YosemiteBlog.com

Video: Yosemite Snow in August by Jorma Rodieck

Loyd — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:06:26 +0000

Good buddy Jorma who runs HalfDome.net happened to be back in Yosemite and caught this weekends snow while doing some hiking. This is a double treat for Jorma to be back in Yosemite and to get snow. He just recently moved to Hawaii where they don’t get too much of the white stuff.

Video by Jorma Rodieck on Vimeo.

Norsigian Art Expert Comes Forward Agreeing that Negatives Aren’t Ansel Adams’ Work

Loyd — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:48:12 +0000

Robert C. Moeller III, a former curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and one of the experts hired by Rick Norsigian, to evaluate the negatives believed to have been lost works of Ansel Adams, stated that after further review he had concluded that the images Mr. Norsigian purchased were indeed taken by photographer, Earl Brooks.

“I made a mistake,” said Mr. Moeller, a former curator of European decorative arts and sculpture at the Boston museum, who was part of the team that in July announced the discovery of what it called Adams’s “lost negatives.”

Moeller said that his reversal last week came after examining four pictures presented by Marian Walton, niece of Earl Brooks. Walton said her uncle took at least one of the photos Norsigian and his team have represented as the work of Adams. After reviewing additional high resolution images of Yosemite also created by Brooks, Moeller agreed the photos had indeed taken by Brooks.

“It didn’t take me long to say they were same camera, same time, same man,” Mr. Moeller said in an interview. “My report, which said there was a high probability that Ansel Adams took the photos, has got to change.”

(via NYTimes)

Video: The Hike up Half Dome as Seen by an iPhone

Loyd — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:32:58 +0000

Here’s a pretty good video shot on an iPhone of the trip to the top of Half Dome. It’s jerky and somewhat pixelated but the narration is good and it gives you a pretty good feel for what’s in store if you’re going to try the hike yourself.

Photo of the Day: The View From Above by Tony Immoos

Loyd — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:08:26 +0000

Many people come to Yosemite Valley and marvel at how many stars there are. Of course, Yosemite doesn’t have nearly the light pollution as most metropolitan areas, but today’s Photo of the Day by Tony Immoos proves that yes, even Yosemite has light pollution.

Great photo, Tony.

Photo by Tony Immoos.

Snow in August

Loyd — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 03:48:55 +0000

For those of you that missed it, it snowed Saturday night in Tuolumne Meadows and many other places in the Sierra. Yes, snow in August. Enough that people got up in the morning to find snow on top of their tent.

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find any photos online of the event yet. If you were there and have photos please feel free to send them over. You can email me at loyd(at)yosemiteblog.com

Thanks!

Photo of the Day: Of Lakes and Flowers by Joe Dsilva

Loyd — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:06:45 +0000

I found this beautiful Photo by Joe Dsilva while browsing around Flickr and instantly knew it was going to be Photo of the Day. I started to write a caption but the one Joe wrote himself is even better and sums it up perfectly – GET OUT OF THE VALLEY!

Eastern yosemite is dotted with lots of crystal clear lakes, which makes for amazing hikes, And this time of the year, some of them are even the right time for flowers. Just the way it always tends to be when you are not hauling your macro lens with you.

Well said Joe. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos with us.

Photo by Joe Dsilva.

Photo of the Day: Sunset on Tuolumne by Sathish Jothikumar

Loyd — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:59:45 +0000

I could have written a long paragraph about Sathish and how awesome his photos always are and how many times we’ve picked him for photo of the day and how beautiful today’s Photo of the Day is. I could have, but I’m not going to. All I’m going to say is “This one is beautiful on black.”

Now go see for yourself.

Photo by Sathish Jothikumar.

Video: Cloudscapes of Yosemite by Sathish Jothikumar

Loyd — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:00:56 +0000

Here’s a great time lapse of Yosemite by one of our favorite contributors, Sathish Jothikumar

Every summer afternoon, like clockwork, the ominous clouds towering over the the spine of the mighty Sierra Nevada in Yosemite National Park brew a fresh new thunderstorm. Winds blow aghast at the higher elevations, foreboding the impending conglameration of the low-pressure moisture-laden atmosphere, ready to dump its next load into the innumerable valleys separated by granite peaks towering into the sky.
To the average mountain dweller (read the pikas, the marmots, the deers and the bears), this is an everyday occurence to which they respond by heading out to hiding places under rocks and vegatation. But we puny humans (like me) try to seek out the highest point possible if only to capture the flow of water vapor – not an intelligent move!
The motion of clouds is quite mesmerizing. As it swirls and bubbles and expands and contracts and moves across the polarized deep blue sky, it creates patterns that, while seemingly motionless to the naked eye, when sped up under the guise of a timelapse, reveal its true form – an ever morphing articulation that like an amoeba never stays still even for a second. Observing its motion high in the thin atmosphere of the Sierras and trying to capture its fluid advance is something that I am drawn to like a moth to bright lights!
Here are the results from a weekend of shooting in the High Sierras while trying to acclimatize for a peak bagging the week thereafter. These were from two hikes, one to the top of Cloud’s Rest in Yosemite and the other to the backcountry region of Gaylor Lakes.

Awesome video, Sathish. Thanks for adding it to the Yosemite Blog Group Pool.

Video by Sathish Jothikumar.

Photo of the Day: Bridalveil Fall and storm clouds by dgblitwin

Loyd — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 03:50:37 +0000

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from dgblitwin who took this awesome photo of Bridalveil Fall and some really ominous looking storm clouds.

