Half Dome, North Dome, and Yosemite Valley at sunrise, Yosemite
A couple of months ago California was dealing with severe drought; now we’re coping with flooding and landslides. Yosemite has received over 60 inches of rain since October 1st (the beginning of the water year in this state). The annual average is only 37 inches. At this rate we could double that annual average by the time the rainy season ends this spring.
So far Yosemite has escaped any major disasters, but the same can’t be said for San Jose, where two days ago Coyote Creek overflowed and flooded several neighborhoods. Hundreds of people had to be rescued by boat, many homes were inundated with water, and some 14,000 people were evacuated.
Roads around the state have taken a beating. Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge in Big Sur is closed because the ground supporting the bridge has slumped, causing the underside of the bridge to crack. It could take one to two years to replace the bridge. Similar scenarios have closed two of the three roads leading into Yosemite Valley. Erosion has undermined a section of Highway 41 just outside the park, so that road will be closed for repairs for at least a week. Inside the park a stretch of the Big Oak Flat Road (which connects Highway 120 with Yosemite Valley) has slumped, and it may be a week or more until that road reopens. So right now the only access to Yosemite Valley is via Highway 140. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this road will stay open, since it has also been closed by rockslides several times in recent weeks.
With all the rain and snow you might think there had been many opportunities to photograph clearing storms this winter, but that hasn’t been the case. Often one storm has followed another, with no break in between. And when a series of storms would finally end they seemed to always clear at night. Of course I love to photograph clearing storms at night, and posted several such images here earlier this winter (see here, here, and here). But few storms have cleared during the day, and I can’t recall a single one that cleared around sunrise or sunset this winter – until yesterday.
Tuesday night Claudia and I joined some friends in Fresno for a Bonnie Raitt concert. Bonnie was great, and we had a wonderful time, but didn’t get home and go to bed until about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. But sleep be damned, I set my alarm for 4:00 a.m. because it looked like the latest storm might clear before sunrise. When I got up and checked the weather it looked like there was about a fifty-fifty chance it would clear by sunrise. But those were decent enough odds, so I got ready to go. Claudia went with me, since she had volunteered to help hang the Yosemite Renaissance exhibit.
By the time we got to Yosemite Valley the weather was looking more promising. We saw lots of mist, and broken clouds overhead. There wasn’t any snow in the west end of the valley, but before we left home I had checked the temperatures at the Visitor Center, and their thermometer had read 32 degrees during most of the night. That was cold enough for snow, so we drove to the east end of the valley (where the Visitor Center is located) and, sure enough, we found an inch or two of fresh snow coating the trees.
I climbed up to a spot overlooking the east end of the valley, and got there just in time to photograph the clouds starting to light up behind Half Dome (shown above). Later I photographed sunlight raking across the mist on the valley floor, and misty trees along the Merced River (below).
I got to take a nap later while Claudia was helping to hang the show. In the afternoon the clouds thickened and some showers rolled through, so the sunset didn’t look promising, but since I had to hang around and give Claudia a ride home I decided to head to a Horsetail Fall viewpoint and see what might happen. As it turned out, the sun broke through the clouds just before sunset and put on a spectacular show. I’ll post a photograph of that later, but I hope some of you were there last night to see it for yourself. If so I’d love to see some photos, so please feel free to post a link to your images from yesterday in the comments.
— Michael Frye
Morning light on Half Dome and North Dome, Yosemite
Trees, mist, and the Merced River, Yosemite
Related Posts: First Snow; A Wild Week in Yosemite; The Big Snow
Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author or principal photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, Yosemite Meditations for Women, Yosemite Meditations for Adventurers, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters. He has also written three eBooks: Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, Exposure for Outdoor Photography, and Landscapes in Lightroom: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide. Michael has written numerous magazine articles on the art and technique of photography, and his images have been published in over thirty countries around the world. Michael has lived either in or near Yosemite National Park since 1983, currently residing just outside the park in Mariposa, California.
Is the location for the main picture in your Yosemite book? If not could you share it!?
Great post once again . Looking forward to the spring flower show we hopefully get!
Thanks Ben. No, this isn’t in my book, and sorry, I won’t share it here either, because reaching this location entails some risks. You shouldn’t attempt to go there unless you’re surefooted and know how to assess and minimize the risks from rockfall and avalanches.
