Thursday, May 5, 2005

That'll teach me to dis the weatherman. I heard raindrops pattering on the roof when I awoke at 5:30 a.m., and I seriously considered rolling over and spending the day like a reasonable human being instead of as a photographer. But of course, that wasn't an option.

Instead I climbed out of that soft warm bed, brewed a pot of coffee, gathered my raingear, and drove down to the valley, windshield wipers beating a steady rhythm in time with the falling rain. I stopped at Tunnel View to get an overview of conditions, shot images of El Capitan and Bridelveil Fall, ghostlike through the mist, and then descended into the gloom.

I wound through the curves on the south loop, pausing across from Yosemite Falls to capture the image at the top right. Compared with previous days, the tourist crowd was sparse but the photographers were out in force, huddling under raised rear doors of their SUVs or fumbling with plastic sheeting over their camera equipment.

Half Dome always makes a good image shrouded in mist, but when I first arrived at its base, near the Camp Curry turn, it was completely enveloped in solid fog from the treeline up. So I moved on, completing a tour of the entire valley, grabbing shots while sitting in the driver's seat through a lowered window, not once venturing outside into the downpour. (I guess there are limits to my insanity afterall.)

I parked at Yosemite Village to grab lunch at Degnan's Deli, then headed back to give Half Dome another chance to make the journal. I wasn't disappointed. The mist across its face

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was moving slowly away, and after a 15-minute wait my patience paid off with the picture above.

I guess it was the combination of dreary weather and my recent stint of short nights and long days, but I lost all inspiration to continue in the rain. I rationalized that without sincere creative forces at work, I was wasting my time, so I headed back to the cabin to catch up on some needed rest and compile today's journal entry. (No worries...I'll be rested and inspired again by tomorrow!)