Very cool.

Photo by dgblitwin.

OMG It’s a Full On Double Rainbow by Bill Amend

Loyd — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:04:41 +0000

Dane from over at Business-Opportunities Weblog sent me this cool Foxtrot cartoon the other morning. Unfortunately I was caught up in a large project so I didn’t have time to post it until just now but it made me laugh.

You can check out the full size here on Foxtrot.com.

Thanks, Dane
.

Photo of the Day: Flashlights on Half Dome by Tony Immoos

Loyd — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:31:45 +0000

Tony Immoos sent me a link to this really cool photo he took from Olmsted Point the other morning just before the sun came up. I’ll let Tony tell you about it in his own words.

I was at Glacier Point Saturday night with Jennifer Franklin (jentwo) and her parents till about 1:30ish watching for meteors, when they left I then drove to Tioga road not really having a plan. Somewhere along the way I thought of a shot to try at Olmsted Point at sunrise so I stopped there to get a little bit of sleep before the sun rose. At about 5:25 I woke to see the sky getting brighter and sat up to look at Half Dome, much to my surprise I could see the flashlights from pre-dawn climbers on the top and on the cable route of the rock.
I quickly set up my camera gear hoping to capture the moment even though it was nearly dark and focus would be nearly impossible. I aimed my vehicle at Half Dome and started flashing the headlights hoping to get a response from the climbers which I did almost immediately. I’m not 100% sure the people on top flashed back but the person that was on the cables definitely saw me and flashed his/her light in return.

Definitely check out the photo full size and check out the rest of Tony’s awesome photos on Flickr.

Awesome shot, Tony.

Photo by Tony Immoos.

Ansel Adams Trust Sues Rick Norsigian for Selling Prints and Posters

Loyd — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:27:36 +0000

A print made from one of the photographic plates found at a Southern California garage sale by Rick Norsigian and reported to possibly be the work of Ansel Adams. Photo courtesy MSNBC.

In another twist to the “lost Ansel Adams negatives” story, a group representing Ansel Adams is suing Rick Norsigian for selling prints and posters using Ansel Adams name.

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in San Francisco by The Ansel Adams Publishing Trust, seeks to stop Rick Norsigian and PRS Media Partners from using Adams’ name, likeness and trademark with prints and posters made from the negatives Norsigian bought at a garage sale 10 years ago.

The suit alleges that Norsigian and his partners are infringing on the Ansel Adams trademark and deliberately confusing consumers by falsely advertising the prints as being Ansel Adams work. The Trust has asked the court to order the defendants to pay restitution of their profits from any sales, as well as award any other monetary relief.

The suit comes after Rick Norsigian set up a website selling prints made from some of the negatives, from $45 for a poster to $7,500 for a darkroom print with a certificate of authenticity.

The suit also says there is “substantial evidence” suggesting the negatives were created by another photographer, Earl Brooks, whose niece came forward just days after the Norsigian story broke in the media to say she had a photo of her uncle’s that looked identical to one of the negatives.

The lawsuit states that even if they were Adams’ negatives, the prints and posters being created from them aren’t the photographer’s works, “but are derivative works at best.”

“Mr. Adams was fond of likening a negative to a composer’s score and the prints to its performance — each performance differs in subtle ways,” the lawsuit said. “The photographic prints and posters offered for sale by defendants … are not an Ansel Adams ‘performance.’ “

Winters of My Life (video) by Jonathan Burhop

Loyd — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:45:51 +0000

For over 35 years Howard Weamer has spent his winters doing something most of us would only dream about, he tends the ski hut at Ostrander Lake in Yosemite’s backcountry.

Here’s a great video by Jonathan Burhop and Marlon Singleton about Howard Weamer reading from his journal and talking about why he loves to do what he does. I think from the imagery in the video it’s pretty obvious why he loves it. Awesome video. Well worth the time to watch. I wish it was longer. It’s so interesting.

Winters of My Life from Jonathan Burhop on Vimeo.

Evening light over Half Dome and Tenaya Canyon by Gary Crabbe

Loyd — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 04:12:30 +0000

When preparing for today’s Photo of the Day I did something I haven’t done before, I asked people on Twitter to send me links to their photos if they were interested in being Photo of the Day. I must say, all the photos people sent me links to were awesome. In fact, I had a difficult time choosing. But, in the end I picked this beautiful shot by Gary Crabbe at Enlightened Images (http://www.EnlightPhoto.com). I think you’ll agree that the colors are just stunning.

Thank you everyone who sent in your links. I really appreciate it. And thank you Gary for letting me use your photo as Photo of the Day.

Gary’s photos are for sale so please, if you have a blank space on your wall that needs filling, think about getting one of his beautiful photos. When you buy local artists prints you and the artist both win. Head over to and have a look around. You’re probably going to find something you like (I presonally dig this one). You an find him at EnlightPhoto.com.

A Real Yosemite Rainbow (the video) by Jorma Rodieck

Loyd — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 03:55:41 +0000

Jorma from HalfDome.net, the site that captures all the webcam images and compiles them into time lapse videos, looked through the archive from Saturday and found the video of the rainbow over Half Dome. He was also gracious enough to put the video on Vimeo so I could embed it here for everyone to see.

Thanks, Jorma.

Half Dome Rainbow from Jorma Rodieck on Vimeo.