Wide-Angle Perspective

In my post from May 22nd ("Tioga Pass is Open") I talked about how telephoto lenses can flatten perspective and create abstract patterns. Wide-angle lenses are perfect for creating the opposite effect—a sense of depth in a flat, two-dimensional photograph.

Wide-angle lenses make everything look smaller and further away. They also expand space—they make objects look further apart than normal. You can take advantage of this by exaggerating the size difference between foreground and background to create an illusion of depth. You must get close to something in the foreground, as I did with the rock strata in this photo from Zion—otherwise everything will look small and distant. It also helps to include converging lines, like those in the foreground rocks, to create a sense of perspective. Often a vertical orientation works better than horizontal as you can include a bigger sweep of the foreground.

Full Moon Night Photography Workshop

There's still space available in my Full Moon Night Photography Workshop on July 6th.

I've been interested in night photography for a long time, and have created a rather surreal body of nighttime images using flash and flashlights to illuminate objects in the dark. If you haven't seen this work you can view the nighttime portfolio on my web site. The techniques required to make such complex photos take years to master, but this one-day workshop is a good introduction to this fun and creative arena of photography. I haven't taught many classes on this subject, so this is a rare opportunity to learn some of the essential skills needed to make nighttime photographs. To register or get more information visit The Ansel Adams Gallery's web site.

Summer Wildflowers

Yosemite weather has been unusually cool and wet for the past two or three weeks. It's not uncommon to see afternoon thunderstorms in the summer, but it is highly unusual for it to rain almost every afternoon for close to three weeks this time of year. It makes me wonder how this moisture will affect the wildflowers. I have to believe it will help them, but since I've never seen this much rain before in early June it's hard to say.

Summer is usually the peak wildflower season in the Yosemite high country. Although early bloomers like shooting stars appear in June, flowers are typically most abundant in July at elevations between 7000 and 9000 feet. Heavy snow the previous winter can push this peak back into August. This past winter brought average snowfall, so I'd usually expect an average amount of flowers with the peak in July, but the cool and wet weather might delay the bloom and maybe, just maybe, make the flowers more abundant than usual.

The photograph above was made near White Wolf in July of 2004 after slightly below average winter snowfall.

Hidden Yosemite Valley Workshop

My Hidden Yosemite Valley workshop with The Ansel Adams Gallery ended yesterday. This is the fifth year I've done this class, but the first time we based it in Yosemite Valley. In previous years we stayed in Lee Vining in July and photographed the Yosemite high country, but decided to try something different and concentrate on Yosemite Valley this time.

The weather was rather unusual for June. A low pressure system brought rain and high-elevation snow, closing Tioga Pass briefly on Friday. But in between the showers we had some great photo opportunities—sunbeams on Bridalveil Fall Wednesday, chiaroscuro light and clouds from Glacier Point and Sentinel Dome on Thursday, the sun breaking through late Friday to light Bridalveil and Half Dome, and misty meadows Sunday morning. I told the group yesterday that they had the best light and weather of any workshop I've led. We even got to photograph two bears on Friday!

We had a nice group of people, and had a great time. The photo above shows John on Sentinel Dome Thursday afternoon.

The Other Season

Many people assume that once Memorial arrives Yosemite Valley will be overrun with tourists until after Labor Day. Sure, summer is the most crowded season in Yosemite. But there's a little window between Memorial and the middle of June, the date most kids get out of school, when the valley is still relatively quiet. It's actually a great time of year in the park. The roads to Tioga Pass and Glacier Point are usually open (as they are now), the waterfalls are still full—in fact often at their peak in early June—and the valley wildflowers are most abundant. The accompanying photo shows Cook's Meadow with blooming cow parsnip in early June.

Tioga Pass is Open

Tioga Pass opened Wednesday, and we now have easy access to some of my favorite Yosemite locations: Tenaya Lake, Tuolumne Meadows, and Tioga Pass. I haven't been up there yet, but usually when the pass first opens there's still a lot of snow on the peaks near Tioga Pass, and ice on some of the lakes, making for some interesting photo opportunities. I made this image of melting ice and reflections near Gaylor Lakes (a short but steep hike from Tioga Pass) in 2006.

This photograph is a good example of telephoto compression. Long lenses compress space and make objects look closer together than they really are. This is a good way to create abstract patterns, as in this image where the ice at the top of the frame is actually much farther from the camera than the ice at the bottom, but the visual impression is a flat, abstract design.

Photoshop Tips from Charles Cramer

Charles Cramer is a master digital printer, and has probably forgotten more about Photoshop than most of us will ever know. He just made an excerpt from his Photoshop booklet—the handout he uses for his highly regarded workshops—available as a PDF download. If you're serious about making great digital prints you should read this! And while you're at it you can check out his beautiful photographs.

