Storm clouds over Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

Storm clouds over Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Yosemite Valley has been exceptionally pretty lately. Last Wednesday some dramatic clouds rolled in, and it’s been a great year for dogwoods.

The dogwoods in Yosemite are pretty consistent performers. They always bloom, regardless of how wet or dry the previous winter has been. But some years are better than others, and this is one of the better ones I’ve seen recently, as most of the trees have more blossoms than usual. The dogwoods arrived early this year, and all of them are now leafing out, but the flowers were still fresh-looking yesterday. In another week or so they’ll start to look bedraggled in the valley, though they should just be starting to bloom at higher elevations along highways 41 and 120, and in the Tuolumne Grove of giant sequoias.

Temperatures are warm for the end of April, and the waterfalls are going strong. The flow will probably peak this week; after that most of the snow will have melted at higher elevations, so the water levels will gradually diminish. The Glacier Point Road is scheduled to open Friday, and the Tioga Road is expected to open May 11th.

I’m starting my Spring Digital Camera Workshop tomorrow, and I’m sure we’ll have a great time photographing dogwoods and waterfalls. I’ve already been out scouting and photographing, and you’ll find a few new dogwood images below that I made either last Thursday or yesterday. Also, the image at the top of this post was made last Wednesday from Tunnel View when those dramatic clouds rolled in.

— Michael Frye

Related Posts: Dogwoods and Lunar Rainbows; Light and Mood With Intimate Landscapes

Dogwoods over the Merced River at sunset, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

Dogwoods over the Merced River at sunset, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Dogwood in late-afternoon light along the Merced River, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

Dogwood in late-afternoon light along the Merced River, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Backlit dogwood, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

Backlit dogwood, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author and photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to YosemiteYosemite Meditations, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters, plus the eBooks Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, and Exposure for Outdoor Photography. He has written numerous magazine articles on the art and technique of photography, and his images have been published in over thirty countries around the world. Michael has lived either in or near Yosemite National Park since 1983, currently residing just outside the park in Mariposa, California.