Aerial view of Grinnell Lake from Grinnell Glacier Trail – Many Glacier, Montana.

After spending the morning hours photographing sunrise on Swiftcurrent Lake, I took off on a scouting hike up the Grinnell Glacier Trail. I normally don’t shoot much during the day time, but I took out my camera and tripod when I saw this mesmerizing view: sun to the left, waterfalls to the right, towering peaks in front, glaciers in the distance, dramatic clouds above, and the spectacular turquoise water of Grinnell Lake below. Although I used a 2 stops soft edge GND filter, the contrast was still too extreme: the mountains were in dark shadows. I needed a digital blend to bring out some details on mountains while retaining some of the sky textures. I also boosted contrast to reduce the distance haze on the left side.

Visiting Glacier NP in the near future? Definitely don’t miss this hike. The glaciers will be gone soon. Curious about the turquoise glacier lake water? Look up glacier flour.

PS: I’m on the road again this weekend – will resume posting more next week. Have a good weekend.

A long exposure of McWay Falls in late afternoon light.

The McWay Falls in Big Sur is one of my most favorite waterfalls in California. I lost track of how many times I’ve attempted to photograph this gentle stream of water plunging 80 feet into a picturesque turquoise cove nested along the rugged Big Sur coastline. If you haven’t seen it, there are many photos on Flickr tagged with ‘mcwayfalls’.

My natural tendency when I photograph McWay Falls is to take out my wide angle lens to capture a wide perspective of the entire cove. This time, I decided to change my approach by getting a long exposure closeup of this waterfalls. I did a few exposures ranging from 2-10 seconds during bright day light, then took off before sunset. I was tired and wanted to get home before midnight.

Early winter morning light on Upper Yosemite Falls seen from the Merced River

I shot this Upper Yosemite Falls back in February. My initial plan that morning was to shoot a sunrise at the valley view point, but when I arrived at my intended location, there was about a dozen photographers there. I couldn’t find a decent spot to setup my tripods, so I just packed up my gears and left to find another location. I ended up here on the Merced River by the Swinging Bridge. I stood in the icy water waiting for the light to reach the valley floor, hoping to catch the rising mist, but the clouds rolled in and blocked most of the soft light for the rest of my morning.

As far as post processing on this image, I had to do some dodging to correct the 0.6 split ND filter effect on the top half of the image (too dark). This is one of those images that I think a 1 stop soft edge ND filter would work better than my 2 stops hard edge ND filer.

Here is another view of this spectacular waterfalls seen not too far from where I shot the above image: Upper Yosemite Falls in Winter (BW).

Yosemite has been transforming itself into a modern day theme park to accommodate mass tourism. I remember visiting the park during the peak season … congested traffic for miles, crying infants, visitors packed like sardines into shuttle service buses … Although I often think that Yosemite has lost some of its allure, once in a while, I still find myself walking the valley floor. During the winter months, Yosemite still shows its quiet grandeur to those who love the park for what it is.

I took a few decent photos during my visit last weekend, but this black and white version of the Upper Yosemite Falls is one of my favorites. When I shot this image, I was thigh deep in the soft snow, waiting for the morning light to come through. There was nobody else around but my camera and I. In the quietness of a cold winter morning, my bio rhythms slowed down to match with my surrounding. I stood still, taking it all in.

I returned to Yosemite looking for a quick escape, and I found what I was searching for since dawn: a moment of stillness alone in the middle of some of the grandest display of Mother Nature’s wonders. People often ask me why I keep on coming back to Yosemite, I simply say because I like it. It is hard for me to explain my desire to loose myself in order to find myself again …

Thunderous cracking sound from the distance waterfall awakened my senses. I wiggled my toes and dug myself out of the snow. On my way back to the swinging bridge, another photographer greeted me, “I saw you deep in the snow, and I am glad I didn’t go out there!” I smiled, “It’s easy to get lost in a beautiful morning”. He nodded, and we parted way.

]]> http://www.photofool.com/2009/02/23/upper-yosemite-falls-in-winter-bw/feed/ 47 http://www.photofool.com/2007/03/25/bridal-veil-falls/ http://www.photofool.com/2007/03/25/bridal-veil-falls/#comments Sun, 25 Mar 2007 08:05:45 +0000 photofool http://www.photofool.com/2007/03/25/bridal-veil-falls/

Been meaning to post this shot sooner, but the work week was too much. For the past few days, after getting home from work, I didn’t want to touch the computer. Anyway, this shot concludes my day in Yosemite Valley: Spent the early sunrise hour near the base of El Capitan; Took seven other folks up the Mist trail during the middle of the day; Stayed behind and waited for the evening light over Bridal Veil Falls while others left the park for dinner.

The best part about this trip? My dad actually spent almost two hours with me out on location. He got too see what I actually do to get my photos. After I lined up my tripod, filter and took some test shots to check my meter reading. I stood there, folded my arms and waited.

Dad: [getting impatience] “What else are you waiting for?”
Me: “I’m waiting for the light to get softer. It will paint the rock face with a rich gold color.”
Dad: “Really? The rock actually changes colors?”
Me: “Yes. I’m hoping that the rock face will glow when the light gets lower.”
Dad: [pacing back and forth ...]
Me: “The light should get better in about 45 minutes … maybe an hour.”
Dad: “I never knew how much efforts you put in these photos.”

I guess seeing me waiting for the light to develop and how I operate my camera gears, he has a better appreciation for my hobby. When I was young, he wanted me to take piano lesson, but I wanted to play sports. Although I never grew up to be the musician that he wanted, I’m sure he now sees the artistic side of me. Perhaps the next time I give him a print, he’ll appreciate it a little more than “oh, that’s nice.”

[f22, 0.5 second, 22mm, iso 100, filter: 3 stops split nd]

Definitely a more challenging location to shoot. During the day, the sky was too bright and it was quite hazy; during sunset, the wasn’t enough light in the cove. My 3 slots Cokin-P filter holder creates severe vignetting at 17mm. Have yet to get a printable shot of this cove.