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
And to you and yours a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!
This Coloradan is back in Buckeye Country for Christmas where the grass is still green and the rains have been falling. I need some snow!
Jim
Thanks Jim, and Merry Christmas to you too!
Michael, as usual, your lovely wife is absolutely correct! This has a gorgeous, ethereal Christmas feel; your patience really pays off! Merry Christmas to you and Claudia!!
Yes, she’s often right. 🙂 Merry Christmas to you and Chris!
Thank you for your kind message for Christmas. My wife and I will be spending the day with our family mostly on the lake here in Taupo, New Zealand. I very much enjoy your messages and have just received from Amazon your book Landscapes in Lightroom. Merry Christmas to Claudia and you.
Peter
Merry Christmas to you too Peter!
Merry Christmas to you and Claudia, Michael! Indeed, your photo is very much reminiscent of the season.
And thank you for sharing your knowledge and images with us throughout the year. You are the gift that keeps on giving. 🙂
Nice, thanks John. Merry Christmas to you too!
What an amazing, hauntingly beautiful shot! You have an incredible gift!
I can’t wait to go back to Yosemite!
Thanks so much Diane!
What an appropriate photograph for Christmas! Magical and mystical too. Thanks to you for another wonderful year of photography. May you and Claudia have a lovely Christmas!
Thanks Karl, and Merry Christmas to you too!
Wishing you and Claudia a sweet and spirited Christmas! Thanks for all your countless, tireless, intrepid treks to my favorite National Park to capture endless, serene beauty. Turn this photo into a Christmas card and I’ll be your first buyer! God bless!
Thanks Ann – Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Feliz Navidad Michael my best wishes for you and family, too.
mARTin
Thanks Martin – Feliz Navidad!
Wishing You and Claudia a Very Merry Christmas! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and images!
Thanks Marvin – Merry Christmas to you too!
Stunning as ever. Joyful Noel y Feliz Navy dad.
Thanks Malcolm – Merry Christmas!
Michael,
Best wishes to you and Claudia.
Yet another breathtaking image. You have a rare gift for revealing great beauty, often suffused with an etherial quality which, like the best music, can transport one to a space removed from the problems of this fraught world.
Your website is a joy to visit throughout the year.
Anton Neilson.
Thanks so much Anton, and best wishes to you too!
Michael,
Merry Christmas to you and your family, and of course to Yosemite!
Thanks Bruce, and Merry Christmas to you too!
An image full of beauty and joy, befitting the holidays. All the best to you and Claudia this Christmas season. And may your New Year be happy, safe, and full of amazing light.
Thanks Jerry, and Happy New Year to you!
Michael I want to wish you and yours a Blessed Christmas. I enjoy your work, and send many of your posts along for others to enjoy also. Yosemite is on my bucket list. Some Day…
Thank you Shirley – Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
December 27, 2015
Good morning, Michael,
Your photograph of Yosemite by the setting moon is striking in its beauty, but it has me puzzled.
It seems to have been taken fairly close to 6:30-6:45 am. If that is the case and the camera is looking to the east, then I would suggest you photographed Venus in the morning sky, not Jupiter. At that hour Jupiter is nearly overhead, while Venus is much closer to the morning horizon.
Venus, well known as both the Morning Star and the Evening Star (at different times of the year,) is the brightest “star” in the sky, though it is a planet, not a star. It won’t be long before we begin seeing Venus in the evening sky, just before sunset.
Please correct me if I am wrong
Thanks Anthony, I’m glad you like the photo. I’m not sure why you thought this photograph was made at at 6:30-6:45 a.m. It was actually made at 1:30 a.m. on December 20th. The moon set at 1:45 a.m. on that night. I used the StarWalk app to figure out which planet that was, and it clearly shows Jupiter in that part of the sky at that time.