by Michael Frye | Jul 28, 2019 | Light and Weather, Yosemite Photo Conditions
ice fingers, Yosemite. 200mm, 1/4 second at f/16, ISO 100, focus-stacked and blended with Helicon Focus.
I always try to drive over Tioga Pass right after it opens in hopes of finding still-snowy peaks, and melting ice on some of the high-country lakes. This year’s big snowpack delayed the full opening of Tioga Road until July 1st, so I thought there would still be lots of snow up there. But when we drove over the pass on July 2nd we found less snow and ice than I expected. The peaks had some snow, but not as much as in 2017, and the lakes near the road were ice-free.
Later, while scouting for our high-country workshop, I did find some ice on higher lakes, away from the road. And our workshop group got to photograph a small patch of ice on one lake before it all melted. I think if we had arrived at that lake one day later the ice would have been gone.
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by Michael Frye | Jul 21, 2019 | Workshops
Sunset glow on the Tuolumne River, Yosemite. On our last evening some high clouds to the west turned orange and red at sunset, reflecting that golden glow into the water. 35mm, 1/2 second at f/16, ISO 500.
Claudia and I just got back home after spending about ten days in the eastern Sierra and Yosemite high country for our Range of Light workshop.
We borrowed the name of this workshop from John Muir, who famously called the Sierra Nevada “The Range of Light.” It’s worth reading the full quote – Muir at his best:
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by Michael Frye | Jul 11, 2019 | Composition
Ridges and peaks above the fog in the Sierra Nevada foothills, California (170mm)
One of my most popular posts was about creating a sense of depth in landscape photographs. In that post I talked about the most common formula for creating depth: a near-far juxtaposition with a wide-angle lens. And then I looked at other, less-common ways of creating depth, like atmospheric effects, perspective lines, and using an elevated vantage point to show a foreground, middle ground, and background. (If you haven’t read that post I recommend doing so; you’ll find it here.)
Creating a sense of depth in a two-dimensional medium like photography can be challenging. There’s no question that the wide-angle, near-far formula works, and in general it’s easier to make photographs with depth using shorter focal lengths rather than longer ones. Telephoto lenses are often better suited to compressing space, and finding two-dimensional patterns and designs out of a three-dimensional world.
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by Michael Frye | Jun 30, 2019 | Announcements, Yosemite Photo Conditions
Sun breaking through mist, Yosemite, July 2011
Tioga Pass will be opening fully tomorrow, July 1st – one of its latest opening dates ever. For the past week or so the pass has been open on a limited basis, from 10 to 11 a.m. and 3 to 4 p.m. each day, with no stopping or “recreating” allowed. But starting tomorrow it will be open 24 hours, with stopping and recreating – including photography! – permitted.
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by Michael Frye | Jun 26, 2019 | Announcements
Clearing storm by moonlight from Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
I’m pleased to announce that Kirk Keeler and I will have an exhibit of nighttime photographs at The Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite from June 30th to August 17th. Called “Yosemite at Night,” the show will offer a different perspective on this park by showing its iconic landscapes under the light of the moon and stars.
The gallery will be holding an artist’s reception on July 24th from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. The Ansel Adams Gallery is located next to the Visitor Center in Yosemite Valley.
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