Rainbow and sunset clouds, Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite NP, California. 35mm, 1/2 sec. at f/16, ISO 100.

If I were to make a list of my favorite places on earth, the Yosemite high country would have to be near the top. There’s something about the thin, pine-scented air, intense light, vast expanses of polished granite, and lakes sparkling in the sun…

I’ve spent a lot of time in this area over the last 40 years. I feel like this land is part of me, and me part of it. Some spots are as familiar to me as Yosemite Valley, and yet I’m still finding new places to explore.

This year Tioga Pass opened while Claudia and I were up in the redwoods, so we didn’t get to visit the high country while snow and ice still lingered on the peaks and lakes. But since we returned from the redwoods we’ve made several day trips up there, and also managed a couple of extended stays on the east side in Lee Vining, allowing us to get a good dose of that clean, thin mountain air. And the high country has had some spells of clouds, showers, and thunderstorms to add interest to the sky and motivate me to get out there.

Here are a few high-country photos from this summer. And it looks like there’s more interesting weather arriving next week…

— Michael Frye

Cascade and reflections, Tuolumne River, Yosemite NP, California. 104mm, 0.7 seconds at f/16, ISO 100.

Peaks and reflections at sunrise, Inyo NF, Sierra Nevada, California. 21mm, 1/45 sec. at f/16, ISO 100.

Paintbrush, Inyo NF, California. 7.5mm, 1/420 sec. at f/2.2, ISO 20 (iPhone 12 Pro Max).

Red mountain heather and metamorphic rock, Inyo NF, California. 7.5mm, 1/120 sec. at f/2.2, ISO 125 (iPhone 12 Pro Max).

Related Posts: Just Another Summer in the Yosemite High Country; Deep Freeze in the High Country

Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author or principal photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, Yosemite Meditations for Women, Yosemite Meditations for Adventurers, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters. He has also written three eBooks: Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, Exposure for Outdoor Photography, and Landscapes in Lightroom: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide. Michael 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.