A Climber on El Capitan

El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

Yesterday's "Where's Waldo" beaver photo reminded me of this picture I posted on Facebook a few years ago that my sister and a few others really enjoyed.  Jim and I were trying to spot climbers on El Capitan.  We did actually find a few with our naked eyes.  We couldn't find the climbers that way, but we could find their gear which is usually a little bigger than the climbers and often colorful.  I took this photo thinking that dark spot in the middle might be a climber.  It wasn't.  However, I did find a climber in this picture when I got home.  I'm not going to give any hints as to where he is.  You'll probably need to go full-screen mode to find him, but he's clear enough in the photo to make out the straps of his harness, so you'll know it when you see him.

For a sense of how this photo fits into El Capitan, I've grayed out the section of the cliff photographed above in this following picture of the cliff.

El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

Owl in the Valley

Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/5, 15s, ISO: 100

I'll grant you he's hard to see, but there's an owl in this photograph.  He's on top of a tree in the middle of the picture.  He flew up there while I was taking the photo before this one and stuck around at least long enough for me to get this picture.  What a nice owl.

Looking Up to Glacier Point

Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/4, 1/160s, ISO:160

That's Glacier Point up at the top of this cliff.  I don't know what this cliff face is called, but I'm pretty sure it has a name.  Everything has a name in Yosemite.

I've taken a number of pictures of this cliff and have never been happy with any of them until this one came along.  This is one of my favorite shots from last weekend.  I'm not sure if anybody else will appreciate it, but it's been dogging me for a few years so to finally get a shot I liked of it makes this particular photo a little special to me.

Snow in Yosemite Valley

Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/7.1, 1/50s, ISO: 100

Kind of a throw away Yosemite scene here.  There are no big-name monuments.  No waterfalls.  Just snow, sky, trees and cliffs.  I kind of like it, though.

Yosemite Falls

Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/8, 1/60s, ISO: 100

The clouds opened up for us a bit in the afternoon on Sunday.  I caught it at a nice moment here, I think.  The tree in the foreground really works for me.  I don't know about anyone else.

Bridalveil Fall in Winter

Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/6.3, 1/40s, ISO: 100

If you ask me, winter is the best time of year to visit Yosemite.  It's tough to match the beauty of this place at any time of year, but winter has the valley at her peak of elegance.  The snow isn't so fresh in this photo, but it still has all of the elements I like about Yosemite's winter scene.  Snow.  Trees.  Cliffs.  Waterfalls.  Kids playing in brightly colored outfits.

It's interesting. I generally tend to grumble about the kids in the valley.  Look to past--and future, I'm sure--posts for that.  In winter here kids are in their element.  They're sledding and throwing snowballs and building snowmen.  I tend to like Yosemite's winter kids.

Half Dome

Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

Pongo and I are heading up to Yosemite.  If all goes well we'll be doing something we've never done before: spending the night in the valley.  I'll have my tent, but we'll most likely sleep in the car, assuming there's snow.  If I was going alone I'd be able to say I'm definitely camping overnight.  With Pongo along, I'll have to make sure he doesn't get too cold during the day.  We've done cold weather camping before, even as recently as a month ago at Lava Beds National Monument where overnight temperatures got into the high twenties.  The low tomorrow night is supposed to be thirty, so I know we can handle the cold.  I just have to keep him dry and somewhat warm during the day.  We'll see how it goes.

Tunnel View

Tunnel View, Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, f/10, 1/100s, ISO:100

Can't go to Yosemite without hitting Tunnel View, right?  It was a little too early in the evening for a stand out picture, and the smoke from nearby wildfires made things a bit hazy, but it was what it was.  It's always a spectacular view.

The Backside of Half Dome

Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, 1/100s, f/10, ISO: 100

I made a couple of trips to Glacier Point last year.  The views from there are spectacular.  This particular photo isn't from Glacier Point but from a nearby viewpoint.  Half Dome is on the left with Vernal and Nevada Falls in the middle.

Bridalveil Fall in the Mist

Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm L USM, 1/30s, f/5.6, ISO: 100

There's not a whole lot of water coming off of Bridalveil Fall, is there?  It's hard to believe this is a photo taken in May.  Bridalveil usually runs year round.  I wonder if it will dry up this year.  It's hard to imagine it won't considering how low it looks already.  Maybe the source is an underground spring?  Dunno.  Most creeks and rivers in Yosemite come from snow melt.  I imagine Bridalveil Creek is the same.  Guess I'll have to google it.

The Rainbow Face of Bridalveil Fall

Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

I've posted a number of photos recently of Yosemite in the rain.  There are no rainbows in those pictures.  The only time I've seen rainbows in Yosemite Valley--and I'm not saying they don't appear on rainy days, I just haven't seen any--is on bright sunny days around the big waterfalls.  I've seen pictures of moonbows around the waterfalls, but I've never seen one personally.

