Yosemite Falls – Blue Sky, Bone Dry
This right here is one of the reasons why I love Yosemite so much. It doesn't matter when you go, or even what time of day it is – there's always beauty looming overhead or around a corner, just waiting to be captured.
Much of the year, there would be a massive waterfall – one of the world's largest combined drops – filling the center of this image. And it's a gorgeous sight, one that I've reveled in on countless occasions. But it sure looks great when it goes dry, too, bringing out interesting, otherwise hidden, colors and textures in the granite face of that cliff. What is true for the time of year is also true for the time of day, and even the weather. Yes, this is a gorgeous shot in the golden light of the early morning and late afternoon, and with all kinds of wonderful clouds clinging to the cliffs and hanging over the valley. But the deep blue skies and less dramatic shadows of more mid-day light actually work very well in this environment, too, bringing out different aspects of color and beauty in this incomparable environment. Which is a particularly good thing, when you consider just how many jaw-dropping sights and intimate spots one usually feels tempted to try to get to in any given day spent in the park. Just make sure that you have a wide selection of tools with you for whatever kind of light or shot you want (whether it's tripods, polarizing filters, supertele or wide angle lenses), and you'll have plenty of opportunities to shoot all day, every day. There really is no place like it.
Taken with the 12-50mm f/3.5-5.6 M.Zuiko lens on my OM-D E-M5, at 12mm (24mm ff equiv), 1/60 sec, f/10, ISO 200, hand-held, with a Hoya circular polarizing filter partway engaged to tame some of the light reflecting off the rock face, and to preserve the depth of that blue sky when exposing for the foreground and cliff. I have added NO saturation whatsoever after the fact.
Yosemite Falls – Blue Sky, Bone Dry
This right here is one of the reasons why I love Yosemite so much. It doesn't matter when you go, or even what time of day it is – there's always beauty looming overhead or around a corner, just waiting to be captured.
Much of the year, there would be a massive waterfall – one of the world's largest combined drops – filling the center of this image. And it's a gorgeous sight, one that I've reveled in on countless occasions. But it sure looks great when it goes dry, too, bringing out interesting, otherwise hidden, colors and textures in the granite face of that cliff. What is true for the time of year is also true for the time of day, and even the weather. Yes, this is a gorgeous shot in the golden light of the early morning and late afternoon, and with all kinds of wonderful clouds clinging to the cliffs and hanging over the valley. But the deep blue skies and less dramatic shadows of more mid-day light actually work very well in this environment, too, bringing out different aspects of color and beauty in this incomparable environment. Which is a particularly good thing, when you consider just how many jaw-dropping sights and intimate spots one usually feels tempted to try to get to in any given day spent in the park. Just make sure that you have a wide selection of tools with you for whatever kind of light or shot you want (whether it's tripods, polarizing filters, supertele or wide angle lenses), and you'll have plenty of opportunities to shoot all day, every day. There really is no place like it.
Taken with the 12-50mm f/3.5-5.6 M.Zuiko lens on my OM-D E-M5, at 12mm (24mm ff equiv), 1/60 sec, f/10, ISO 200, hand-held, with a Hoya circular polarizing filter partway engaged to tame some of the light reflecting off the rock face, and to preserve the depth of that blue sky when exposing for the foreground and cliff. I have added NO saturation whatsoever after the fact.