I have it in mind to write a piece about the value of becoming very familiar with a place you photograph. While is is great fun to go to new places and photograph them, often focusing on the famous subjects and the grand scene, only when you take the time to really become familiar with a place or a subject can you really learn the best ways to photograph it.
Along these lines, I’ve been following a series of posts by Edie at The Little Red Tent in which she writes about photographing Horsetail Falls in Yosemite Valley. As near as I can tell, Edie must live in The Valley. IYes, I’m jealous. :-) I’ve gotten to know The Valley fairly well now that I’ve been visiting for decades, but she not only knows the places but the times of year and the times of day and the vagaries of local weather and the best route from point A to point B.
Today’s post at her site is great example. I won’t tell the whole story here, but against all reason she struggled out to one of the places from which Horsetail Falls is generally photographed. Horsetail Falls is a seasonal waterfall that can catch the brilliant sunset light during the month of February when the conditions are just right. In any case, in unpromising weather she tromped through knee-deep snow, set up in cloudy conditions, and waited. “And then it happened. I could see light on the wall just beyond the ridge, a warm glow. The sun had slipped below the clouds to the west and was shining on the wall.”
And she was the only one there.
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.
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