In the Moment:
Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog

A Rare Storm

Half Dome and Bridalveil Fall during a clearing storm, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

Half Dome and Bridalveil Fall during a clearing storm, Yosemite NP, California

Something rare happened last Tuesday: it rained. We’ve received very little rain here in the central Sierra since January 1st, but on Tuesday Yosemite Valley got .43 inches – not exactly a deluge, but something.

Claudia and I went up to Yosemite Valley on Tuesday afternoon, hoping to find some interesting light. We did see a faint rainbow at one point, but then clouds closed in, and it rained steadily until after sunset. We drove home in a downpour (and actually our town of Mariposa got more rain than Yosemite).

The next morning I rose early and drove out to the Merced River Canyon, hoping to find fog enveloping some of the late-blooming redbuds. But the fog and mist in the canyon hovered at least a couple hundred feet above the canyon floor – above redbud level – so I kept driving up to Yosemite Valley.

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Live Lightroom Q&A

Redbud and oaks, Merced River Canyon, CA, USA

Redbud and oaks, Sierra Foothills, California

Next Saturday (April 2nd) I’ll be conducting a live Lightroom Q&A webinar. This is a chance for members of our Education Center to ask me any Lightroom-related question!

You can become a member of our Education Center by purchasing one of my Lightroom courses. My latest course, Lightroom’s Masking Panel: In Depth, is only $20! Or check out my other two courses: Landscapes in Lightroom: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide and Landscapes in Lightroom: Advanced Techniques.

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My Top Photographs of 2021

The votes are all in and counted, and here are my top photographs of 2021!

We had a great response this year: 562 people looked through my initial selection of 45 images and voted for their favorites. A big thank you to everyone who took the time to look through these photographs and voice your opinions! I also really appreciate the kind words so many people posted in the comments or sent by email. I wish I could respond to everyone, but please know that I’ve read them all and am very grateful for all your support.

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Autumn Into Winter

Frosted aspens, Colorado, USA

Frosted aspens, Colorado

When posting my nominees for best photos of 2021, I realized that I hadn’t posted some of my favorites before. That’s especially true for images I made this fall. We traveled to Yellowstone, Colorado, Utah, and the Oregon Coast, with little break in between trips, and not much time to process everything and post the images.

For me, one of the special treats this autumn (among many!) was the opportunity to photograph autumn aspens with snow. I did write about our brief trip to the eastern Sierra in early October, where I got to photograph some colorful aspens coated with snow. And then we got to do that several more times in Colorado.

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My Best Images of 2021: the Nominees

Happy New Year!

It’s become a New Year’s tradition on this blog to pick my best images from the past year, and once again I’m inviting you to help me make these difficult choices. I’ve posted 45 of my best photographs from 2021 below, in chronological order. After you look through these, please use the form at the bottom of this post to list your ten favorites.

Please don’t post your votes in the comments, or send them by email, because they won’t be counted! Use the form at the bottom of this post instead.

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