Yosemite
Valley (10/16/2005)
After departing Alabama Hills and with some personal reasons to return to the bay area sooner, I drove straight back to Yosemite for one-night stopover, and skipped the plan to stay over at Lee Vining for another photo op at the South Tufa Area. I took a chance to go to Yosemite without prior reservation, reasoning that I would only need to be there for an evening at full moon, and if there was no room, I’d drive straight home. In a way unfortunately, I found a tent cabin for that night. It was unfortunate because the accommodation here was not to the level I’d get had I found a campsite. While it’s true that I did not have to set up tents, these cabins were only a few feet apart. My neighbors were some noisy programmers (whose nationality I won’t reveal) who used the time of the trip to discuss the pros and cons of “double-commit”. Can you believe it? This lasted into the night, with the photo trips I took late in the evening saving me from the constant barrage of conversation. This noise assault took a different form in the early morning when they took turn to snore at different pitches. Looking back at it, I found it amusing, but definitely not an experience I want to repeat. Next time, I’ll go for a campsite. I’d trade the hassle of setting up sleeping area with $60/fee and not having to haul my belongings back and forth for hundreds of yards and not having neighbors practically next to my bed.
A
difference between this stop versus others was I had been in Yosemite
Valley for many times and had no problems finding my ways around. The
two things that reduced my pleasure revisiting one of my favorite parks
was the crowd and the smoke cloud from the controlled burn that partly
obscured my subjects during that full moon night.
The foliage in the valley was not quite at peak when I was there. Maples,
oaks and dogwoods were most showy. I guessed that the dogwoods would turn
red in another week. While most of these trees can be found on the Valley
floor, they also dotted the walls of the surrounding giant granite rocks.
I found the dogwoods and oak trees bordering Merced River to be most fascinating.
I was able to capture several nice compositions. I also tried some long
exposure photo shots with fair results. I need to learn more about this
area, which turns out to be one that I tend to gravitate to. Taking long
exposure type of pictures means that you can be about when others are
not, and you may be able to get better and more even saturation in the
images. I took pictures of Half Dome and El Capitan when it was dimly
lit by the moon with no one in the vicinity.
In
the morning, I returned to Bridal Veil Falls for another set of pictures,
then dropped by a picnic area next to El Capitan to check out the rock
climbers. I was sure they were there because I saw lights half way up
the vertical rock from “campers” on their way to the top.
I managed to capture some of the actions on camera. Obviously, I did not
know for sure what I got until I expanded the pictures to full resolution
on a computer. Even at 500mm telephoto zoom, I could barely make out the
little figures clinging to the side of the rock. They looked like little
specks of dust or even invisible with bare eyes.
Satisfied that my goals for the Fall Foliage trip were fulfilled, I left the park around midday and arrived home in time to take pleasure in surprising my wife by my early return. We were both happy to see each other.
Some pictures are posted HERE
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Last updated: October 17, 2010