Lunar Rainbows

Last night I joined the throngs in Cook's Meadow to photograph the lunar rainbow on Upper Yosemite Fall. There were at least 100 photographers around the meadow, and probably many more at the bridge below Lower Yosemite Fall. Like Horsetail Fall in February, lunar rainbows have become a photographic phenomenon. Until recently the most popular place was at Lower Yosemite Fall, but since Don Olson published specific times for seeing the "moonbow" from the Sentinel Bridge in Cook's Meadow this spot has attracted lots of photographers. The big advantage is that it's dry! At the bridge below Lower Yosemite Fall it's impossible to keep mist off the front of the lens.

You can't really see a lunar rainbow with the naked eye. Our eyes don't render color very well in the dark, so at best you can see a bright arc and maybe a hint of color. But the color is there, and film or digital sensors capture it well. One of the reasons that more people haven't photographed lunar rainbows from Cook's Meadow in the past is that you can't really see it from there. With film you'd just have to guess about the position and wait to find out whether you were right. With digital sensors it's easy to just take a photo and see the position of the rainbow.

Last night the moon was bright enough that I could see the rainbow fairly well. Along with everyone else I watched it move down the fall as the moon rose. When the rainbow fell too low, most people packed up (it was 11:30 p.m. after all), but I followed the moon westward and saw an even more vivid rainbow from near the Yosemite Chapel. This photograph was made from that spot. Rainbows form a circle around a spot opposite the light source—sun or moon. Lunar rainbows can be seen on any waterfall that gets moonlight if you position yourself properly. In fact I photographed a lunar rainbow on Castle Geyser in Yellowstone many years ago. Maybe I'll put that image in another post.

Long exposures with digital cameras can create lots of noise, but newer models handle this pretty well. You're usually better off making a long exposure at a low ISO than a shorter exposure with a higher ISO. But with lunar rainbows you don't want to make the exposure too long or the bands of color will blend together. I used a six-minute exposure at f/4 and 100 ISO for the image above. Trying to lighten a dark image will exaggerate noise, so it's best to make the photograph as light as possible without overexposing it. Don't rely on just how it looks on your LCD screen. Since it's dark, the screen will look bright even if the image is underexposed. Use your histogram.

Having said that, a nighttime photograph shouldn't be too bright. You don't want it to look like it was taken under midday sunlight. I actually darkened this image—especially the sky—in software to give it more of a nighttime feeling.

Spring Yosemite Digital Camera Workshop

Last week 12 people joined me, along with my assistants Mike Osborne and Robert Eckhardt, for the Spring Yosemite Digital Camera Workshop sponsored by The Ansel Adams Gallery.  This image of Bridalveil Fall was made by participant Brenda Nehring on Wednesday. On Friday an unusually potent spring storm arrived, but the wet weather actually provided some great photo opportunities. Despite or maybe because of the rain we had a great time. I'll be posting more photos from the workshop on my web site soon.

Dogwoods Nearing Peak

The dogwoods in Yosemite Valley are nearing their photographic peak. Although some are still in that green stage, most are now in full bloom, yet haven't leafed out yet. I made the photo above last Friday near the Ahwahnee Hotel.

The waterfalls got a big boost from Friday's night's rain. Although the predicted minor flooding never materialized, the falls and meadows are full of water. In short, it's a great time for photography in the Valley.

Photographer's Guide to Yosemite

I've been getting lots of questions recently about my book The Photographer's Guide to Yosemite. It's been out of print for several months, but is being reprinted and should be available again in late May. However, The Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite just received 25 copies, so if you call them at 209-372-4413 you may be able to order one before they run out.

On a different note, the dogwoods in Yosemite Valley are progressing slowly because of cool weather. You can find some in full bloom around the Ahwahnee Hotel and old Rivers campgrounds, as well as near Gates of the Valley (Valley View). Many more are still in the "green" stage.

Dogwood Update

The dogwoods in Yosemite Valley haven't fully bloomed yet, but they're progressing. Many are now in their "green" stage, where they sport greenish-yellow blossoms. These will change to white soon, although I don't know exactly how soon. Cooler weather has descended on the Sierra and is expected to linger through next week, so that could slow things down a bit, but I would still expect most of the valley dogwoods to be in full bloom a week from now.

The waterfalls are roaring, but they should calm down a bit with the cool conditions. The Park Service is saying that the Glacier Point Road could open May 1st, however I'm not counting on it as there's precipitation in the forecast, and if any of that falls as snow it would likely delay the opening.

