Outdoor Photographer Contests Winning Shot is from Yosemite

This years Grand Prize winner was Cameron Teller who took this stunning shot of El Capitan and Horsetail Fall in February.

Cameron Teller: I traveled to Yosemite National Park in February 2014, specifically to photograph the annual phenomenon at Horsetail Fall, where, for just a few days, the evening light narrows down to a vertical strip highlighting the fall briefly before disappearing. It turned out I was a little early in the month for the event because there weren’t nearly as many photographers as I had expected. With my small group of traveling companions, I anxiously set up my gear in the valley floor in the afternoon, with my lens pointed up to the wispy waterfall plunging down the face of El Capitan, that iconic monolith so loved by Ansel Adams and fearless rock climbers worldwide.

The presence of low clouds and fog worried me, and I fretted that they would prevent the illumination of the rock at the crucial moment. But the field of light on the granite persisted, and as it narrowed, my heart began to race because I realized the roiling clouds were imparting a thrilling, romantic drama to the scene! All conditions were coming together perfectly. Just before sunset, a puff of mist drifted out of the waterfall, catching a golden hue from the twilight, and in that second, the magic happened.

Awesome shot!

For more information on the contest and to check out the other photos in the contest visit Outdoor Photographer Magazine.