Horsetail Fall, 5:27 p.m., Wednesday, February 15th
First, a reminder that this is the last day to get a discount on my new eBook, Exposure for Outdoor Photography. Until midnight tonight you can use the code EXPOSURE4 at checkout to get the book for only 4 dollars. Or use the code EXPOSURE20 to get 20 percent off if you buy five or more Craft & Vision eBooksāincluding my previous volume, Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom.
Now, on to Horsetail Fall. Yosemite Valley received about four inches of snow on Tuesday night, and higher elevations got a little bit more. Unfortunately that precipitation did little to improve the water volume in Horsetail Fall. It’s flowing, but barely. Yet it’s amazing how little water it actually takes. You can strain your eyes to detect any flow at all for most of the day, and then as the sun lowers it highlights the fall perfectly and makes whatever water there is stand out.
The accompanying photographs were made on Wednesday and Thursday evenings while I was teaching private workshops, and show the current conditions pretty well. On Wednesday some mist drifted past the fall, adding interest, but distant clouds dimmed the light before it reached its most intense color. On Thursday, the light was about as good as it gets for Horsetail, lasting right until the theoretical sunset time, with the cliff behind the fall shaded. If only there was more water!
Despite the low water volume a lot of people are trying to photograph Horsetail Fall. If you want to join the throngs you’ll need to arrive two hours or more before sunset to find a parking spot and get a decent view of the fall.
Some warmer weather would increase the snowmelt and improve the water flow. Temperatures are forecast to increase toward the middle of this week, so that might help.
The real show this past week wasn’t Horsetail Fall, but the beautiful misty sunrise on Wednesday morning after the snowfall. I’ll post some photographs of that here soon.
āMichael Frye
Related Posts:Ā The Best Time to Photograph Horsetail Fall, Revised; New eBook: Exposure for Outdoor Photography
Horsetail Fall, 5:33 p.m., Thursday, February 16th
Horsetail Fall, 5:37 p.m., Thursday, February 16th
Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author and photographer ofĀ The Photographerās Guide to Yosemite,Ā Yosemite Meditations, andĀ Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters, plus the eBookĀ Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom. He 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
Very cool, Michael. Heading there next Thursday. I know we’re just at the end of the window, but I’m not giving up hope. How crowded was the Southside Drive view?
Timing should be fine Rich. Southside Drive was very crowded this past week, especially Friday evening, when I’d estimate there were 70+ cars parked in the area.
It’s hard to believe it’s that time of the year AGAIN!! Beautiful shots, as always š
Thank you Patti!
That was an absolutely beautiful morning! I spent it in Cook’s meadow and got some beautiful shots. There was also a rainbow at the base of Lower Yosemite Falls, but I’d guess that is a normal occurrence.
Glad you were there on Wednesday morning Joe – great conditions.
Wonder if moonset will do the same thing in august? That would be something!
Lance, it’s possible to photograph Horsetail by the light of the setting moon, as I did a couple of years ago:
https://www.michaelfrye.com/2010/10/25/horsetail-fall-by-moonlight/
But not in August, as there would be no water in the fall.
Thanks for the new update, Michael, I have just one more final post from me as just arrived home. Friday, 2/17 was our best shot at Horsetail as the water was flowing, but the light faded just as it turned red. Yesterday was a bust as the clouds had moved in, and tonight, 2/19, looked very promising until we noticed that there was NO water to be seen throughout the day. Not sure if others captured at least some moisture on those rocks, but from where we were, the water had pretty much dried up. Not looking good for the rest of the week if the water is already gone. Maybe it will start up again tomorrow, but I kind of doubt it at this point. The light was spectacular tonight and stayed on the horsetail area until at least 5:35 or 5:40 PM. If the water was really flowing, tonight would have been a home run. Great job on your shots from last Wed, Thurs! Anxious to see what others will post from this weekend on flickr and elsewhere. Thanks for the advice last week as we found other things to shoot last night as we knew Horsetail would be a no show. Tonight we found some nice golden hour/reflection shots out near the river, and almost walked into a bear before we saw him. Good times! If anyone is headed to the Northside View this week, the bear was directly across the street when we left. He might be hanging out in that picnic area, so keep an eye out. š
Cheers,
Bill
Thanks for the report Bill. As I mentioned in this post, Horsetail can be essentially invisible for most of the day, but appear magically with the right light. I was not in the park on Sunday, but Horsetail lit up beautifully last night. The water flow was about the same as in the photos from last week accompanying this post, but the light lasted a little longer, and the color got deeper. In any case, I’m glad that you enjoyed your time, found other things to photograph, and saw a bear!