Photoshop and Lightroom

Everyone has heard of Photoshop. It's permeated our culture deeply enough to become both a noun and a verb, as in, "She Photoshopped a telephone pole out of the picture." So when photographers first dive into the digital world they naturally think of Photoshop or it's baby sister, Photoshop Elements, for their image-editing software.

Until recently there wasn't much choice. But in the last few years the landscape has changed, and photographers have many other options. One of the best of these new tools is Lightroom. Actually the full name is Adobe Photoshop Lightroom—it's made by the same people who make Photoshop. Yet despite the name Lightroom seems to be off the radar screens of most photographers.

In the Spring Yosemite Digital Camera Workshop I'm leading for the Ansel Adams Gallery this week I teach both Photoshop and Lightroom. One of my students asked me recently why she should learn Lightroom when she has Photoshop CS3. What can Lightroom do that Photoshop can't?

My answer was: very little. Photoshop is the most powerful image-manipulating tool in existence, and can do anything to a photograph that Lightroom can, and much more. But Lightroom has two main advantages over Photoshop: It's a much better editing, sorting, keywording, and cataloging tool than Photoshop combined with Bridge, and it's easier to use. And while it's not as powerful at manipulating photographs as Photoshop, for most images it's all I need. The image of Mono Lake above, for example, was processed entirely in Lightroom. Having one program that elegantly integrates all these functions takes a lot of friction out of my workflow.

I should point out that I've used Photoshop since 1998 and know it inside and out. So I don't use Lightroom because Photoshop is too complicated for me. But for many people Photoshop is difficult to learn, and Lightroom is a friendlier alternative. I should also add that Lightroom is not for snapshooters. It's for serious photographers who want an easier, more integrated solution than Photoshop. 

There's one more advantage to Lightroom: It's a non-destructive editor. Adjustments you make in Lightroom never modify the original Raw or JPEG file. The adjustments are just a set of instructions describing how you want the image to look, and these instructions are only applied when you export the image out of Lightroom. While Photoshop can be tricked into behaving in a non-destructive way, that's not the way it was designed.

Photoshop is still essential to me for things that Lightroom can't do. But I'd never want to go back to using only Photoshop and Bridge. And I think Lightroom is a better tool for many photographers than Photoshop. It's probably time it appeared on more photographer's radar screens.

Dogwoods and Waterfalls

I've heard reports of the first buds appearing on the dogwoods in Yosemite Valley. This puts them on track for their typical blooming period, which usually begins near the end of April and continues through about mid-May. I prefer to photograph them when they first bloom, before the leaves get large enough to obscure the blossoms. You can't photograph them from behind, as I did in the photograph above, after they're leafed out. If you miss the show in Yosemite Valley, they bloom about two weeks later at higher elevations, like the Tuolumne Grove of giant sequoias.

Of course the main pursuit for Yosemite photographers in the spring is waterfalls. This is shaping up to be a typical spring, which means the peak flow should arrive around the end of May or beginning of June. Meanwhile the water flow will fluctuate with the weather—the warmer the temperature, the higher the runoff.

Yosemite Falls, the big spring attraction, gets basically terrible light this time of year. But the other big three—Vernal, Nevada, and Bridalveil—are all positioned to receive late-afternoon sunlight. You can find rainbows on all three between about 5 to 7 p.m. depending on your viewpoint. The Mist Trail opened recently, giving access to Vernal and Nevada Falls. The trail is usually crowded, but for good reason—in the spring it has to be one of the world's most spectacular day hikes.

Spring Keeps Progressing

The poppies are mostly gone from the Merced River Canyon, but other flowers have replaced them—although in smaller quantities. Lupine, owl's clover, and gilia have formed small carpets throughout the canyon, and the redbud are near their peak. I made this photograph of lupine, owl's clover, and poppies near El Portal on Saturday.

In Yosemite Valley it's still too early for dogwoods. They usually start blooming near the end of the month. Late April is also when the deciduous trees start leafing out. Cottonwoods, alders, and maples turn bright green, while black oak leaves often appear red or orange when they first appear.

The last few days have been warm, but rain is predicted for tomorrow, with snow possible down to 5000 feet on Wednesday. Another weather system is supposed to arrive Friday. This cooler, wetter weather will temporarily reduce the flow in the waterfalls, but help preserve the snowpack for May and June. It's too early to tell how this weather might affect the timing of the dogwoods—for now I still expect them to arrive at their usual time in late April. Of course any rain or snow provides opportunities for clearing storm photographs.

