YosemiteBlog.com » Photography in Yosemite

William Neill Exhibit Scheduled at Ansel Adams Gallery

Loyd — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 04:04:53 +0000

I’ve been into photography since I was 8 years old and I’ve taken thousands of pictures of Yosemite with many of them suitable for framing. It’s not one of my photos that hangs above my desk in my office though, it’s a print by William Neill.

I love Bill’s work. He’s a great photographer and his photos of Yosemite are fantastic. That’s why I recommend not missing his upcoming show at the Ansel Adams Gallery. The show starts on July 7 and runs through August 17. The above photo and the post thumbnail are both photos that will be available at the show as well as some of his other works.

You can see more of Bill’s works over at his website and blog WilliamNeill.com and to find out more about the exhibit visit the Ansel Adams Gallery’s Exhibits page.

Photos courtesy of William Neill.

Need Some Inspiration?

Loyd — Fri, 21 May 2010 04:38:05 +0000

If you’ve been planning your summer Yosemite trip and are trying to decide on where to go and what to see there are lots of beautiful images over in the Yosemite Blog Group pool on Flickr to give you inspiration. Check ‘em out.

Photo by RadiHoliday on Flickr.

Dogwoods Hopefully This Weekend

Loyd — Wed, 05 May 2010 14:56:27 +0000

Michael Frye posted a dogwood update on his blog about last weeks cooler weather and its impact on the annual dogwood blossom extravaganza.

Michael Frye: “Last week’s cool weather slowed dogwood development; I didn’t see any in full bloom yet. But the current warm trend should bring them out, and I expect most will be blossoming by the end of this week.”

If you want to get some great shots of the dogwoods here are some locations you’re going to want to check out:

Behind the Ahwahnee
Behind the Ahwahnee there’s a large stand of trees and it’s possible to frame the trees and the building. There’s also one growing along the west side of the building where you can use the stoneworks as a background on close ups.

By the Ahwahnee Tennis Courts
There’s a couple of large dogwoods by the Ahwahnee tennis courts also. The dark pines in the background make for a great backdrop.

Stoneman Bridge
My favorite spot to shoot dogwoods is by Stoneman Bridge just north of Curry Village on the north (Ahwahnee) side of the river. Trees are on both sides of the road and in shade so bring a tripod for closeup work.

Merced Grove Giant Sequoia
The Merced Grove of Giant Sequoia is off the Big Oak Flat Road. The hike isn’t too long and it’s downhill going. Most of the trees are around the old Superintendents Cabin. These usually bloom later as they’re higher in elevation than Yosemite Valley.

Fern Spring
Both sides of the road by Fern Spring have nice stands of dogwoods.

Southside Drive to El Cap Bridge
Southside Drive (eastbond lanes) along the Merced has many pockets of dogwoods. It’s a great little hike. Be careful along the river.

Gates of the Valley
Easily accessibly by car the trees are right along the road by the river and the turnout. Can be hard to photograph during times of peak traffic.

There are lots more dogwoods scattered all over the Valley. One just has to look around.

Photo: Dogwoods by Rosemary Bliss.

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING??

Loyd — Sun, 02 May 2010 04:22:53 +0000

Ok.Granted the tag on the photo says the image was from July 1980 and I’m sure it was hot that year but…LADY WHAT WERE YOU THINKING??

Feel free to add your own caption below.

Photo by Lars Lundqvist from his 1980 trip across the United States.

Did you see the Yosemite Gorilla?

Loyd — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:09:05 +0000

The Heads on Indian Rock. Photo by Randomcuriosity.

I bet you didn’t know there’s a gorilla in Yosemite and it’s right next to the Arch (bet you didn’t know that either).

David (aka RandomCuriosity on Flickr) took this awesome picture of the Indian Rock Arch, the gorilla (first to the left) and another head I hadn’t seen before. He also pointed out something interesting, both heads appear to be facing the same direction.

Great shot, David.

Photographers Brave Cold to Recreate Ansel Adams 1960 Photograph

Loyd — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:32:58 +0000

Photographers join together to tough out the cold while waiting to recreate Ansel Adams’ iconic Moon and Half Dome. Photo by Edie Howe-Byrne.

Last Saturday a rare event happened, one that had photographers lining up in one of Yosemite’s meadows, it was the chance to recreate one of Ansel Adams iconic photographs, Moon and Half Dome.

Don Olson of the Physics Department at Texas State University predicted that the moon and sun would be in the almost identical positions as they had been when Adams captured his shot in 1960.

Michael Frye did a great write up of the event on his blog.

