Yosemite sunset

I purchased The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite by Michael Frye as a reference on my recent trip to Yosemite. I’m sure this would be a fantastic guide if you are going to Yosemite by yourself or with other photographers, but none of the suggestions really work if you are with a family–especially with kids. The book primarily tells you when to photograph the key spots in Yosemite. Those times, of course, break down to morning and evening for best lighting conditions.

What those traveling with families quickly find out, however, is that families want to be sleeping and/or eating during sunrises and sunsets–not setting up the perfect photo. We stayed at Tenaya Lodge which was actually about an hour away from the Yosemite Valley so I couldn’t just hop in the car and drive to the valley for sunrise or sunset photos while the family slept or ate, or they would have been stranded without a car.

Today’s photo came just before sunset as we were heading back to Tenaya Lodge to eat. It was the closest I came to a sunset or sunrise photo during our three days in Yosemite. The Yosemite Valley was actually behind me (several miles, no view from here) to the right when I took this.

Posted on April 7th, 2013 under Other. Tags: california, Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 AF-S NIKKOR G ED N, Nikon D600, sunset, yosemite national park. Comments Off on Sunset from Wawona Road

Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls through the trees

Posted on April 4th, 2013 under Other. Tags: Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 AF-S NIKKOR G ED N, Nikon D600, waterfalls, yosemite national park. Comments Off on Yosemite Falls

Yosemite’s Bridalveil Fall base

For today’s photo I didn’t use a filter. Instead, I sat my camera down on a bridge post, changed the f stop to 25 and left the shutter open for half a second. I brought my tripod with me to Yosemite, but I never had the chance to use it. I would have liked to have taken some photos after dark, but out hotel was an hour away, and we left the park every day before sunset and arrived after sunrise. This is probably the only photo I took with a somewhat long exposure.

Posted on March 30th, 2013 under Other. Tags: Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED Telephoto Lens, Nikon D600, photography, waterfalls, yosemite national park. Comments Off on Silky water

Yosemite’s Vernal Fall

We weren’t planning on hiking up the Mist Trail to Vernal Fall because the trail was supposed to be closed for the season, and we weren’t sure if everyone in our party would be up for it. However, we wanted to see how far we could get. When we got to the “closed” section of the Mist Trail (above the footbridge and below Vernal Fall) people were going around the closed sign, and others (including little kids and babies on backs) were coming down from having hiked the closed section so we followed suit. There was no danger on that part of the trail on this day so I’m not sure why it was closed for the season. Maybe they have fixed dates based on typical snow patterns, and this was a warmer than usual year? There was no snow or ice on the trail. In fact, it was rather warm on this day in late March. We did get wet from the mist but not soaked like some people report in April and May.

I imagine this trail is crazy crowded in the summer. There were plenty of people on the Mist Trail in late March, but I’m guessing it was just a fraction of the normal traffic. This is not a hike you want to miss if you are in Yosemite!

Posted on March 29th, 2013 under Other. Tags: Nikon 24mm f/2.8 AF-D nikkor lens, Nikon D600, waterfalls, yosemite national park. Comments Off on Vernal Fall