made for a very nice shot.
El Capitan is an incredible presence in Yosemite Valley. Imposing as it is from Inspiration Point, the closer you get to it the more massive and overwhelming it becomes. No wonder it is a magnet for rock climbers and dare-devils! But not me. I prefer my appreciation of El Capitan from a secure location - well, moderately secure.
This shot was taken at one of the last turnouts on the valley loop before the exits out of the valley. Here the Merced River reflects the deepening blue of the sky as the day reaches the Golden Hour. I'm out on the rocks by the river's edge. More secure than the face of El Capitan, but not as safe as solid ground or asphalt path. That's about as daring as I like to get. This is a favored location for many photographers. It's not hard to see why.
This is one of the more startling photos I ever took, and I did not notice it until after the slides were processed. I was at Inspiration Point overlooking the Yosemite Valley watching the colors in the valley shift as the day drew to a close. I had recently purchased on eBay an 1000mm lens for my 35mm camera. I decided to try it out on El Capitan, the impressive monolith that dominates the left-hand side of most images taken from that vantage. I liked how the granite face glowed golden and how the ridge between us and the rock face was silhouetted against the light. Indeed, for scale comparisons, if you look closely at the little jutting piece just above where the gold on the face, the ridge line and the shadow cast on El Capitan meet, you can see what would normally be a large tree. It is a mere speck in this image.
I took a few shots and went back to a more normal angle of view for the rest of the day. It was only when I looked at the processed transparencies that I noticed the rich, blue shadows cast by the ridge onto El Capitan. It absolutely floored me in its intensity and has become a favorite image of mine.
This is the uncropped version. I have a large print of this in a square-cropped format hanging above the familyroom fireplace at home. It is one of the more abstract images I have ever shot, yet I find it very tranquil. It definitely opened up a new way of looking at things for me, which I've tried to explore since then.
Bad weather can also make for some very atmospheric landscapes. This shot was taken last February from Yosemite Valley looking towards Half Dome at about 1:00 PM. The sun was struggling to break through the low clouds and mist. Fog was heavy on the valley floor for most of the day. Color images were almost black and white in many of my morning and day-before shots, but color began to seep back into view as the fog lessened. It was cold standing there for two hours, but I got several promising images on both the digital and medium format cameras. All in all, it was a very good day.
Bridalveil Fall in Yosemite was incredible this year. Even for a fall famous for its mists, I've not quite seen it so heavy in any previous visit.
