Sunday, February 13, 2005

My first full day on the job began bright and early at 5:00 a.m. when my wristwatch alarm beeped me conscious and into a pitch-black world. (There are no city lights or sounds here in Yosemite, and after the sun goes down, it's DARK and QUIET.) Daybreak would make its appearance almost two hours later, and with Yosemite Valley a half-hour drive away over potentially icy roads, I wanted to beat it there comfortably.

It was almost a waste of time. Sunrise was unspectacular, so I headed down into the valley. I learned after my arrival here that the north loop road is closed for construction, so that limited my movement to the south side. With the sun southeast, that meant that everything across the valley (north) was well lit, and that by positioning the camera I could get everything from front lit to side lit. I'm glad they didn't close the south loop!

Upper Yosemite Falls is my favorite of the Yosemite waterfalls. When I was here in 2003, I bought Michael Frye's book The Photographer's Guide to Yosemite, and I was intrigued by his explanation of how to catch a rainbow in the spray of a waterfall. Without going into all the photographer jargon, I applied his advice and after some experimentation, came up with the one here.

After lunch, I climbed Upper Yosemite Trail up as far as the base of Upper Yosemite Waterfall. (Remind me to spend more time on the StairMaster when I get home…I was huffing and puffing before I got out of the parking lot!) It's a 3.5-mile hike, which doesn't sound too bad, but they neglect to mention that it's all uphill. Steep uphill.

While I set no speed records getting up there, I did grab a portrait of Half Dome across the valley. Yeah, that's why I stopped. Really.

My turn-around point on the trail (which, by the way, continues all the way to the top) was where I took this picture of Upper Yosemite's ice bucket. I suppose there's a correct name for it in the Waterfall Parts Catalog, but I have no idea what it is.

It's where all the spray freezes when it settles in the bowl below. That big white thing.

Well, that's it for today. Tomorrow I'm going to hunt down a waterfall that's located in the southwest corner of Yosemite National Park. Since it's located outside the valley at a higher altitude, I'm hoping it'll be frozen. Check back tomorrow to find out.

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