Saturday, May 7, 2005

Sunny weekend weather brought the early season crowds to Yosemite National Park this morning. Tour buses packed the parking lot at Tunnel View, and delighted exclamations in Japanese, Italian and Chinese among others echoed off the granite cliffs as they took turns standing before the magnificent view to have their pictures taken, vacation memories recorded for future recollection in family photo albums all over the globe.

Figuring on heavy traffic on the park's thoroughfares, I headed south down Highway 140 to visit a location listed in Michael Frye's excellent reference book The Photographer's Guide to Yosemite. Apparently, a narrow lane called Incline Road had once been lined with fields of lupine and California poppies, but when I arrived I found only sleepy campers arising from their tents and a few tired flowers clinging to the roadside banks.

Highway 140 offered its own selection of wildflowers, however, and the two examples at the top right were among a nice collection I found there. The early morning mist and slanted rays of sunlight also provided this dramatic scene of a single young tree standing sentinel on a hillside along the way.

Returning to the park gave me my first experience at waiting in line to pass the gatehouse, and it was only a hint at the crowds I'd find once inside. I worked my way along the south loop road toward Yosemite Village where I'd meet Richard and Nancy Munson, a pair of experienced nature photographers, for lunch at our favorite snack shop, Degnan's. Once served and settled, our pace slowed and we talked photography and fun while sitting outside in the beautiful spring sunshine.

After lunch we set out on our separate searches for Yosemite images. By then the sun had wound its way westward, illuminating the features on the south wall, including the tree composition shown here at the right.

I'd been thinking about trying a different angle on Bridalveil Fall, so I followed the loop road around, parked the Pathfinder and walked up toward the base of the waterfall to have a closer look. It's standard operating procedure to wear rain gear when visiting Bridalveil, but I left mine in the truck, planning to avoid the ubiquitous spray from the waterfall (although frankly, I had no specific plans how to accomplish that). I couldn't find a clear view of the fall through the forest, so it occurred to me that I might climb up to the base of the vertical rock cliff and take a wide-angle close-up. The climb proved to be more difficult than I'd expected (there is no trail, although I literally tracked an earlier party following

« Back  |  Next »

their scuff marks on the mossy rocks and soft organic forest floor).

As you can see from the waterfall image above, I was somewhat successful (even got a small rainbow in the lower right corner), but my plan to remain dry was a dismal failure. Shifting winds up near the waterfall sent sheets of heavy mist my way, and I repeatedly had to hide the camera under my shirt, then wipe water droplets from the lens filter before shooting again. I eventually returned to the truck, wet but happy with the image you see here.