I stand corrected and you weren’t kidding when you said it can be invisible. We stared and stared at that cliff face with binoculars on and would have SWORN that there was no longer any water coming down. But on your report that there is still a trickle going, I went back and zoomed in on some of my shots and found this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42919657@N03/6772971470/in/photostream
From where we were standing, which is almost directly South of the El Capitan picnic area, it was impossible for us to discern the difference between stains on the cliff face and the tiny stream of water coming down. I’m pretty sure that if we were at Rowell’s location or at the Southside view with the rest, we would have seen it late in the afternoon. When we shot from Southside on Friday, you could easily see the broad patches of moisture reflecting the sunlight off of the cliff face. But when we changed locations as an experiment, it all disappeared . You really do want to be East of those falls if you want to see ANYTHING in years like this.
As for your post about it being your fault that larger crowds are coming, it really wasn’t too bad for a three day weekend. I would guess that there were 200 or so photographers in various spots trying to get the falls, but the the crowds and traffic seem limited to those primary spots as noted in your book and app. When I shot at other locations throughout the weekend, I really felt that the crowds were rather sparse. It might have been the 40 percent chance of rain on Saturday that killed the big crowds, but I guess we’ll find out this weekend if it is still clear and sunny. A LOT more people are talking about horsetail after that story came out, so I would expect bigger crowds next year…unless the weather is bad.
Here’s my shot from Friday on the Southside:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtsacprof/6914997961/
More than a few of my contacts wrote notes telling me that they had just seen a story on it over the weekend. Even my 88 year old mom was talking about it before I showed her my photo. I guess the news is officially out! Hopefully you’ll see a bump in sales of your app as a result. š
Thanks again for the app, your books, and the very helpful info in your blog posts!
Cheers,
Bill
Michael, I’ve never been to Yosimite but will put that and Horsetail on my “bucket list”. Since the Associated Press article appeared in today’s paper there will probably be many others who will do the same! (They should have used one of your photos instead of the AP one since they quoted you!)
James, unfortunately there probably will be more photographers next year. Even before the AP story and the MSNBC story last Friday the volume of aspiring Horsetail photographers was rising every year, and no doubt the publicity will only fuel that. I’m a little worried about what might happen actually, since the crowds are already a problem. I’m partially to blame for this, since I put Horsetail in my book, and now the app, and did that interview with the AP reporter. But Horsetail fever seems to have a momentum all it’s own, and I think all this would have happened with or without me.
It is a wonderful thing to see, much better in person than in photographs. I was with a student last night who had never seen it before, and he was amazed by it, as I was, even though I’ve watched it many times before, with more water. So on one level I’d love it if more people could witness and appreciate this striking natural phenomenon. But since the February sunset light on Horsetail is a natural event, not conducted in a 50,000 seat stadium, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to accommodate the number of people wanting to view and photograph it.
Michael, you are not to blame, nature is! As more outdoor enthusiasts (photographers in particular) discover our National Parks, crowds become a problem. Take Rocky Mountain National Park, for instance, which restricts access to Bear Lake in the summer by shuttle bus only. The same is true of the Maroon Bells and Maroon Lake area. That is the main reason that my wife and I usually only visit these “off season”. The problem with Horsetail would seem to be that there is a very narrow February window in which one can view (and photograph) the light phenomonen. My guess is that busses will soon be necessary.
James, indeed, photography is becoming more and more popular, and overcrowding has become a problem at many of the “iconic” views. You mention a couple, and I’ll add Mesa Arch in Canyonlands NP at sunrise, and Delicate Arch in Arches NP at sunset. Then there’s South Lake outside of Bishop in early October. I’m sure there are many more that I’m not aware of or can’t think of right now. Busses for Horsetail may be a good thing.
Time to get further away from roads, I guess. I suppose it’s a bit elitist to find it sad that so many of us follow in each others’ footsteps and sometimes trample the things we love. I think the “First Light” book and your workshop on more hidden parts of Yosemite are steps in the right direction. I’ve always wondered about sunset on the Tuolumne falls….
Hello Michael
I am enjoying your latest ebook on Exposure for Landscape Photography and was interested in your view of the relative merits of various metering options. I have a Nikon D700 and have used Aperture Priority on most of my shots. Recently, I attended a Rocky Mountain School of Photography weekend workshop and the instructors suggested using Manual/Spot metering. Others have suggested Matrix metering. Your Ebook comments suggest a CW approach…..I want to improve my approach relative to mood within exposures and would appreciate your guidance.
Best regards,
Victor
Glad you’re enjoying the book Victor. As for metering modes, as I say in the book, center-weighted metering gives you virtually the same readings as Matrix or Evaluative. Either of those modes will work fine with aperture-priority automatic or manual exposure settings. Spot metering requires using manual mode and having some understanding of the Zone System (or a variation of it) to work properly.
