Spring Torrent, Merced River. Yosemite National Park, California. May 3, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Rushing spring run-off flow and reflected evening colors, Merced River
I made this photograph at the very end of the day, on my first real spring trip to Yosemite Valley of the season. There were rumors of a bigger-than-usual dogwood bloom (true, it turns out), which was probably the main factor related to the timing of this quick trip. However, in this very dry year in California, any high water in Valley rivers and waterfalls was going to come very early – and, in fact, the waterfalls were reasonably high, the Merced was flowing with some force, and there was almost no snow still visible anywhere.
In the evening I ended up near Pohono Bridge, shooting dogwood trees and some photographs of early evening light filtering through the forest. As the light in the Valley faded, it become more difficult to photograph the nearby forest, but some sunset color lit the higher faces of the cliffs, and this colorful light reflected on the surface of the Merced River. The lower light also allowed me to lengthen shutter speeds and allow the motion of the water to blur.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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