Sunbeams, Half Dome, and Nevada Fall from Glacier Point, Yosemite NP, California
As the remnants of Tropical Storm Hilary moved through California, I looked for opportunities to photograph interesting weather. I thought we might get thunderstorms, which we did, especially as the first bands of moisture reached our area. But I wasn’t able to find a thunderstorm in the right position to photograph it. We did, however, get three-quarters of an inch of rain at our house from one thunderstorm.
Then, as this large weather system moved off to the north, I realized there might be a chance to photograph a clearing storm Monday morning (August 21st). It looked like the rain would end around sunrise in Yosemite; it was less clear whether the clouds would dissipate enough for the sun to break through that early.
But it seemed like there was a decent chance that something interesting might happen. And it’s so rare to see this kind of widespread rain in August, with very different sun angles from winter or early spring. Plus, the Glacier Point and Tioga roads were open, allowing access to some great locations for photographing a clearing storm that I can’t get to in winter.
So I told Claudia that I was thinking of going to Glacier Point in the morning, and, as usual, she was up for it – even though it meant leaving at 4:15 a.m. Yikes!
Yosemite Valley only received about four-tenths of an inch of rain from Hilary. Not a lot, but I figured it would be enough to generate some mist. And we found lots of mist at Glacier Point – so much that it was completely socked in at first. I think this tropical system contained such moist air that it generated lots of mist, even without a ton of evaporation from newly-wet ground.
I wanted to set up a time-lapse, but couldn’t even compose that without seeing more of the scene in front of me. Finally Half Dome appeared through the mist, so I was able to compose and start the time-lapse sequence.
For the next hour or so the fog rolled past, sometimes completely obscuring the scene, sometimes parting to reveal moody, misty views of Half Dome, or Nevada Fall, or both. Bits of sunlight started to break through about an hour past sunrise.
Almost two hours after sunrise it rained briefly. I had to cover my camera, and wipe water drops off the lens. Then the sun started to break through again, this time creating sunbeams through the rain still falling in the distance. It was quite a beautiful moment.
We lingered for a bit longer, but the mist and light gradually got less interesting, so we packed up. We ended up hanging around the park all day, photographing a wildflower meadow, and waiting to see if showers might develop in the afternoon and produce something unusual. (No such luck.)
This storm was such an anomaly – the first tropical storm to reach California since 1939! Skies have been routinely sunny since then, and we probably won’t see any significant storms for awhile, but it was fun to photograph a clearing storm in August.
— Michael Frye
P.S. I’ve included a selection of photos here from that morning, plus a time-lapse video. At about the 45-second mark of that video you can see raindrops falling from that shower I mentioned.
Clouds, mist, and Half Dome, Yosemite NP, California
Half Dome emerging from fog, Yosemite NP, California
Mist and clouds with Sierra Point, Nevada Fall, and Vernal Fall, Yosemite NP, California
Mist and clouds with Liberty Cap, Nevada Fall, and Vernal Fall, Yosemite NP, California
Panorama from Glacier Point during a clearing storm, Yosemite NP, California
Half Dome and sunbeams from Glacier Point, Yosemite NP, California
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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.
I was there hours before the storm on a hike and leaving the valley as the winds started howling and captured a beautiful sunset only it was only on my iPhone as it was not a photo shoot day just hiking. Lesson learned always carry your equipment . Love these images and so nice you were there to capture.
Thanks Wendy. The other lesson you could take from that is to learn to shoot in raw on your iPhone!
Beautiful. Love the Timelapse.
Thanks very much Paul!
Wow!!
The Timelapse is spectacular, the constant cloud movement just made the time spin by, except for the white outs.
Seeing the movement of sun rays in your time-lapse and photos you had asked did I get it which I thought I had. To revise I captured just a portion thereof as I was transitioning.
I love these moments in Yosemite. Often I find myself enjoying the moment with less shutter clicks, that’s my balance after 60 years of continued enjoyment.
Excellent photos!!
And Thank you for the High Contrast Webinar.
See you on a trail!
Thanks Chuck! Looks like you caught the sunbeams quite well from the couple of photos I’ve seen.
These are wonderful to see. I particularly like the one where Half Dome looks to have circles around it. The timelapse was a total treat.
That must have been a spectacular experience and well worth the early wakeup :-).
Thanks for these!
Thanks very much Doug! Go Packers! (At least until they play the 49ers.) 🙂
Michael, The video is just magical. Thank you for sharing it.
Thanks so much Gery!
Michael,
The sunbeams on Half Dome are simply amazing as are the all of the photographs and the video. These work so well as black and white conversions. I was intrigued by the black and white conversion which you did in the High Contrast webinar after initially doing adjustments in color. These work beautifully as well. Kudos again for figuring the perfect time and place, even if it required a way early start! Best to you both!
Thanks very much Hank! I think it’s more efficient to convert an image to black and white before making tonal adjustments, since the black-and-white conversion can change things. In the webinar I did the black-and-white conversion later more for instructional purposes. Luckily, in Lightroom it’s all flexible, so you can re-adjust any aspect.
Just wow. Ansel would have loved it in 1939. Incredible opportunities fully captured. Bravo!
Thanks Karl! I don’t know that Ansel actually photographed that storm, but it would be nice to think so.
The Timelapse is amazing Michael. At one point the clouds started to cover over the Half Dome, as if I was flying for a second!
Thanks Randy – glad you liked the video!
Great photos as always. Love the timelapse, I do them also so I really liked yours the living breathing sky with the composition that you had is magical. Enjoyed the high contrast webinar and have been using the knowledge you shared to re work some older photos.
Thanks very much Jeff! And I’m glad you found the webinar helpful!
Wonderful images Michael and well worth the early effort! I particular like ‘Clouds, mist, and Half Dome, Yosemite NP, California’ which is just sublime in my opinion.
Thanks so much Guido!
Michael, thanks for passing along your splendid images of the Tropical Storm. Endearing to me since your photos and the video were in monochrome! You accomplished a remarkable feat. Best regards to you and Claudia.
Thanks very much David! Since the storm cleared later in the morning, there wasn’t much color in the sky, so the photos seemed to work best in black and white.
Some of your best images yet Michael. And in Black & White even!
Thanks very much Tom!
Awesome!
Thanks John!
Michael:
What an incredible gallery culminating in sunbeams on Half Dome! Does it get any better than that?
Thanks as always for sharing your beautiful images as well as your know-how.
Mark
Thanks so much Mark! It always makes it more fun when you find yourself in the right place at the right time for something like those sunbeams.
I am, once again, aware of how proud and priviledged I feel to be born and raised in this uniquely beautiful state. Your photos do so much to remind me of the natural wonder and diversity of our California. Others may leave. I don’t believe I ever could. This is my beautiful home and you have taken my breath away!
There are many beautiful places in the world, and I’ve been lucky enough to visit some of them, but California is indeed a beautiful state, with lots of diversity.