Yosemite Shooting

[john miranda]

Call me boring, but I would like to get a shot of Yosemite valley

from Tunnel View on my first trip there when I head up there this

October. Unfortunately for me, I only have a couple days to spend on

this visit, so wanted to ask for those that have been: Any

recommendations on time of day for Tunnel View - from a lighting

perspective - dramatic weather aside, would you recommend sunrise,

sunset or somewhere in between? Also any other nearby spots that you

would recommend?

 

Next geography question - I'm also spending a couple days near

Bishop, California, off of I-395. Anyone have any recommended nearby

spots for sunrise pics? Looking for a lake/pond, some mountains East

of the water to catch early am light...

 

Thank you - John

[james___]

Unless the weather is dramatic I would opt for sunset for a nice Tunnel View of Yosemite Valley. It shouldn't be very crowded at that time of year. Take a warming filter of somekind as the smog and exhaust fumes make eveything bluish at that time of day. Also since you are taking the standard Yosemite shot, go to the swinging bridge for a nice shot of Yosemite Falls although there will be no water flowing as this has been a very dry couple of years and also a good shot of Half Dome from the Bridge over the Merced River. For Bishop, I would get to Lake Sabrina or either North Lake or South Lake for what you want. But there are so many more scenic places to shoot than the Bishop area. Try Convict Lake about 30 miles north of Bishop and also The White Mnts above Big Pine. Or Rainbow Falls west of Mammoth Lakes in the San Joaquin River Valley west of Mammoth. Or Mono Lake although this is usually a good evening shot. Or The Sherwin Lakes just south of Mammoth but a little climbing will have to be done. And let's not forget the Mono Craters south of Mono Lake for sunrise and sunset. And Bodie is just 40 miles north of Mammoth Lakes and not too crowded in October. Also you may get sopme color up at Lundy lake if the timing is right. The Virginia Lakes area is spectacular for color if the timing is right too. If the Sierra wave is happening with t-storms during the day you might want to head south to the north of the Alabama Hills and catch the sunset colors in the early evening. Lots of places to choose from. Depends on the qweather and location of the weather. James

[chuck]

"I'm also spending a couple days near Bishop, California, off of I-395. Anyone have any recommended nearby spots for sunrise pics? "<p>

If you are willing to go out of the way, then one of the best places for a sunrise shot is at Ancient Bristle cone pine forest on the White mountains overlooking Bishop. Reaching the White Mountains and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest from Bishop, California is about a 1 hour drive. Travel south (14 mi / 23km) on hwy 395 to Big Pine, then east up hwy 168 to the White Mountain Road (13 mi / 21km). Continue on the remaining 7 miles (11km) up to Schulman Grove at 10,100' (3048m). Several vista turnouts are located on the White Mt. Road, the most spectactular being Sierra View Overlook. If you arrive at Sierra View Overlook right at sun rise, you will get a view of a life time, covering a 150 mile stretch of Sierra Nevada bathed in rose color light of first sun rise. You would understand why the Sierra Nevada is called "Range of Light".<p>

"Any recommendations on time of day for Tunnel View - from a lighting perspective - dramatic weather aside,"<p>

October is not the optimal time for the best tunnel view photography. The bridle vail falls will be all but dry, and will be shadowed near sun set. The best time of the day during October for tunnel view photography will probably be around 3-4 pm. I would recommend instead that you take a 1 hour drive up to glacier point, or better still, take a short 20 minute hike from the glacier point road to the top of Sentinal dome for a much better sun set view of eastern half of Yosemite Valley. In my opinion, the best sunrise view of Yosemite valley is from the top of Clouds Rest. But that requires a 2 AM start and strenuous 4 hour hike from shores of Tenaya Lake.

[agememnon_jones]

Bravo for going to yosemite, a truly grand place!

 

Evening is the time of day for the tunnel shot. Remember that in Yosemite the best light is 2 hours to 30 minutes till sunset. I think October will be a decent time for light with bot El Cap and Bridalveil Falls getting some light.

 

Also, I highly reccommend the Mike Frye book A Photographers guide to Yosemite. Under $10 and a great guide to the park. Order from Yosemite conservation assoc and Amazon (i think) carry it as do all the stores in the park. Get a copy.

