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This is a very nice image. IMO the two most difficult parts of shooting in Yosemite are:
1) Taking a picture that does not instantly remind the viewer of Ansel Adams.
2) Optimizing the message: words and photos all ultimately fail to show the true magnitude, grandeur, and beauty of the place. To me that is the contradiction inherent in Yosemite; the park is very photogenic so it's difficult to take a "bad" picture there. That said it's almost impossible to convey how amazing the place is.
I like this image a lot and would be proud to call it my own, but I think it fails on point number one. As for point number two, it does a good job.
All that said, my favorite image of Yosemite on photo.net was taken by Phil Hawkins and can be seen by clicking the link below:
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=8213118

-marty

I'm not so sure the image in the gallery referenced above is an unprocessed version of this image. If anything I'd imagine that the gallery image was done as a "digital polaroid" while the image above is a large-format transparency. Perhaps shot on a highly-saturated film such as Velvia.
It is a very nice image. The colors are very striking and I appreciate the effort it takes to get up so early, especially on a cold winter's morning. My formalist sense of composition wants to shift the image to the right just a tad, so the center valley between the peaks falls closer to the center of the frame.

My first impression is the the red is just too red, both in the actual and the reflection. It reminds me of many landscapes that seem so still, clear and almost airless, as if there is no atmosphere to effect the light in this magic valley. Even if this were an unshopped image I think the red should be toned down to a realistic level. Its kind of like the advice given women when they dress for the evening. Look in the mirror and lose whatever pops out at you.
When the image is compared to the other one mentioned there are a few discrepancies. For one thing, in the image we are discussing, there is more snow in the trees and on the large branches of the trees on the left. Also the clouds in the valley have changed shape and color.
Putting the two images side by side is interesting. The one under discussion is cropped different but also it appears stretched. As if pulled up ever so slightly by the corners and slightly out, a little more so on the left. The tree and rock face on the left have also lost their slight inward tilt, the rock faces look taller and more monumental.
Then there is the water. A polarizer could explain that, or a different time of day, or a different day. I have taken to keeping the number the camera gives each capture. After a while it is hard if not impossible to keep all the images straight. Especially if its a spot or subject I often shoot or if I try different settings, filters, zoom, a better lens and etc..
A monitor out of calibration or any number of things account for color issues. It is hard to tell at screen size, but it could be a tad too sharp. The blue around the rocks, again its something that jumps out at you.
The haze factor; sharpening can erase some important subtleties, especially atmospheric perspective. If the entire images is sharpened at once it can have a flattening effect, threating everything as equal and putting everything on the same plane.

Photo of a dreamland. Wonderful hues of red break the effect of the monotonous white. Congratulations.

The contrast between the red hot mountain and the cold, icy white snow is amazing! The snow covered rocks seem like stepping stones into the picture. Just breath-taking! Thank you for sharing!

The difference between magical transformation into a landscape of the mind, and mere chocolatebox reproduction is so subtle. Hanh, you know how to juggle to create true magic. Yosemite had been turned into a wonderland of fantasy. Toast to you.

Bizarre that an image can make me feel so warm, and so cold simultaneously . You must have arrived just after a snowfall, great timing! The deep glow of red in the water is subtle, but really helps make the image!

What an amazing scene so beuatiful and tranquil.

Would really love to sit there in real :)

Thanks for sharing!

Hanh:  Magical and mystical.  It reminds me of those storylands they create in computer games.  Alan

Pure magic. Hard to believe there is heavy traffic around that area, when you see images like this from Yosemity.