One of the last shots I took in this series by our camp site in 2003, just before I lost the light. That’s Cathedral Peak off to the right.
Nightfall in Yosemite
Category Archives: Expeditions
Teresa in Alpenglow
Just as we were losing the light at our campsite, I grabbed a quick shot of Teresa who was taking in the Alpenglow that lit up the massive granite outcropping behind her.
Cathedral Peak
We camped scant feet from this camera position on our first backpacking trip in Yosemite in 2003. We arrived late to this location, and after we set up camp, I grabbed my one megapixel camera a literally ran from one angle to the next, trying to capture as many different compositions as I could before the sun set.
It was real gonzo photography, but I find that series to be one of my best, even when I have had far more time to consider each shot individually.
Deep in Yosemite
It is not just the majestic peaks that bring the Yosemite experience, but also the more subtle variations in the landscape as you explore the trail, step by step.
Banner Peak and Mount Ritter
Banner Peak is the pointy one, Mount Ritter is the rounded one.
Dusk in Lyell Canyon
Evening colors captured just a few feet from our campsite along the John Muir Trail in Lyell Canyon, Yosemite.
Nature’s Embrace
Two raggedy high-altitude conifers encircle a peak near our campsite in Yosemite.
Sign of the Times
There is a metal plaque bolted to a rock, miles from civilization, in the unspoiled grandeur at the top of Donahue Pass at 11,000 feet on the border between the Ansel Adams Wilderness and Yosemite National Park. The plaque lists all the things you are not allowed to do on the Yosemite side of the sign – the regulations in effect in the middle of nowhere.
I stood aghast, and when I had recovered, I took a photograph to capture the absurdity of it all.
Alpenglow
Alpenglow is an intense yellow-red cast to the tops of the highest peaks caused by the last rays of the sun when twilight has already descended upon the valleys below. It lasts only a few moments, but is a truly amazing sight to experience and quite satisfying to capture.
Cathedral Peak
This is one of my favorite photographs I shot at this camp site during our 2003 backpacking trip in Yosemite. The camera I was using was less than one megapixel and had no thru-the-lens viewing, just a separate viewfinder like the old Instamatic cameras. Still, the result was quite satisfactory and accurately captured both the colors and contrasts of the moment.