In the Moment:
Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog
by Michael Frye | Dec 15, 2010 | Critiques
“Rabbitbrush and Storm” by David Thomas
First, my new eBook, Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, will actually be released tonight at 1:00 a.m. PST, not today as I said previously. I’ll have more details in my next post tomorrow morning.
On to the critique…
This week’s photograph was made by David Thomas near Bishop, California, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada.
Light
David said that he and his dad were driving north on Highway 395 when he noticed a storm gathering over the Sierra crest beyond this dense field of rabbitbrush, “perfectly arranged, waiting to be composed.” The clouds, falling rain, and patch of blue sky provide a dramatic background, and the yellow flowers add an eye-catching foreground. There’s actually not much sun in the scene, but that works well here, especially on the rabbitbrush, where sunlight would have created harsh shadows and visual confusion. The soft light brings out the yellow color of the bushes and helps simplify the scene. The combination of blue sky and yellow flowers creates a nice warm-cool color contrast.
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by Michael Frye | Dec 2, 2010 | Critiques
“Wild Goose Overlook” by Travis Villa
Composition and Light
This week’s photograph was made by Travis Villa in Glacier National Park, Montana. Travis wrote on Flickr, “This is one of the most spectacular sunrises I have ever seen, complemented by an already beautiful location. I felt very grateful to have a good balance (not too many or too few) of clouds in the sky that morning.”
Indeed it is a spectacular scene. Wish I had been there! The color and light are dramatic; I especially like the clouds over the pointed peak on the right half of the frame. (I’m sure someone knows the name of the peak.)
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by Michael Frye | Nov 30, 2010 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
Half Dome and El Capitan, sunrise
I can’t remember seeing so much snow in November. Saturday brought another storm, and six inches of new snow to the valley floor. I went out in the blizzard Saturday afternoon to photograph snowy trees (my wife Claudia posted a photo of me in the Ahwahnee Meadow on my Facebook page). The storm cleared during the night, and Sunday was another one of those great Yosemite days—a beautiful sunrise, and fresh snow everywhere. The photo above was made from Tunnel View shortly after sunrise, and I’ve included a couple of other photos from the day below. As you can see in the last image, there is still, amazingly, some fall color in spots.
Curiously there were few other photographers in the valley. Only two other people captured the sunrise from Tunnel View—locals Evan Russell and Walter Flint. I spotted a few tripods later in the day, but was surprised there weren’t more, especially with such great conditions on a holiday weekend. Maybe no one could get reservations near the park. Or, perhaps perhaps people were actually spending time with their families instead of devoting every spare moment to photography. Imagine that! Well, with luck we’ll get many more photogenic storms this winter.
Golden reflections in the Merced River
Snow falling from oaks, Ahwahnee Meadow
by Michael Frye | Nov 23, 2010 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
Another cold storm arrived early this morning. Rain turned to snow at my house in Mariposa about an hour ago, and the sky is full of big, fat flakes. I was in Yosemite Valley yesterday afternoon, and found about a foot of wet snow in the meadows. There could be another foot before this latest storm ends. Looks like we’ll have a white Thanksgiving!
There’s still some nice fall color in Yosemite Valley, especially in the eastern end. The oaks adjacent to Cook’s Meadow and the Ahwahnee Meadow have retained most of their leaves, and you can find colorful dogwoods between Curry Village and the Ahwahnee Hotel.
From the comments on my previous post it sounds like many of you braved the slippery roads and made it up to Yosemite this past weekend. It was a beautiful weekend, and I bet some of you got great photos! I’m always interested in seeing what people have captured, so please feel free to include links to images in the comments.
Sunset clouds over Cathedral Rocks yesterday evening
by Michael Frye | Nov 18, 2010 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
Forecasters are
expecting a cold stormto arrive this weekend. The snow level is predicted to drop to 4000 or 5000 feet on Saturday, and possibly lower on Sunday. Yosemite Valley, at 4000 feet, may get its first snow of the season.
While the fall color is past peak, the oaks have kept most of their leaves, so we could see that rare combination of snow and fall color this weekend.
In the meantime, a stretch of warm weather has allowed Tioga Pass to reopen, but it will probably close again when the forecast storm arrives around Friday night.
It could be a great weekend for photography in Yosemite, but if you come make sure you’re prepared for winter driving! Four-wheel drive is very helpful, but you’re required to carry chains even if you have four-wheel drive.
I may be in the valley on Sunday, so if you see me be sure to say hello. Good luck!
