Sunbeams from Tunnel View, Saturday morning
First, some good news: the blog is back up! It took a little longer than I hoped, but all the posts have been restored. Most of the comments will eventually be restored also, but some, unfortunately, may be lost. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience and understanding!
Meanwhile, in Yosemite, the cool, wet weather has continued through most of May. Yosemite Valley has reached over 55 inches of total precipitation since July 1st last year, one of the wettest seasons on record. The Valley even received a couple of inches of snow around May 17th, while I was in Utah.
I snuck up to park early Saturday morning, before the holiday throngs clogged the roads, and encountered some unexpectedly beautiful clouds at Tunnel View, complete with the god beams pouring onto the valley floor that you see in the photo above. After the light show dissipated I checked out the valley flowers, and was surprised at how late everything is—or continues to be. But maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, given the weather. The dogwoods are still in bloom in the Valley, although they’re looking rather old now. The cow parsnip are late again, like last year. They’re coming up, but none were in bloom yet, although they grow quickly, and some should blossom within a week or so. I saw an azalea flower or two in El Capitan Meadow, but most of these also look like they’ll wait another two weeks or so before appearing.
Saturday afternoon I drove up to Crane Flat and out Highway 120 toward the entrance station. This area often has some great dogwood displays, and since the elevation is 1000 to 1500 feet higher than the Valley they bloom later. But there was absolutely nothing happening there. Most of the dogwoods didn’t even have the little green precursor petals. They look they’re still two weeks away from blooming. I also checked out the dogwoods along Highway 41 between Yosemite Valley and Chinquapin (the turnoff to Glacier Point). These also live a bit higher than the Valley, and most were in full bloom, and in great shape, still fresh.
The Glacier Point Road opened last Friday, then closed again Sunday because of snow! But it reopened yesterday. The park service has not issued an opening date yet for Tioga Pass. Most locals guess it will open in late June, but a July opening is not out of the question.
The water levels are high, but they’re bound to get much higher. The cool weather has delayed melting, and there’s still tons of snow up in the high country. When the inevitable June hot spell arrives, the volume of water in the falls will reach spectacular levels, and the meadows in Yosemite Valley will turn into large reflecting ponds. Can’t wait!
Despite not making a trip to Yosemite this spring, I still love reading your updates and excellent details. Thank you. Also – that’s a breathtaking capture.
P.S. I’m catching up on work this week and will get back to you in the next few days!
What a strange and wonderful Spring !!
great image, Michael. I was there a week ago and saw the same conditions. I wonder if an extended heat spell could cause any significant (valley-closing) flooding?
Oh My! Beautiful!
Beautiful image Michael. I was in the Valley last week and you’re right, the dogwood still seems to be blooming everywhere and there is a lot of snow still in the high country.
Lovely image, Michael. I was in the Valley for two weekends, including the one where it snowed. Just lovely with dogwoods and snow!!! On the 23, I saw shooting stars in the meadow just east and south of Yosemite Falls. Wildflowers are definitely on the way. Hope you had a glorious time in Utah!
Just beautiful, Michael. Thanks for sharing and keeping alive the sublime majesty of this place.
WOW!!! You’ve outdone yourself on this one. God put you and the sunbeams in the right place at the right time, that’s for sure 🙂
Welcome home, Michael; Great image as always. Glacier Pt has had some unsettled weather, but the payoff is some truly incredible clouds over the Sierra crest. Do give my best to Claudia!
Edie
Great shot, Michael!
Can you share how you handle lens flare on these occasions? I know in some cases enough of the sun is blocked to where you don’t get them, but this looks pretty much full on.
Maybe a tutorial on flare control both in the camera and in post (if necessary)?
As always, thanks for sharing your time and talent!
Rick
Thanks very much everyone! Glad you all like the photo. Sometimes things just come together.
Gary, minor flooding is likely, but I doubt we’ll see road closures unless we get a warm rain storm.
Rick, good question about the lens flare. In this case El Cap blocked enough of the sun to prevent flare. I “handled” the situation by shooting away as the sun crested the ridge and crossing my fingers! But later, when the sun got higher, I did get flare in some frames. I avoided pressing the shutter when the sun wasn’t at least partially blocked by anything, as I knew I’d get flare, but when the sun was partially hidden, like here behind the ridge, or at other times behind a cloud, I tried it and hoped for the best.
Anyway, thanks for the suggestion about a tutorial on flare control. I think that’s a great idea, as I think this is something many people struggle with. I often see people missing some good opportunities because they’re afraid of flare. So one of these days… 🙂
Thanks for the updated information. I was there last week with my brother visiting from the east coast. Amazed at the amount of water coming out of every single waterfall, and also missing the spring blossoms. I might have to make another trip there in late June/early July (if the scalpers haven’t taken all the campsites).
That snow earlier in the month cleared the campground enough for us to stay in the park – yipee!
re:lens flare – a beautiful morning above the valley with clouds to soften the light and mood, but is lens flare ALWAYS to be avoided? I’ve seen strong images published with flare as a prominent aspect. Your image here is quiet and flare would be a distraction. It’s an aesthetic choice I guess. Any thoughts?
Gorgeous, gorgeous shot. Wish I would have been there to see it !! Love your work !
Those sunbeams are stunning! They spotlight the valley so well. That must have been a glorious morning to be there…at least until the hordes came in. 🙂
Lisa, you’re welcome, and I’m glad you got to visit the park recently and see the waterfalls. Hope you make it back!
Terry, another benefit of snow I hadn’t thought of! As for your question about lens flare, you’re right that it’s not always a problem, as under the right circumstances it can add something to the photo. One of the issues, as I see it, with deliberately including lens flare is that it’s hard to control. While sometimes it creates this nice line of spots, more often everything just looks washed out and there’s a random spot of green or red somewhere in the frame. So if that’s the case I’d rather avoid it, but if the flare somehow arranges itself nicely, and it seems to fit the image, then why not? I haven’t experimented with flare much – like whether you can control it’s appearance by using different apertures, or lenses, or changing the angle of the camera. Something worth testing, I think.
Debra, thank you very much! I really appreciate that.
And Vivienne, thank you too! It was a great morning, and I managed to avoid the hordes somehow, luckily.
Excellent image! Glad to see you back and inspiring us again. Sounds like a late Spring in Yosemite. It will be interesting to see how the melt goes. Veronica and I will be back in Yosemite in December. Alll the best!
Thanks Mike! Hope I get to see you in December.
that’s one great photo of yosemite! i guess u waited a lot of time for it
I am a photyographer and plan to visit Yosemite this year. My choice times are July through September. What do you suggest would be the best time for photography?
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Jasmin, glad you found me – welcome!
Michael,
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Thanks very much John for your kind words and good wishes – I’m glad we’re thinking along the same lines!