 

Some other Yosemite shots are

-Valley View in evening

-Catherdral Beach in morning

-Glacier Point in evening

 

Anyway have fun!!!!!

[qtluong]

As I've mentioned recently in another thread, you should get a

copy of The Photographer's Guide to Yosemite

by Michael Frye for $8. I agree with Chuck that the best view of

Yosemite Valley is from Clouds Rest (here are<a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np.yosemite.5.html">

a few photos from the high country of Yosemite, including Clouds Rest</a>),

although I think it is a

better idea to overnight there, as the sunset is pretty good too

However, it is probably too much

effort for a first visit, as there is plenty close to the road.

[wayne_crider4]

Nice shots QT, but what's that format your shooting there?

[qtluong]

Wayne, as explaned in <a href = "http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/info/faqs.html">

About the 57 National Parks project</a>, images are scanned from

35mm. However, at least 7 of the images on that page (including

the Clouds Rest images) exist also as 5x7.

[richard_boulware]

I have just heard that there are at least six spots in the valley that are well marked, and have foot prints painted in the earth, and marks for tripods, saying "Ansel Shot Here". A sign suggests best times of the day. Good luck.

[jackflesher]

IMO the best time for tunnel view is definately sunset. Shoot your shots as the sun sets along with the twenty or thirty other photographers that will be there too. BUT hang around until AFTER every other photographer has packed up and left -- the light has an interesting habit of often coming back up for a few spectacular minutes about 15 minutes after it originally fades! You will almost certainly NOT be able to avoid jet-contrails in the image however. A 150mm lens (on 4x5 format) will provide the perfect framing. If you are adventurous, the morning shot from Glacier Point towards Half-Dome can be great if there is a good sunrise.

 

As for a lake or pond on I395 -- Forget Bishop and stay in Lee Vining to shoot Mono lake at sunrise. From Mono lake you can shoot both easterly into the beatiful sunrises that generally occur, or westerly toward the east side of the Sierra-Nevada mountains which will catch the spectacular morning light. Scout your shooting areas the day before and get out early to frame some of the tufa towers in your image prior to sunrise. Fall sunrises can be quite spectacular there. Later in the day, spend some time on the "June Lake Loop" just south of Lee Vining on your way to Bishop as there are another four or five lakes on that loop and in October the aspens turn bright yellow to orange in a good year. If Bishop is where you must stay, then hit Sabrina lakes in the early AM for sunrise to mid AM shooting.

 

Let us know how it went!

[hyperfocal]

I agree with Richard. I can understand helping each other out with technical advice, but some of the questions on location and times indicate that people want to be spoon fed, want things handed to them. It's like people don't want to pay their dues and find things on their own. They don't want to drive and hike to places unknown them looking for something to shoot (and often not finding what they want), to spend the time to get to know an aeaa. Instead they want to jet in, be told what and where to shoot take the shot, then blast off to the next place. It appears they don't have the curiosity or vision to do anything beyond copying what's already been done.

 

Photography isn't about pretty places, it's about vision. If you can't take good photos 5 miles from home, what makes you think ever more "exotic" or big name places will improve your results? This Yosemite thing has turned into a pilgrimage for many it would seem. I'd submit that on the way to this over-crowded, over-photographed disneyland, one will be passing by numerous places every bit as good for making photographs. I mean does the world really need one more picture of Half Dome? The answer is yes, if like Ezra Pound said, you can "Make it new." But why not make new, new?

 

H

[chris_patti1]

Well, "the world" probably doesn't need one more picture of Half Dome, but John might want one for his living room or office that he made himself. It's fine to aspire to "art," but let's face it, the vast majority of even the best photography is little more than "decoration." "Originality" in the sense of subjects that have not been photographed before is no guarantee of substance. What's wrong with John wanting to create his own decoration and with others providing information about how to do it?

[danny burk www.dannyburk.]

I have a major problem with attitudes such as "Hyperfocal" has expressed. So what if it's been done? Practically everything has been done by someone, but maybe not by me or by you. Given differing weather and seasons, it's not easy to "duplicate" someone else's landscape photo...each will be the photographer's own. I'm fed up with the suggestion that one shouldn't photograph what one wants to, where one wants to, just because someone else has already been there. *I* haven't been to Yosemite, *I* want to go very much, and *I* will eventually get there to make photos of my own. There is a reason why some locations are classics. I'm all for finding new locations, new ideas, and new points of view...but if I want to take another photo of Half Dome, you can bet that I will do it without feeling even the least twinge of guilt.

