Yosemite and More

If you go up Wawona Road, aka Highway 41, past Tunnel View you'll come upon a long area of roadside parking. I think it is actually a chain control area.  At the far end of the parking area you can go over the wall, with some help from some  conveniently placed rocks, and walk on a large granite area. From there you get a different view of some iconic features. This is called the Cascades. This last summer it was dry. This is the only place I know from which you can actually see them. You also get a different and higher view of El Capitan and Half Dome There are few trees up here and while short they do have character. Once again a different and higher view from the usual Tunnel View. Did I mention it was a wee bit cold. Stay tuned, I took an unplanned and last minute trip to the Merced Wildlife Refuge. Oh boy..... Go, See, Enjoy. Dave

Last weekend I took a trip to Yosemite, this time staying pretty much out of the Valley and photographing along Highway 41. Didn't even stop  at Tunnel View, more on that probably tomorrow. I stayed at the Cedar Lodge Motel just outside the park. When I woke up (mis-set my alarm) there was a very heavy fog outside. I figured Yosemite Valley would be socked in. Nope. It was clear as a bell just above where the lodge was. From Highway 41 you can see the fog covering the Merced River Valley. It had snowed the previous night but only in the high country, leaving just a dusting of the white stuff. I hope to post a few more tomorrow or early next week. Go, See, Enjoy! Dave

When you go into Yosemite, either the Valley or  High Country you can look in almost any direction and feel in awe. Since my last trip was to the Valley, here are a few images. The first is of course of the iconic Half Dome, in reflection on the Merced River. As I said any direction is beautiful And last but certainly not least.... Go, See, Enjoy. Dave PS I have reservations for next weekend and so far it looks like it might snow Saturday morning. Woooooo  Hoooooo!

It's been a while since I posted last.  Several factors involved but I won't bore you. Hope I can be more consistent from now on. Here are three from my last visit to Yosemite. It was very cold, the roads were ice in the morning and I had a great,  wonderful and stupendous time.  Need to slow down a little next time. I've always wanted to do a shot of fog in the Valley from the  Tunnel View.  Once back in the Valley I took a little hike, this is near the  'Swinging Bridge', which of course doesn't swing anymore. There were a lot of snowmen in the park, If you look closely you can see a small one in the lower left corner. Last one for today, Yosemite Falls in Reflection on the Merced River. Have more to edit, so maybe over the weekend. Go, See, Enjoy! Dave

Finally took some time to edit a few images from a trip I took with Kelly ad friend of mine a couple of weeks ago.  These are actually from the trip back as the sun was setting and the light was right. Kelly and I spotted this corral earlier in the day and decided to stop by on the way back. I think this shows that with a good lens and great light even something not too pretty can look pretty good. After all it's all about the light. In this small web image it's not as sharp as the original. This is a little darker then actuality but I shot for the contrast of the tree against the sunset. Go, See, Enjoy Dave

My main purpose for going to the Eastern Sierras  was to hike Lundy Canyon. Reports were that it was in full bloom. Oops It wasn't, I probably missed it by about a week. I did get this shot near the lower  end of the hiking trail. For those of you who know Photo Shop this image had an almost perfect bell curve. Below the hiking trail is a campground. There was still a lot of color there. As I mentioned in my last post the sky where I was shooting was a  grey cloud cover. No puffy clouds, no blue sky. As I drove out of the area and back toward 395 I came over a ridge and was met with this skyline. Oh well. Go, See, Enjoy Dave

Last weekend I went to the Eastern Sierras looking for some fall color. While some areas I planned on going were past their prime, others were still pretty good. I decided to stay away from places I'd been before. Believe it or not I didn't even visit Bodie or Mono Lake. My first stop was a place I drive past every time I head that way. It's Lee Vining Creek  and I believe the road is Power Line Road. It's on 120 just a bit before the 395 junction. The sky was overcast the whole weekend, more on that later. But it didn't provide  for blue skies with puffy clouds. Here's one of the first shots of the late afternoon ( got a late start, darn work) Then I met this young lady. In fact I was surrounded by about 6-8 deer  for a few minutes. Camera not so ready. Next I came upon something very unexpected. As I was leaving the area I took a little walk and came upon this. And this was all in about a...

A friend took me to the Stanford University  Cactus Garden. I loved it. Will definitely go again and spend some more time. Maybe in the spring when the cacti are in bloom. This was on a tree in the garden. Do you know what kind of  tree produces  this flower? Please let me know in comments. When you look at the following images you'll see why a guy who likes 'lines' loved the Cacti Garden. I don't think many animals can do much damage to these cacti, but the cacti sure could hurt you. I'm not sure if this is a feather caught in the cactus or part of the cactus itself. I caught my eye however. Go, See, Enjoy. Dave

Went to Half Moon Bay on the Central California Coast  the other day. Here's a few of my shots.  The waves were wonderful The power of even a small wave always amazes me. The Central California Coast is the best. Your choice of beaches or waves crashing on rocks. The motion of the waves can be very interesting. Here are a trio of the locals. Did you notice two don't have right legs. Not a  Photoshop trick. I checked a couple of other photograph and yep, they're missing those legs.  I spotted this couple enjoying a walk on the beach. Go, See, Enjoy. Dave

Last weekend I got up very early, for me at least (5:15am) and headed to Clovis California for the Balloon Festival. Too bad (for me) there were a lot of people in the way of my photography. Don't they know how important I am?! When I went a couple of years ago, because of the wind the farthest they got was to inflate a few of the balloons, None left the ground This year it was different.Very little wind. Go, See, Enjoy! Dave