Spring Conditions

Last weekend's storm brought the precipitation total for the season in Yosemite Valley up to 31.35 inches. The average through the end of March is 30.5 inches, so we're a little above that. It looks like it might be a "typical" spring in Yosemite Valley, which would mean that dogwoods would begin blooming around the end of April, the peak flow in the waterfalls would be around the end of May, and Tioga Pass would open just before Memorial Day. Of course the weather in April will have a big influence on all of that.

The poppies in the Merced River Canyon are finally starting to fade, although there will still be some nice patches around for awhile. Some new flowers are emerging, including lupine and dense groves of tri-colored gilia. The photograph above, including poppies and gilia, was made two days ago along the Hite's Cove trail.

Poppies, Redbud, and the Return of Winter

The National Weather Service is predicting a cold, wintry storm to reach Yosemite tonight and tomorrow. The snow level will be high—7500 to 8000 feet—to start, but it's expected to drop as low as 3000 feet on Sunday.

A storm like this always provides good photo opportunities, especially as it's clearing (probably Sunday afternoon or Monday morning). But what will it do to the poppies in the Merced River Canyon?

Overall the poppies still look great. Some of the earliest-blooming spots in the burned area have started to fade, but have been replaced by others. More than replaced actually, as the overall acreage in bloom has expanded. Although the snow level with this storm is unlikely to drop low enough to snow on the flowers, it will still become cold and wet, which might cause some poppies to pack it in for the season. But I don't expect them all to disappear overnight.

Redbud are also starting to bloom in the Merced River Canyon west of Yosemite. Only a few have reached their peak color, but many more should come out in the next week or so.

The photograph above, Redbud and Oaks, will be one of the raffle prizes at the Sierra Foothill Conservancy's Spring Celebration tomorrow from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Michael and Jeanne Adams' house, 5054 Bullion Street, Mariposa. This should be a really fun event, and supports the great work that the Sierra Foothill Conservancy does, so I hope you can stop by if you're in the area. For more information email Bridget Fithian: bridget.fithian@hotmail.com.

Spring Light in Yosemite Valley

The spring equinox is only a few days away, and the light is changing rapidly in Yosemite Valley. In winter the rising and setting sun strikes formations on the north side of the valley like El Capitan, Three Brothers, and Yosemite Falls. In summer the best light shifts to the rocks and falls on the south side of the valley - Glacier Point, Sentinel Rock, Cathedral Rocks, and Bridalveil Fall.

For Yosemite Falls, the best light doesn't match up with the biggest flow. As the water volume grows in spring, the sun rises further and further north, and the light doesn't reach the falls until 9:30 to 10:00 a.m. in April and May.

But Bridalveil Fall is better situated for spring light. From late March through about the end of April the sun sets through a gap to the west, and Bridalveil receives beautiful golden light just before sunset. The accompanying photo was made on March 27th, 2007 from Tunnel View. In May and June the light gets cut off earlier, but it's still nice.

Bridalveil Fall can be photographed from across the river along Northside Drive (location 4 in my book, The Photographer's Guide to Yosemite), Valley View (location 5), Tunnel View (location 8), or from the Bridalveil Fall parking lot and trail (location 7). You can see a rainbow right from the parking lot between about 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. throughout the spring. (Unfortunately the book is temporarily out of print; it should be available again sometime this spring.)

Poppies Update:

The poppies in the Merced River canyon are still going strong. While the earliest-blooming spots - mainly in the burned areas - may start to fade soon, other areas have just started flowering and should last a little longer.

More Poppies

Since my post from February 28th, a little over a week ago, there's been a poppy explosion in the Merced River Canyon. The acreage in bloom has probably tripled. Most are still in the burned area across the river from Highway 140, two to three miles east of Briceburg, where the flowers now reach to the tops of the ridges, but "Grandy's Hill," a bit further east on the highway side of the river, is blazing.

The vantage points looking across the river from the Highway are actually quite good. It's possible to hike east from Briceburg to be on the poppy side of the river, but you'd have to climb up very steep hillsides to be among the flowers and get a decent view. Grandy's Hill and most of the other poppy spots also require steep climbs for a close-up view. While these hills aren't so steep that you'll die if you fall (at least not in most places), you could easily slip and break and ankle, so don't attempt this if you're not agile and sure-footed. The one place where you can reach poppies easily is the beginning of the Hite's Cove trail.

I made the accompanying photo of poppies and popcorn flowers on one of those steep hillsides yesterday. I used a 200mm lens to compress the space and create a pattern out of the bands of color.

Missing Items

Due to a mixup with my web hosting service, some images have been missing from this blog recently, and all the new additions to my web site were also missing for a period of time. Everything should be okay now, and I apologize any inconvenience or confusion.