So, anyway, this isn't a full rainbow, obviously, just a hint of one.  There were two rainbows at the bottom of the fall.  I'll save that for a different post.

Cascade Falls

Cascade Falls -- Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm L USM, 1/40s, f/5.6, ISO: 500

This is the top of Cascade Falls from a bridge on 120 about a mile or two before the highway enters Yosemite Valley.  The water level is low for this time of year so it's a little light on drama, but it's still a beautiful sight to behold.

Mule Deer

California Mule Deer -- Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II, 1/2000s, f/5.6, ISO: 4000

Deer sightings are almost guaranteed in Yosemite Valley.  I'm not complaining.

Rain on the Merced

Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, 1/40s, f/6.3, ISO: 100

Even foul weather can't spoil the beauty from this spot on the Merced River in Yosemite Valley.  It's a cheap photo opportunity, really, a pullout on the road out of the valley.  I'll take it, though, it's one of my favorite spots to grab a late photo on the way home.

Tunnel View

Tunnel View, Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, 1/60s, f/6.3, ISO: 100

It's hard for me to go to Yosemite and not make a stop at Tunnel View.  It's always crowded there, but it's worth dealing with all of that.  I've seen some amazing photos taken from this spot, but none have ever captured the power and beauty of this place.  In fact, if anything they diminish it.  I forget how big everything is, photos simply can't capture that.

Rain in Yosemite

Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM, 1/40s, f/5.6, ISO: 100

You can't actually see the rain coming down in this picture, but it was.  It was actually raining hard enough I couldn't get out of the car for more photos at this spot.  I took this yesterday on our way out of the valley.  It rained the entire time Pongo and I were there.  I don't mind the rain, in fact I enjoy being out in it especially given how rare it's become over the last few years here in California.  I have to worry about getting the camera too wet, though.  It's not water resistant (although the lens is).  In the past I've taken the SX40 or SX50 along on rainy days.  I've gotten those both so wet they stop functioning until they dry out.  I loaned those out, though.  The SX40 will never return (it was lost) and the SX50 will likely never return (hopefully it's found a home where it will be enjoyed and not abused the way I would use it) so that's not an option.  I need to get my little SD770 up and running again as a bad weather backup.

Color in Yosemite

Bridalveil Fall -- Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, 1/100s, f/7.1, ISO: 100

I recently posted a black and white photo from a similar spot on a different day.  That one was taken earlier in the day before the shadows take over.  The sun was low when this photo was shot, turning the cliffs in the background blue and lighting up Half Dome and the Cathedral Rocks.

I haven't been there in months, I need to rectify that.

Bridalveil Fall

Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon EOS Rebel T5i, 1/200s, f/10, ISO: 100

I haven't been to Yosemite in months.  I need to rectify that.

I shot this photo about a year ago from Tunnel View.  Can't really go wrong from there.  The waterfall is Bridalveil Fall.  It's 620 feet tall, a little guy by Yosemite's standards.  For folks familiar with the Pacific Northwest, It's basically the same height as Multnomah Falls.  Unlike many of Yosemite's waterfalls, this one runs year round.  It will be interesting to see if it can maintain through this summer, though, it's going to be a dry one.

Tree on a Cliff

Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS, 1/80s, f/4.5, ISO: 500

How big do you suppose this tree will grow to be?  This little guy was growing on the side of a granite cliff near Yosemite Falls.

Guy?  Gal?  Dunno.

Anyway, I'm not sure how this little tree found this particular spot to grow.  There's just not much there.  You go, little tree.

Photo selection inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 103, photo #9247.

A Mighty Sequoia

Sequoia -- Mariposa Grove. Yosemite National Park, CA
Canon PowerShot SD 770 IS, 1/320s, f2.8, ISO:80

This is one of my first attempts at capturing one of the giant sequoia trees of the Sierra Nevada mountains.  I was just discovering how difficult that task can be.  Capturing the full tree or at least most of it is hard because you've got to shoot from far away.  Getting in close generally leaves you with either shooting straight up or shooting just the base of the tree.  Both of these types of shots can be interesting and each has its drawbacks.  One of the things that's nice about the forests where you'll find the sequoias is that they're somewhat sparse, which often allows for a spot where most of the tree can be captured in a photo.  Coastal redwoods are generally in more dense forests, so photographing the entire tree often isn't even an option.

I think this was an OK early attempt.  I could do without the tree in the immediate foreground.  I wasn't paying much attention to that kind of thing back then.  It seems a bit overexposed, but I didn't have any control of that with my little pocket camera, especially with a shot like this where I couldn't tease it into a different exposure setting by angling the camera up or down.

Inspired by Geogypsy's Foto Friday Fun 97, photo #2799,