In the Moment:
Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog

Morning Light, Gates of the Valley

Morning light, Gates of the Valley, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

Morning light, Gates of the Valley, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

After the big rainstorm last week I drove up to Yosemite Valley early Wednesday morning. I knew there wouldn’t be fresh snow, but I hoped for some mist and interesting light. It turned out that mist was scarce, probably due to below-freezing overnight temperatures, but there was a little bit here and there.

I stopped at a couple of places, and found myself at Gates of the Valley (aka Valley View) as the sun started to hit El Capitan and light up the clouds above. After making a few photographs with fast shutter speeds, I decided it would be more interesting to smooth out the water with a very slow shutter speed. My seven-stop neutral-density filter did the trick, allowing me to lengthen the exposure to 15 seconds. Thinking about the nighttime panorama I made from this spot recently, I decided to try that again, using my 24mm Rokinon lens in a vertical orientation, and making four exposures to capture the broad sweep of this scene. After a few minutes the light actually got more interesting, with a thin beam of sunlight raking across the face of El Cap.

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That Moonlit Night

Half Dome, North Dome, and the Merced River by moonlight, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

Half Dome, North Dome, and the Merced River by moonlight, Yosemite. This photograph was made about 11:30 p.m. When I first arrived at this spot Half Dome was completely obscured by fog. But I waited, and soon Half Dome and North Dome started to appear through the mist. I made a series of images with similar compositions as the clouds and mist shifted, but I particularly liked the light in this one. Sony A7rII, Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 lens, 20 seconds at f/4, 4000 ISO.

I promised to post more moonlit images from last Saturday night and Sunday morning, so here they are. In case you missed them, I posted a photograph from that night made at Gates of the Valley here, and another image from Tunnel View here. But it was such a beautiful night, with fresh snow, and mist that stayed around for a long time, so I photographed for almost four hours, and was able to try many different viewpoints and ideas. I’ve included extended captions to give a little more information about each photograph here.

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Merry Christmas!

Yosemite Valley lit by the setting moon,  with Jupiter above, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

Yosemite Valley lit by the setting moon, with Jupiter above, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

To all of you who celebrate the day, Claudia and I wish you a very Merry Christmas! We hope you have a wonderful holiday, full of peace, joy, and the love of family and friends.

This is another moonlit photo from Saturday night (actually early Sunday morning). After making the image Gates of the Valley that I posted on Sunday, I headed up to Tunnel View. When I arrived the valley was hidden by a thick bank of fog, but eventually the mist parted, revealing stars, Jupiter, and cliffs lit by the setting moon. Claudia thought this had a Christmas feeling to it, and I had to agree, so it seemed like an appropriate photograph to post today.

We hope you have a great holiday season!

— Michael Frye

Biggest Storm in Years

Over the last couple of days Yosemite received a big dose of rain and higher-elevation snow. It was one of those “atmospheric river” events, with subtropical moisture streaming into the northern part of California. Usually when this happens satellite photos will show a direct, straight line of clouds extending from somewhere near Hawaii toward California. But this time the river took a detour, starting north of Hawaii, then bending up toward the Gulf of Alaska and back down to Northern California. This screen shot from the Upweather app at 2:00 p.m. yesterday shows that path:

The "atmospheric river" aimed at northern California at 2:00 p.m. yesterday

The atmospheric river aimed at northern California at 2:00 p.m. yesterday

Since Sunday afternoon Yosemite Valley has received over 5.5 inches of rain. We got over 3.5 inches at our house in Mariposa. That’s easily the biggest storm in this area since 2011, before the drought.

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Gates of the Valley by Moonlight

Gates of the Valley by moonlight, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

Gates of the Valley by moonlight, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

A small storm arrived yesterday morning. It looked like it might clear before sunset, but by early afternoon it became obvious that showers would linger throughout the day. There was, however, another window of opportunity, as the two-thirds-full moon was due to set at 1:45 a.m. When the clouds started to break up around 9:00 p.m. I drove up to Yosemite Valley.

This storm was a little warmer than the previous ones, bringing mostly rain instead snow to Yosemite Valley, but in typical fashion the temperature dropped at the tail end of the storm, and I found a light dusting of snow. I arrived just before ten o’clock, almost four hours before the moon was due to set, so this was the lunar equivalent of an early-afternoon clearing, with the moon still high overhead. But there was abundant mist, and moonlight breaking through clouds, so it was quite beautiful. And the mist lingered for hours, so I stayed and kept photographing until after the moon set.

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