Category Archives: Locations

Commentary, Locations

Best time to visit Death Valley AND Yosemite?

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I just saw and replied to a forum post asking about the best time to try to visit Death Valley, the eastern Sierra, Tioga Pass/Tuolumne Meadows and Yosemite Valley in one trip that starts in Las Vegas and ends in Sacramento. I’m reposting my reply here since I’ve heard others ask similar questions elsewhere. Note that despite the lengthy post, this doesn’t by any means completely answer this question. So, with minor edits, here is what I posted:

When to do a trip that includes Death Valley and Yosemite Valley and everything in between? This is a very tough question.

The “best” time to visit Death Valley is generally thought to be in the November to early April time frame – but that coincides with closure of the Tioga Pass entrance into  Yosemite National Park, typically lasting from possibly (but not always) late October or mid-November until (usually) sometime in May.

So, I think it becomes a question of which end of the trip you want to compromise. Do you want to deal with Death Valley during the very hottest time or do you want to deal with the potential for a very long drive around the southern part of the Sierra (and missing the “east side”) in order to get to The Valley after the pass closes?

I travel and photograph throughout this area a lot, so let me offer some ideas. Continue reading Best time to visit Death Valley AND Yosemite? →

Commentary, Locations

Sierra Passes Opening Soon

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Sierra Journal reports that the opening of Sonora Pass is scheduled for May 22. This is significant for a number of reasons, including the following:

  • The availability of the Sonora Pass route considerably reduces the time/distance that SF Bay Area folks must drive to get to the eastern Sierra.
  • This suggests that other routes like Ebbetts and Monitor Pass will also be open at that time.
  • Tioga Pass often seems to open within about a week of the opening of Sonora. If that happens this time we could guess that Tioga might open before the end of May.

I’m ready!

Commentary, Locations

Death Valley. Photography. Me.

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Some folks have written asking for ideas and advice about visiting Death Valley. (My first advice is go last month – too hot now!) In response I decided to start writing something that summarizes my experience (which is significant, but nowhere near that of the real DV experts) in the park, especially as it pertains to photographic locations and times of day/year to visit.

I originally thought I’d finish it right after my return from the park at the beginning of April. Didn’t happen… Instead, as I wrote the darn thing kept getting longer and longer. Today I decided to illustrate it with some of my DV photographs, and then I sat back and made a longer outline of the subjects I will eventually cover.

All of this is my way of saying that there eventually will be an article here on photographing Death Valley… but please be patient.

Commentary, Locations

Yosemite Spring Conditions Update

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While most photographers in California reserve a part of their consciousness year-round for thoughts of Yosemite (Valley and high country), at about this time of year many think about that location even more. This is the time when the waterfalls really begin to flow and often start to peak as the snow melts at higher elevations, and it is also the beginning of the annual “Great Greening” as plants start to come back to life. In particular, lots of us anticipate the return of the dogwood blossoms.

I’ve been hearing news, and I’ll pass a bit of it along here. Continue reading Yosemite Spring Conditions Update →