As for relative merits, I use spot metering and the Zone System because that is the most precise method. But they all suck. Honestly I think light meters are outdated technology. A histogram is a much better way of finding the right exposure, which is why I emphasize histograms in the book. If I had live view with a histogram on my camera (and a robust battery!) I’d never use a light meter.
Without a histogram in live view, a meter is essential for getting you in the ballpark, and I use spot metering and the Zone System because that gets me in the right ballpark more quickly. But once I’ve made the first exposure for a scene I ignore the meter and use the histogram to make further adjustments to the exposure. If you use the histogram then any metering or exposure mode can get you to the right exposure; for me, spot metering in manual mode with an understanding of the Zone System gets me to the right place more quickly, but that might not be the case for everyone.
As for mood, there is some leeway for making a photograph lighter or darker in the field to create a certain mood if you’re photographing a low-contrast scene. You can use the histogram for this too – push the histogram a bit to the left if you want a dark mood, or to the right if you want a lighter mood. But you don’t want to push the histogram so far left or right that you lose shadow or highlight detail. With higher-contrast scenes you have less latitude, because only one precise exposure may give you both highlight and shadow detail – that is, nothing pushed up against either end of the histogram. So with medium- and high-contrast scenes I just try to make the exposure as light as possible without losing highlight detail – that is, to move the histogram as far to the right as possible without pushing anything against the right edge, or seeing blinkies. (With some cameras you can even get away with small areas of blinkies, as detail can be recovered from these areas in software.) By making the image as light as possible (without overexposing anything) you’re ensuring that you have the maximum shadow detail. In higher-contrast scenes I’m just trying to record the most information – i.e., the most shadow and highlight detail – and then I can always make the image lighter or darker in software if that seems to convey the right mood.
Wow, I should write a book! Hope that helped.
Hello !
Beautiful light and colors !
The fall is amazing !
Thanks Jean-Christophe!
I’m debating whether to go Tuesday and Wednesday the 21st & 22nd. Its supposed to warm up, but is there enough snow on El Capitan to create a worthwhile waterfall?
Rich, I expect the water level in Horsetail will be about the same as in these photos that I made last week. If that seems worthwhile to you than you should go. If that’s not enough water for you then I wouldn’t expect a sudden increase in the flow.
Hi Michael,
Enjoyed the updates as always…Horsetail Fall is definitely something to see in person! I am glad I got to see it when I did, because I’m not sure I’d enjoy the crowds.
While there isn’t too much water flowing in your first shot, I really like that mist floating in front!
Thanks Vivienne – it is indeed something to see in person. Not sure when you got to see it, but the crowds aren’t noticeably larger this year than the last few years. Glad you like the first photo, the mist was a nice touch. There’s exactly the same amount of water in that photo as in the others, but this is a good illustration of how good light can highlight even a small amount of water. In that first photo with the mist, the cliff behind the upper two thirds of the waterfall is lit, so the water doesn’t stand out very well. In the last two that cliff is almost entirely shaded, so whatever water is falling stands out more clearly.
We watched it in 2010, and, yes there were crowds. I’m just thinking to the future! š
I enjoy your newsletter. Thank you for the update on this beautiful phenomena. I keep hoping to get there one year.
I have never seen this phenomenon live–maybe I will one day, maybe I won’t, but there are some images taken by an artist that are simply worth owning because they captured that “Je ne sais qua.” Your moonlight take of this view is one such, and not to stray far off, but so is your “Autumn Sunrise.” Numerous times I have met photographers attempting to capture something close to that image as well.
Gery
I wish we had better conditions this year. I had just posted on the FB page wondering if any photogs knew if the conditions were in our favor due to the weather the past couple of week, but no response. I know capturing this beautiful sight takes patience, but I’m not going to sit in a parking lot for 7 hours (just to have a legal spot to park!) only to have no water. š I was able to capture the moon ascending over the mountains last night, but there was a considerable amount of fog that made for both beautiful and frustrating pictures lol! I had to keep adjusting my settings!
If anyone has had any luck this past weekend or yesterday, please let us know! I’d like to capture it, but, Mother Nature can never be predicted. š Thanks all!
Alyson, I just posted a photograph on this blog from Sunday, so that should give you a good idea of the current conditions.
Good to know. I hope that the water does continue to flow for the next few days as I’d like to capture it. May I ask what settings you used considering the conditions we’re having?
Thanks Alyson, and good luck. If you’re referring to the most recent image of Horsetail Fall I posted, it was 1/180th sec. at f/11, ISO 800. But the settings don’t depend on the water level, but rather on the amount of light, and some other factors of course, like whether the subject is moving (which it was for Horsetail) and whether there is any depth of field to consider.