This photograph was made (as you may have noticed from the date) in autumn of a pretty dry year. For this reason I was able to approach the base of the falls much more closely than would be possible in other years or during the waterfall season. (Even if you did manage to get this close in, say, June you wouldn’t see anything but a solid wall of mist.)
(Unfortunately, due to long-ago server software updates, this photograph no longer appears on this page.)
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.
As I set up for this shot – hoping to capture a bit of fall color, the interesting rocks in the riverbed, and the light coming across the ridge above the distant canyon – a person nearby asked “What are you doing? You’re pointing straight into the sun!” True. I saw significant flare in the viewfinder, but this was easy to solve by using my hand to shield the front element of the lens from the direct sun.
I’m almost embarrassed to admit that this photograph was shot right in the middle of one of the most popular tourist destinations in Yosemite – the middle of the bridge below Vernal Fall. At least I pointed the camera the opposite direction from everyone else! :-)
As if on cue (given my recent and upcoming Yosemite photographic expeditions) Jim Goldstein has released a new installment of the EXIF and Beyond Podcasts, this one devoted to Yosemite Winter Photos. (My copy is downloading as I write this, and I plan to listen to it on the bus to work tomorrow.)
One of the great things about Yosemite Valley is that the best times of year there are not, for the most part, the most crowded. (One exception can be early June in a great waterfall year.) I just returned from a fall foliage shoot there and I can’t imagine the Valley being any more beautiful… unless it is right after a winter snowfall.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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