[john_kasaian1]

FWIW, What is Ansel thought Watkins had taken the difinitve Yosemite photos? Would he have then, since the world didn't any more Yosemite photos, turned his creativity toward, say, portraits of twins? ...hmmm....Ansel Arbus?

[dave_karp]

Perhaps the fact that Yosemite has been photographed so well by so many makes it a great challenge worth undertaking.

 

John, since you asked for advice on other potential opportunities, and not a lecture, try going up the Tioga Road (if it is open). There are many hiking and photo opportunities. Also, there are many hikes on the valley floor that present great chances for memorable photographs. There are photographs everywhere you turn.

 

Yosemite is awe inspiring. Its beauty is beyond words (or images). Have a great time.

[glenn_kroeger]

Photographs are recordings of light... and while it may be the same Half Dome, the light that John records will never have been recorded before and will never be recorded again. Whether that light makes a memorable, unique or exciting result is the challenge John seeks.

[ralph_barker]

<p>I agree with Jack's suggestion of staying in Lee Vining and shooting Mono Lake at sunrise. This was done from the South Tufa area, as I recall. Arrive well before the published sunrise time, and you'll love it.</p>

 

<center>

<img src="http://www.rbarkerphoto.com/misc/Nature/MonoSunrise-1-600.jpg">

</center>

[hyperfocal]

Sorry to have offended people. We are all more or less free to shoot what we want (at least for now) and it real boils down to preferences and objectives, rather than any moral high ground. I�m just expressing my preferences and disbelief at how many make it a goal to photograph what�s been shot a million times before (and no it hasn�t all been done before). But like Sheryl Crow sang, �If it makes you happy, then it can�t be that bad.� But remember this, if you want to be taken seriously by people who know photography, you must do more than copycat photography of famous places, unless of course you are going to do a lot better than Gnass, Clifton, Ulrich, Muench, et.al. Perhaps it�s a bit different with photographing �unknown� places, like ones I see on your web pages, which some of you have done a wonderful job of, since these places haven�t been �done,� at least not as far as the photo world is concerned. This is what I was getting at.

 

�Photographs are recordings of light... and while it may be the same Half Dome, the light that John records will never have been recorded before and will never be recorded again. Whether that light makes a memorable, unique or exciting result is the challenge John seeks.�

 

Then why add to, and fight, the crowds at Yosemite? Sounds like the presence of Half Dome is more important than what� s between the photographers ears, or the light itself, eh? Sorry I could�t resist:):)

[michael_kadillak6]

Maybe there is an opportunity here. When I used to regularly probe the Big Horn river in Montana for large sized Brown trout the good old fashioned way, there were those that flew in from wherever with little real time to do it right and simply went to a guide and paid big bucks for what they (felt) that did not want to do themselves. I have personally seen these guides take clients to the same spot on the river time and time again to catch the same pint sized fish and pay $250 a day for the convenience. You would have to look hard to distinguish the fish from the hands of the fisherman. In any event, we put in the leg work and had staked out several spots I found productive that the guides drifted by because it was more financially productive for them to pull in several nominal sized trout than it was to take the precious time and make the effort to appeal to the 3# + Browns that were in abundance. One time a guy from Boston about fell into the water when he saw my friend land a massive trout and he came over to me and asked "How does one go about getting one of these units?" I simply told him that you need to get your butt out of bed at 6 AM and put in the effort and you will be rewarded. He promptly called the office to say he was going to stay three more days, paid the $75 rebooking penalty and while we worked his ass off with us on the river from 6 AM to 7 PM, he said that he had the best fishing trip he had experienced in over 20 years. My point is that if you really are that pressed for time - get a guide to take you to exactly where the shots can be made. I am sure that there are plenty that are willing ready and able to walk you to the exact spot where you could accomplish your objectives stated above. If you really want to be excited about the process of putting your interpretation of one of the most visually stimulating areas in the United States on film from your perspective, get the maps, do some research and give yourself the time to really experience the event. Just my opinion to ponder - nothing more.....