Moon over Yosemite Valley
Claudia and I wish you a very Merry Christmas! And happy first day of Hanukkah! We hope you have a wonderful holiday, full of peace, joy, and the love of family and friends.
I made this photograph on the same night as the moonrise from Gates of the Valley image in my last post. After leaving the Gates I headed up to Tunnel View. For some reason I thought the moon would be behind Cathedral Rocks from there, but instead the moon was plainly visible right over the valley. I would usually avoid photographing right into the moon, for the same reasons I would usually avoid photographing right into the sun: a high probability of lens flare, and extreme contrast. But on that night the backlit mist and clouds were beautiful, so I gave it a try.
Again I bracketed exposures, but in the end I only used one frame. I decided that detail in the moon itself wasn’t necessary, so I worked with one of the lighter exposures in my bracketing sequence (4 seconds at f/4, 3200 ISO) which had good detail in the clouds and mist. Lightroom’s Highlights and Shadows tools made it easy to balance the contrast and bring out detail in the darkest and lightest tones. There’s obviously a lot of flare around the moon, but I thought the flare actually added something to the photograph. (I also cloned out one small reddish spot of flare.)
Although there’s no snow in this image, Claudia and I thought it had a Christmas feeling. If I squint I can almost see some reindeer and a sleigh flying by!
— Michael Frye
A very, Merry Christmas, to you and Claudia. Love the peace and hope that shines through your photography. Thanks for your passion that continues to fire and inspire. It’s your talent, knowledge, generosity, and creativity that keeps Yosemite timeless.
Merry Christmas to you too Ann!
I wish both of you a Merry Christmas! Great picture you have made here:-)
Thank you Jens, and Merry Christmas!
Michael,
Happy Holiday wishes back to you and Claudia. Beautiful photos and, as always, with instructive accompanying narratives.
Thanks Lee, and Happy Holidays to you too!
Everything you post shows amazing talent, but then there are some jaw dropping pictures. This moon shot over The Valley is absolutely one of those shots. I am looking so forward to another year of your photography joy.
Thanks very much Bryan!
Michael,
A very Merry and blessed Christmas to you and your family. Your photos always capture not only the beauty of our natural world, but also a mood and that moon shot certainly does so for this Christmas season. Thanks for sharing, teaching and inspiring those of us who appreciate photography.
Jim
Thank you Jim – Merry Christmas!
Michael Happy Holiday’s to you and Claudia. This image is wonderful and YES one can make out Santa and some of his merry elves in the sleigh with the reindeer pulling it along. Isn’t Christmas about Love and the imaginations in one’s mind. I and many others just love your photos & the pride you take in making them.Sue my partner & my Love visited Yosemite this last spring. We hope to make it back there soon in the coming years.
Thank you Dennis, and Merry Christmas to you!
Thanks for all the posts this year!
Hoping you had a wonderful Christmas and looking forward to the new year.
And I really liked the shot, too :-).
Thanks Doug, and I hope you had a great Christmas too!
Happy Holidays Michael! Thanks for sharing your beautiful images and photography knowledge as always!
Best,
George
Thanks George, and Happy Holidays to you too!