Landscape, Nature And Travel Photography

To see the world in a new way sometimes all you need is some different lighting. While out photographing moonbows last month, at Glacier Point lookout, I enjoyed watching Yosemite valley transform as the full moon rose above the horizon.  To my amazement the moon low on the horizon painted the valley a subtle orange hue as you might expect to see during a sunrise.  I shouldn’t have been too surprised as the moon merely reflects sunlight albeit at a lower intensity, but I was. Academically knowing that something like this happens hardly diminishes the wow factor of actually seeing it happen before your eyes.

Having seen numerous photos of Half Dome from Glacier Point I particularly liked how the shape of Half Dome was highlighted with a kiss of light by the moon under subtle star streaks.

Half Dome illuminated by moonlight as seen from Glacier Point - Yosemite National Park, California

The granite walls near Yosemite Falls took on a particularly intense orange hue from the earliest light of the moonrise.

Yosemite Falls lit by a rising full moon, as seen from Glacier Point - Yosemite National Park, California

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Photographing Yosemite in the Spring is an amazing sight, particularly this year, with waterfalls flowing in full force. This year I’ve seen more waterfalls in Yosemite than ever before. Seasonal waterfalls were visible no matter where you looked. Even more amazing in these conditions is photographing what you cannot see namely a moonbow or lunar rainbow. Anatomically our eyes cannot see color at night, but our camera sensors can. It’s a bit magical to photograph something you cannot see.

Photographing lower Yosemite Falls for moonbows (aka lunar rainbows) is both easy and difficult. Accessing the lower falls lookout it the easy part, while the difficult part is braving the non-stop mist shower. Dressed in a rainproof jacket with hood, rain proof pants and wearing gloves I needed a bath towel to dry off after. My camera was protected with a ThinkTank Hydrophobia 70-200 keeping it far dryer than me. Of course the big challenge is keeping your front lens element free of water. It took a few tries and a lot of lens clothes before I got all the compositional variations of this scene that I wanted less any distracting water droplets clouding the image. My personal favorite being this vertical that highlights the stars in the sky, the falls, the rapids and the moonbow.

Yosemite Falls Moonbow

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Technical information:
Canon 5D Mark II, 16-35mm f/2.8 Mark II at 16mm,  f/4,  9 seconds at ISO 1600
f/4 was chosen as opening up your lens allows more light in making for a shorter exposure time, but the added benefit is that the wider open your lens the less apparent water droplets appear on your front lens element. A handy trick to know. Here are a couple posts to prove the concept in real world scenarios one with a cracked lens and another with a pencil infront of the lens.

Technorati Tags: photography, Yosemite, National Park, moonbow, lunar rainbow, travel, stock photo, stock pictures

Yosemite provides an endless well of inspiration, even more so if you stop looking up. Tough to do, but always enlightening when it happens. On a casual walk amidst burnt trees on the valley floor the wind was kind enough to introduce me to some beautiful ferns. The next time you’re walking in your favorite location I recommend listening to the wind as you never know what it’ll introduce you to.

Fern Leaves, Yosemite National Park

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Last week while in Yosemite I have to admit beyond obsessing on Moonbows I was amazed how high the Merced River water level had risen. I found myself returning to the same spots over and over to see how high the water was going. Almost every trip I make to Yosemite I can’t help but visit Swinging Bridge. Normally the bridge is well above the river and in past summers I’ve rafted under it and even seen some folks jumping from it into the river below on hot days. The day I arrived in Yosemite Valley I was blown away to see the water topping the cement columns that support it and rushing against the steel girders below the walkway (approximately 10.5 feet above flood stage). To my amazement the bridge was still open so I warily ventured out to get some perspective photos.

Note: I didn’t have my levitation boots with me so I had to extend my tripod with my camera on 10 second timer out as far as I could without dropping it into the water inches below.

