Photo of the Day: 2 Shots of Horsetail Fall by Chuck Cagara

Chuck Cagara over at MagicalLightPhotography.com sent me 2 beautiful shots of Horsetail Fall complete with a very cool narrative of his experience.

After being disappointed during several outings over the past two weeks, we ventured forth again today after closely monitoring the weather and satellite reports. It looked like a reasonable expectation of moderately clear skies at the sunset time.

While we did not enjoy the trickle of deep red that sometimes reveals itself after official sunset, we were more than happy to find the winds creating a nice updraft that blew the water into a misty veil well out from the rock face.

For those needing a little refresher about the wonderful phenomenon, here is an excerpt from a newspaper article I had published in Feb. 2007:

“…For approximately two weeks each February, the position of the orbit of the earth around the sun creates a mesmerizing display on El Capitan’s Horsetail Fall. The angle of the setting sun illuminates the wispy ephemera of the waterfall while leaving the adjacent rock face of El Capitan in shade – sort of our own version of “Solstice at Stonehenge.” Visitors to Yosemite became more cognizant of this annual phenomenon after the late adventurer and photographer Galen Rowell captured a photo, almost by accident as the story goes, in 1973. Ever since, tourists and photographers have been hoping to witness the glorious sight.

For the wonderful “fire fall” effect to be seen (the phrase is an homage to the nightly Curry Village Fire Fall that was ended in 1969,) two elements must be present – proper light and sufficient water.

Depending upon the amount of water coursing over the fall and the cloud cover or lack thereof at the horizon during sunset, the color of the scene can range from a dull grey to rich golden to multiple shades of orange and right up to the “holy grail” of Horsetail devotees – a stunning ruby red. One year might produce plenty of running water but poor light, while another might withhold the water amidst brilliant sunsets! Thus, the annual, ever-hopeful trek to see what Nature will provide.”

Tonight’s photos were taken at 5:42 and 5:46pm respectively on Feb. 27, 2009.

Thanks for sending those over, Chuck.

Chuck’s got some really beautiful shots up on his website, MagicalLightPhotography.com/. If you’ve got a couple moments please, take a look and if you really like Chuck’s work consider buying a print.