by Michael Frye | Dec 7, 2012 | Announcements
Clearing storm, dusk, Tunnel View, Yosemite
I’m pleased to announce that The Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite will be presenting an exhibition of my photographs from January 6th to March 2nd, 2013. The show will be titled “Yosemite Meditations,” and will feature new work and some of my classic Yosemite images.
There will be a reception at the Gallery on Saturday, February 16th from noon to 2:00 p.m. — early enough for photographers to attend the reception and still have time to photograph Horsetail Fall afterward. I hope to see some of you there — mark the date on your calendar!
— Michael Frye
by Michael Frye | Dec 4, 2012 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
Upper and lower Yosemite Falls with a rainbow
For 20 years my wife Claudia and I lived in Yosemite Village, right underneath Yosemite Falls. In spring, when full from snowmelt, the roar from the fifth-highest waterfall in the world was the background music to our life in Yosemite Valley.
In late summer and autumn Yosemite Falls diminishes, sometimes dwindling to a wet stain on the cliff below Yosemite Point. This year it dried up even earlier than usual, a casualty of last winter’s meager snowfall.
But last week a series of warm, wet storms soaked northern California. Yosemite Valley received almost seven inches of rain between Wednesday morning and Sunday evening. Yesterday, after the storms finally departed, I drove up to Yosemite Valley, stepped out of my car at Swinging Bridge, and heard that familiar sound: the rumble of Yosemite Falls. It’s back, and so are all the other waterfalls in the Valley. It seemed more like May than December, except that the grasses were brown, and the trees were mostly bare with lingering splashes of fall color.
One of Yosemite’s photographic ironies is that in spring, when the thunder of Yosemite Falls rattles windows in Yosemite Village, the sun only hits the fall during the middle of the day. In winter the sun strikes the upper fall with beautiful, warm, low-angle light shortly after sunrise. You can even see rainbows from the right spot. But of course the flow is usually low during these colder months — except, that is, when heavy, warm rains fall, like they did last week.
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by Michael Frye | Nov 21, 2012 | Announcements
Upper Yosemite Fall and rainbow, December 2005
We all have a lot to be thankful for. Today, I’m especially grateful for all of you. I really appreciate your readership, comments, and support. Your participation, insights, ideas, and passion for photography make writing this blog fun!
And… I’m thankful for water. A few small storms have recently revived Yosemite Falls after a long absence, and it’s good to have it back. Last winter was exceptionally dry, so I’m hoping that the storms continue, and we have lots of that precious resource, water, throughout this winter and spring.
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, with good food and lots of love in the company of family and friends. Don’t eat too much. Okay, it’s Thanksgiving — eat as much as you want!
— Michael Frye
by Michael Frye | Nov 15, 2012 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
Oaks in El Capitan Meadow yesterday
During last weekend’s snowstorm I saw maples and cottonwoods dropping leaves in bunches, and wondered how much fall color would survive. But while teaching a private workshop yesterday I saw that there was still some good color in Yosemite Valley. The oaks are in great shape, as you can see from this photograph in El Capitan Meadow that I grabbed yesterday afternoon. Most of the dogwoods also kept their leaves and their color. But the maples are now mostly bare, and some of the cottonwood leaves changed from vibrant yellow to rusty brown. Strangely though, some dogwoods, cottonwoods, and oaks are still partially green. We even saw some dark green cottonwoods near Swinging Bridge—an odd sight for November 14th.
While the peak color has passed, those green leaves suggest that we might still see some good fall foliage in the valley for another week or two. It’s been a strange, late, yet beautiful autumn in Yosemite.
— Michael Frye
Related Posts: Early November Magic in Yosemite; A Beautiful Autumn in Yosemite; Autumn Progress in Yosemite
by Michael Frye | Nov 13, 2012 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
Sunset from Tunnel View, Saturday, 4:48 p.m.
My friend Jeff Grandy talks about “edges of seasons” — how the transitions between seasons can create great opportunities for photographs. Early November in Yosemite Valley is one of those transition periods, as fall blends into winter. Autumn color lingers in the oaks and cottonwoods, the sun tracks lower and creates interesting lighting angles, and sometimes the first winter storms generate clouds, mist, or even snow. It might be my favorite time of year in Yosemite.
This year the autumn color was late, but exceptional, with all four major species of deciduous trees turning at the same time. That in itself would be great, but then, at the peak of fall color, a storm brought snow last Thursday night, Friday, and Saturday. Friday was gorgeous, but Saturday was even better: a snow squall ended just before sunrise, the sun broke through shortly afterward, and soon we had a classic Yosemite clearing storm combined with snow and fall color.
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