Moonrise from Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
During my Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom workshop last week for The Ansel Adams Gallery we photographed two moonrises, including this one on Tuesday from Tunnel View. The moon appeared right over Cloud’s Rest, between Half Dome and El Capitan, just before sunset – a spectacular sight. I’ve included two versions here: a black-and-white image just as the moon climbed into view (below), and a color version when the moon rose a little higher (above).
Naturally I used PhotoPills and The Photographer’s Ephemeris to determine when and where the moon might be visible. It’s amazing how accurate these programs are; both showed the moon rising just to the right of the peak of Cloud’s Rest, and that’s exactly where it appeared.
— Michael Frye
Full moon rising over Cloud’s Rest with Half Dome, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
Related Posts: Moonstruck; PhotoPills Giveaway!
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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, 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 5: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide. Michael 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.
So beautiful!
For me Yosemite is mystical
As John Muir in 1912 said “But no temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. Every rock in its wall seems to glow with life.”
I can’t wait to get back there to see it again in April.
Thanks Denise, and Yosemite is indeed a special place.
Michael, those are beautiful! Can I ask what the zoom was on each and if that was full frame or crop?
John, my EXIF data says that I used a 70-200mm lens for both, with a 91mm focal length on the top image, and 200mm on the bottom photo (with a full-frame sensor). Yes, telephoto lenses for landscapes — how radical! 🙂
Yeah, that’s another thing you mentioned in the podcast I need to work on. 🙂
Thanks Michael. If I’m there during a moonrise I’d like to try one. Still hoping to go this winter if snow ever shows up.
Great photos! Did you use a 70-200 for these?
Thanks David, and yes, I used a 70-200.
Despite not having much in the way of snow, at least we still get amazing winter light! It has been so mild that Mara and I went for an overnight above the Snow Creek Switchbacks. I really had to watch that red channel on my histogram.
Hugh, as you know, there are always things to photograph in Yosemite, regardless of the weather!
I wish we had landscapes like this in the UK!
Thanks James. Yosemite is unique, but there are great landscapes in the UK too — I know because I see lots of photographs of them!