Michael Frye: “In the meadow Saturday were two of Ansel Adams’ former assistants, Alan Ross and Ted Orland. A large group of park rangers took a group portrait, and Delaware North, the park concessioner, even set up a little stand at the edge of the meadow serving free hot chocolate.

There was just one small problem: no moon! The sky was mostly clear, but a persistent band of clouds behind Half Dome hid the moon.

Afterward the Gallery hosted a reception for Alan Ross and his beautiful new exhibit, Visions of Yosemite and the West. I talked with Alan about the contact sheet of images Ansel made that evening in 1960; it’s an unusual glimpse into the thought process of a master photographer. Although this JPEG is small, you can see that Ansel actually bracketed exposures! By four stops! Yes, Mr. Zone System hedged his bets. Wouldn’t you in this situation? Also, he apparently didn’t wrap the roll of film tightly (he made this image with a Hasselblad and 120 film), and there was a light leak. Luckily only the edges were damaged, otherwise the world would never have seen this fantastic photograph.

I was also struck by the different compositions he framed. We tend to think that a master like Ansel would have such a clear concept in his mind that he would only need one composition. And in fact the first frame here is, I believe, the one that became famous (I could easily be wrong about that). But he also pointed the camera at Mt. Starr King, then put on a shorter lens and photographed the top of the Royal Arches cliff and the moon above Half Dome again. If you look closely you’ll also notice that Ansel shifted the camera slightly to the left and right for the first four frames, where he bracketed exposures. Was he unsure about the precise framing? This seems odd since he wrote in Examples that he visualized the cropping from the start. The contact sheet shows that after bracketing those first four exposures Ansel composed an image of Mt. Starr King, then came back to the moon rising above Half Dome, but this time with slightly different framing, pointing the camera more to the left than previously, then more to the right. It seems that he was bracketing compositions as well as exposures.”

Take a Look Inside YOSAR

Loyd — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:32:37 +0000

So how was your day at work? If you’re one of the brave men and women of YOSAR (Yosemite Search and Rescue) there’s no easy way to answer that question. Don’t believe me? Take a look at some of these awesome pictures David Pope has been taking of SARs (Search and Rescues).

Wow! Kind of makes that stack of papers on your desk look a little insignificant.

Looks Like Rain

Loyd — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:20:00 +0000

It sure looks like it’s raining. I don’t see anything on doppler but I hope it is.

It’s Almost Pretty

Loyd — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:11:53 +0000

So the sun is setting and the clouds are overhead. The air still smells of smoke and haze lingers. But even with all the destruction the fire brings, there is beauty in shots like this. With so many homes threatened you don’t want it to be pretty but, you can’t help it. It’s almost pretty.

Something Evil Lurks in Yosemite

Loyd — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:25:12 +0000

This is serioulsy THE most evil looking Yosemite photo I think I’ve ever seen. Nice job.

Photo by Torens.

Photo of the Day: Cub with Mama Bear in Yosemite by Taylor Davis

New Moon on Thursday Means Perfect Conditions for Night Photography

Loyd — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:16:11 +0000

Star trails over Half Dome make for a beautiful and rarely captured scene. Photo by Sathish J..

So starting tomorrow night and continuing for the next few night the moon will be new, meaning you won’t be able to see it. This also means its light won’t interfere if you want to take long exposures at night in Yosemite and catch star trails. With the forecast for the next few days being for clear, warm days and a nice breeze blowing the smoke away, it should make for some great night shooting conditions. I think I know what I’m doing Friday night.

I wonder if there’ll be a crowd at Glacier Point?

Michael Frye Exhibit to Open August 20th

Loyd — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:34:09 +0000

Our good friend Michael Frye, author of The Photographers Guide to Yosemite, has a new exhibit opening at the Ansel Adams Gallery.

Color, Light, and Form, will be on display from August 20th through October 4th. There will be a reception and book signing at the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite Village on Friday, August 28th, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

El Cap in 17 Gigapixels

Loyd — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:52:49 +0000

The view from Glacier Point in 17 Gigapixels is pretty cool but did you notice there’s a really cool view of El Capitan too? You can practically see what type of Cams the climbers are using. Nice!

Room with a View

Loyd — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:34:10 +0000

Except for the time you drank 2 Big Gulps, a Pepsi with lunch and a bottle of water in the car, have you ever seen a bathroom look THIS GOOD?

Thomas Kinkade eat your heart out.

Photo by Hamza Lakhani.

Beautiful Downpour in Tioga Pass

Loyd — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 04:57:09 +0000

I happened to check the Tioga Pass webcam tonight and noticed it’d captured a very nice rainbow during an evening downpour. The timestamp on the photo is a little after 7 p.m. tonight. Awesome photo. I’m glad they have the webcams up and allow everyone to see them.