by Michael Frye | Nov 26, 2013 | Composition, Photography Tips, Vision and Creativity
Moon rising between El Capitan and Cathedral Rocks from Valley View. What’s the least interesting part of this image?
The best compositions are simple; they present only the essentials, and leave out extraneous clutter. The most common mistake in photography – by far – is including too much in the frame. Anything that’s not adding to the photograph’s message is detracting from it.
To help simplify your compositions, ask yourself, before you press the shutter, “What’s the least interesting part of this photograph?” Try to identify the weakest area of your composition, and find a way to get rid of it. Then, once you’ve done that, ask the same question again: “Now, what’s the least interesting part of this image?” And get rid of that. And keep doing that until there’s nothing left that you could possibly cut out without losing something vital.
To give you some practice, look at the photograph above. What’s the least interesting part of that image? And if you got rid of that, what would be next – what’s the next least interesting part of the photograph?
I’ll give you a minute to think about it. When you’re ready, take a look at this next photograph, and answer the same question: what’s the least interesting part of this image?
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by Michael Frye | Jan 12, 2012 | Photography Tips, Yosemite Photo Conditions
Moonrise from Glacier Point Saturday evening
In my post last Thursday I mentioned that there might be a good opportunity to photograph the moonrise from Glacier Point on Saturday evening. So Claudia and I went to Glacier Point that night, where we met lots of photographers. It was nice to see familiar faces, and meet some online acquaintances in person. Thanks to all of you who came up to me and said hello!
Of course in between socializing we all photographed the moon rising behind Half Dome. My favorite image from this evening is the panorama above (stitched together from five separate frames). If you were there, I’d love to see the images you made, so please post a link in the comments. And if you photographed the moon somewhere else, I’d like to see those images too!
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by Michael Frye | Jan 5, 2012 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
Ice with reflections of cliffs at sunset, Yosemite, January 1st, 2012
It’s been a strange winter so far in Yosemite. Actually the word “strange” doesn’t do it justice—try weird, wacky, or even freakish. No measurable precipitation has fallen in Yosemite Valley since November 20th. There’s little snow in the high country, and the Tioga and Glacier Point roads are still open. The previous record for the latest closing date for Tioga Pass was January 1st, so with every snowless day that passes we’re setting a new record. And there’s no precipitation in the forecast for the next week.
But, as always, unusual conditions bring unusual opportunities. You can find interesting ice abstracts along Bridalveil Creek and the Merced River, like the one shown above that I made a few days ago while teaching a private workshop. And we have unprecedented access to the high country in January, and a chance to make some unusual moonrise images over the next few days. (more…)
by Michael Frye | Aug 10, 2011 | Travels and Stories
Rising Moon, Gates of the Valley
Not every photo has an interesting story behind it, but the approaching full moon reminded me of the eventful day I had before making this image from Gates of the Valley in Yosemite.
I had been skiing at Badger Pass, and while gliding to the top of the Red Fox run I saw a snowboarder out of the corner of my eye. He was facing left, making a right turn into my path, and moving fast. He clearly didn’t see me and I didn’t have time to turn, so I yelled, “Look out!” and braced for impact.
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by Michael Frye | Feb 8, 2011 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
Horsetail Fall, February 22nd, 2010
It’s here—almost. The window of best light on Horsetail Fall will begin around February 12th and continue until approximately February 22nd this year. The big questions is how much water will be in the fall.
Horsetail Fall is fed by snow melting from a small area on top of El Capitan. While there was plenty of snow up there in December, we’ve had only one small storm since January 2nd, and much of that early-winter snowpack has disappeared. Horsetail has a decent flow right now, indicating that there’s still some snow on top of El Cap, and I think there will be enough to last through the window of best light—but it might be a close call. If the snowpack holds up, and the warm, dry weather continues, it could be a banner year for Horsetail Fall photographs, with many clear sunsets.
For more details about photographing Horsetail Fall, see this article on my web site, or previous blog posts here and here. And check out the time-lapse video of Horsetail that Steve Bumgardner just posted.
Meanwhile, Yosemite Falls is still going strong, with exceptionally high flow for February, and excellent early-morning light. That light starts to shift soon—by the end of the month it’s not nearly as good. But for the next week or so the sun will strike the upper fall early, creating golden light on the water, and the chance to see rainbows from the eastern end of Cook’s Meadow.
Just to make things more interesting, there will be a full moon the night of February 17th, right in the middle of the Horsetail window. In Yosemite Valley the best opportunities for moonrise photos occur one to three days before the actual full moon date. I recommend using The Photographer’s Ephemeris to figure out the the specifics, but it looks like the moon might be visible near Half Dome at sunset on the 15th from the eastern end of the valley (Cook’s Meadow and the Ahwahnee Meadow). The evening of the 16th you might be able to see a moonrise from Tunnel View. So if you’re in Yosemite one of those days you’ll have to choose between trying to photograph Horsetail Fall or the moonrise.
If you get any good photographs of Horsetail, a moonrise, or anything else in the park, I’d love to see them, so please feel free to post links in the comments. Good luck!