The first two photos are from 2014. The rest are from Wednesday, February 22, 2017. Most are from iPhone 7+. The 2014 and the zoomed in darker one, were taken with my Canon 70D.
It was cloudy and flurries for most of the day. Right on cue, just at sunset, the clouds parted enough for a good “Firefall”
This reminded me of the incredible, original Firefall I enjoyed as a youth.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenspencer/sets/72157641437541005/with/32230379054/
Thanks for sharing your photos Ken. I’m glad you got to be there on Wednesday – that was Horsetail at its best.
Hi Michael,
Really enjoyed these shots and your article describing the day and how you got them.
Particularly looking forward to seeing the firefall shot you mentioned as it sounds intriguing :-).
Thanks Doug!
Hi Michael,
I just sent you two photos of last night’s horsetail sunset. Breathtaking scene indeed.
Best,
George
Thanks George! As I said in response to your email, and I’m glad you got to see and photograph that beautiful evening, and your photos should be wonderful once you finish processing them.
Hi Michael,
I really enjoyed your article and pictures. I sent you a couple of the shots I took last night from the small clearing at the El Capitan picnic area. It truly was spectacular!
Steve
Thanks Steve. It was a spectacular evening on Wednesday, and I’m glad you got to be there!
Thanks, Michael, I love hearing about your photography adventure in Yosemite. The sunrise images are breathtaking and I love the Merced River b/w. I understand there may be more storms coming on Sunday and Monday, with snow in the Sierra—what a winter in California! Cheers.
Thanks Bob! It doesn’t look like this next storm will bring much precipitation, but there might be some good photo opportunities.
Just wonderful, Michael. When I see your images , my day iscomplete! Thanks for your kind words as well!
Cheers – Denny Jump
Thanks Denny!
Hi Michael,
So I’m jealous. I did see Horsetail on Valentine’s Day. Some clouds came in late, but it was nice up til then: http://mjkatzphotography.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Recent-Work/G0000RLw_gdLUjvA/I0000WzlAyunkDKE
(And I caught Bonnie Raitt last Sept. in Paso Robles, and she was great as always).
This was a tough year for Horsetail Fall photographers. Plenty of water in the fall, but only one or two evenings when the sun broke through at the right time during the window of best light. But you did well on the 14th.
Thanks Michael for consistency in sharing your images of Yosemite. I too love the park and your beautiful images keep me inspired and posted on it’s condition. This has been my first year seeing snow in the Valley, and Feb. 22, 2017 will be etched in my memory because Horsetail Falls, the fog, the mist and the wind played up to the sun’s glow in a fiery spectacle that I’ll never probably see again in my lifetime – a most unforgettable sight. I would love to send you my shots but unfortunately I don’t have access to links and I don’t know your e-mail address.
Thanks Teresa. I’m glad you got to bet there on Wednesday, as that was a great day. My email address is michael@michaelfrye.com, but if you email them to me then others won’t be able to see the images, so if there’s a way for you to post them on Facebook, Flickr, your website, or anywhere, and the post the link to that page here, that would be better.
Hi Michael,
You are one persistent and dedicated, professional photographer, as reflected in your superb photographs and writings. You arguably lead the field in Yosemite photography, the best since the Master, Ansel Adams.
Cheers,
Alyn
Thanks Alyn!
Enjoy your work! I got a couple of decent images on Wednesday. Just did quick edits on my laptop and just in Lightroom, but I was fairly happy. I was away from the usual spots and wanted to get at least one image that was more environmental. Here is what I came up with though in hindsight I maybe should have had a shorter lens:
http://www.pbase.com/luvwine/image/165013125
This one with a long lens:
http://www.pbase.com/luvwine/image/165013143
And here is one from Friday (less exciting):
http://www.pbase.com/luvwine/image/165020467
Nice work Stephen – thanks for sharing!
Thanks Michael. A compliment from you is high praise indeed! I just got home and am loading my images on my desktop. It may be I got some better ones, but we will see. It was a great day of photography for me–Wednesday morning snow and Wednesday evening Horsetail. Back to work for me on Monday, but it was fun (tho earlier in the week was not!). Look forward to seeing your shots!