The next morning the bridge was officially closed. Waterfalls were flowing at peak levels and the river continued to rise. It’s tough to make out at this size, but the water at this point in time was mid way up the steel girders supporting the wood on the walkway of the bridge. Even though there was tons of water at this one spot the flow of the water was smooth so it was easy to get a mirrored reflection. Note to the right is a flooded picnic area. Half the picnic benches were submerged.

I didn’t venture to the far side of the bridge as the entire meadow beyond was under water. Of course submerged meadows also made for surreal photos. More on those later.

Technorati Tags: Yosemite, National Park, California, photography, pictures, stock photo, flood, Merced River, Swinging Bridge, landscape, nature

One of the most magical phenomenon in Yosemite National Park are moonbows, otherwise known as lunar rainbows.  This past week clear skies, a full moon and waterfalls at peak flow provided optimal conditions to photograph moonbows. Interestingly enough due to the physiology of our eyes it is not possible to see moonbows at night. The rods in our retinas take over in low light conditions making everything appear bluish black & white in what is referred to as scotopic vision. Fortunately camera sensors are more than capable of capturing moonbows in full color.

Below is a view of the moonbow above Upper Yosemite Falls as seen from Sentinel Meadow. The heavy flow of the waterfalls last week created a water wonderland in Yosemite Valley pushing the Merced River above flood stage and submerging numerous meadows. I’ll post more photos soon to highlight just how high the water level was in addition to some surreal landscapes. Stay tuned.

Lunar Rainbow (Moonbow) over Upper Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park

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After all, I don’t see why I am always asking for private, individual, selfish miracles when every year there are miracles like white dogwood.  ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Dogwood Blossoms, Yosemite National Park

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Glacier Point provides a unique vantage point to peer down 3000 feet to the floor of Yosemite Valley. Views of Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, Vernal/Nevada Falls and several other notable landmarks are easily seen, not to mention the numerous ant sized cars and buildings that are scattered across the valley. One of the most iconic formations at Glacier Point itself is Overhanging Rock.

Overhanging Rock & Yosemite Falls

Whenever I think of  Overhanging Rock I can’t help but think of the iconic photo of two women dancing on it by George Fiske. The photo has impact, but if you’ve ever stood at this lookout and peer down the 3000 feet below it takes on a whole new level of impact. Fascinating to think that a location such as this has been attracting people for so long. It highlights the timeless wonder that Yosemite Valley provides.

Kitty Tatch and Katherine Hazelston, waitresses at Yosemite National Park hotels, dance on Overhanging Rock at Glacier Point in 1900 Photo by George Fiske

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If you’ve seen a Hollywood film these days you’ll know that a truly original film is tough to come by. Remakes, sequels, reboots, TV programs made into movies, etc. are the safe plays for movie studios. The most original and daring films come from artists bootstrapping their films and taking them to independent film circuits. The underlying component to this dynamic is of course risk, who shoulders the risk and what is the cost of failure.

In a similar fashion the more I travel the more I see photographers clustered together aiming their sights on the lower risk shot. The shot that people are already familiar with and/or the shot that likely takes less effort to get.  This of course is a generality, but it reminds me of a quote from John Lubbock:

What we see depends mainly on what we look for.
- John Lubbock

Photographers Yosemite Valley - Yosemite National Park, California

If we’re familiar with the popular work of another artist we’re very likely to be influenced by it and take comfort in it. As a result it takes some additional effort to not fall into reproducing the same photo and finding one’s own perspective. For a select few that can be accomplished with ease and for others it is an elusive task. When you free yourself of the things you know  and venture into the unknown new perspectives arise. Sometimes that requires a long hike out of the way or taking the photos you know before you find the photos you want. Personally I take no shame in photographing familiar compositions.  I do so in knowing that it is the first step of a longer creative process. Photographing the familiar is comforting and inspiring, but once I’ve honored those of influence I move on to explore my surroundings and look for my original photograph.

The photographer with one of the biggest shadows to step out from behind, Ansel Adams, put it well…

Millions of men have lived to fight, build palaces and boundaries, shape destinies and societies; but the compelling force of all times has been the force of originality and creation profoundly affecting the roots of human spirit.
Ansel Adams

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