by Michael Frye | Aug 11, 2024 | Light and Weather
Sunset clouds, Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite NP, California. Light from the setting sun caught some virga (rain that doesn’t reach the ground) falling from a passing thunderstorm.
I’ve been lucky to live in or near Yosemite for the last 40 years. It’s such a wonderful place. And for about five months of the year, when the Tioga Road is open, I can easily get up to the cool, uncrowded, beautiful high country. It’s always a treat to breathe the thin, pine-scented air while hiking to a secluded alpine lake, or a field of wildflowers.
Last year the Tioga Road didn’t open until July 22nd, its latest opening date ever, which limited the time we got to spend in the high country. But this year Claudia and I got to hang out up there for extended periods before, during, and after our Starry Skies and Range of Light workshops. While not at the record levels like 2023, we did have a good snowpack this year, keeping the water levels high in the creeks and rivers, and creating some nice wildflower displays. We also saw monsoonal moisture sometimes pushing up into the mountains, creating clouds, showers, and thunderstorms, which makes things exciting – and makes for interesting photographs. In other words, it was really beautiful.
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by Michael Frye | Jul 28, 2024 | Light and Weather
Sunbeams over Negit Island, Mono Lake, California. 91mm, 1/500 sec. at f/16, ISO 100.
Claudia and I recently returned from our annual workshop in the Yosemite high country. It was super fun, as usual, with a great group, and lots of interesting weather and clouds.
Before and during the workshop I photographed several sunrises and sunsets at Mono Lake. One of the things I love about Mono Lake is that it’s a great setting for light shows created by passing weather – clouds, virga, sunbeams, rainbows, and even lightning. The lake’s expanse allows you to include lots of sky, and capture some of that sky reflected in the water.
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by Michael Frye | Apr 21, 2024 | Travels and Stories
Crashing wave, Monterey Peninsula, California. I used a 1/2 second shutter speed to create some blur and sense of motion, while still preserving some of the shape and texture of the wave.
Because of our eclipse journey I haven’t had a chance to write about the Out of Big Sur conference yet – a big omission, because it was such a fun event! Great people, wonderful co-instructors, great locations, and well-organized by Chris Smith, Chrissy Donadi, and the rest of the Out of Chicago team.
We all had lots of fun photographing the Monterey Peninsula, Point Lobos, and the Big Sur Coast. Though I live fairly close to these areas, I’ve actually spent more time photographing coastal areas farther north near the northern-California redwoods, and along the Oregon Coast. So it was good to get re-acquainted with the Monterey and Big Sur region, and discover some new locations I hadn’t photographed before. It’s such a beautiful area.
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by Michael Frye | Apr 11, 2024 | Travels and Stories
Total solar eclipse, April 8, 2024, northeast Arkansas
The “diamond ring” and solar flares as the sun emerges from a total solar eclipse, April 8, 2024, northeast Arkansas
I started thinking about the 2024 solar eclipse right after our last one in 2017. Claudia and I, along with our friend Robert Eckhardt, viewed that eclipse from the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho, and it was such an amazing experience I immediately wanted to do it again.
When I looked at this 2024 eclipse, the best part was the length – four-and-a-half minutes of totality in Mexico and Texas, compared with only a little over two minutes in Idaho in 2017. Two minutes seemed way too short.
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by Michael Frye | Mar 31, 2024 | Light and Weather, Travels and Stories
Dunes in a sandstorm at sunrise, Death Valley NP, California
Death Valley is a dynamic place. While the appearance of other landscapes frequently changes because of weather and seasonal changes, in Death Valley the land itself undergoes routine transformations caused by wind and water – especially the infrequent, but highly destructive, flash floods.
Last August Tropical Storm Hilary dumped over two inches of rain on Death Valley, washing out roads, closing the park for two months, and filling Badwater Basin with water – a resurrection of ancient Lake Manly. We visited Death Valley in late December, and got to see and photograph that lake, though it was shallower by then. (You can see some of my photos from that trip toward the bottom of my year-end-photos post.)
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