Cloud Shrouded Cliffs and Snow, Yosemite Valley

Cloud Shrouded Cliffs and Snow, Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. April 15, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Late season clouds shroud snow-covered cliffs high above Yosemite Valley, California.

Among my very favorite conditions in Yosemite Valley are those of winter or late-spring days when there is snow along the cliffs high above the Valley and clouds float along the cliff tops alternately revealing and hiding trees, cliffs, and granite spires. The story behind this photograph is, as is often the case, one of being distracted from the obvious thing by some other small thing that I could have overlooked if I hadn't looked in the right direction at the right moment.

I was in the Yosemite Valley area for a day, primarily to shoot wildflowers in Merced Canyon below the park. Between my morning and evening shooting along the Merced, I headed up into the Valley to see what I could find. Frankly, although it is always beautiful to be in the Valley, I wasn't seeing much of anything that inspired me to make photographs. I enjoyed my time there, but eventually decided to go to a slightly different area to see what I could find. On my way back to the Valley from that other place, I passed through Wawona Tunnel, had some extra time, and decided to at least pull out briefly at tunnel view and have a look around. The scene is always tremendous, with the astonishing Valley and all of its impossible features spread before you - but it isn't always worth trying to turn this into a photograph. I'm spoiled enough that I don't always even take the camera out when I stop there, and this was one of those days. I left my gear in the car and just walked to the overlook to, well, look for a minute before driving on. I have a habit of looking all around when I'm in such a place since sometimes a subject can be found that is not the primary iconic thing. So I looked around... and high above and way off to the side I saw the clouds gathering around a few of the granite spires, with an occasional beam of light shining through. Ignoring the Valley itself, I now quickly returned to my car, put a long lens on the camera, put the camera on the tripod... and from the back of my car and in the parking lot (sigh... ;-) I made a series of photographs of these fog-shrouded snowy cliffs.

I understand that this weekend a number of photographers, including quite a few that I know, will assemble in the Valley for a "photo walk." I won't be there, since I have another thing that I have to attend to elsewhere. So consider this photograph to be my "best wishes for a great shoot." Oh, and it is also a personal photographic celebration of the fact that Tioga Pass will open on Monday, making the high country my home away from home for many days over the next few months.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Taken on: April 15, 2012

Tags:

sierra

nevada

range

yosemite

national

park

valley

cliff

face

snow

field

tree

silhouette

cloud

shrouded

fog

mist

ridge

obscure

granite

california

usa

north

america

scenic

travel

landscape

nature

stock

license

late

season

spring

black

white

monochrome « less

Sets appears in: • Northern California • Sierra Nevada more » • Yosemite Valley • Nature « less

Groups appears in: • High Sierra • yosemite more » • U.S. National Parks • U.S. National Parks and Places • Professional landscapes • Landscape photography • Outdoor Photographer Magazine (Unofficial) • Silicon Valley Photographers • Picturing California • National Parks, Monuments and Historical Sites • California Landscape and Seascape • SF Bay Area Shooters (sfbas) • Mountains and alpine • Yosemite National Park • Mountain Scenes • Beautiful California • Yosemite Photographers • CaliforniaPhotoForum.com • nature and landscape photography • California in Black & White (Post & Rate) • Beautiful Mother Nature • Love of the Great Outdoors • Yosemite Valley • Nature's Call. • Compressed landscapes • Northern California Photographers • A "Quality Only" Club • California Photographer • California Landscapes and Desert • California Pictorial • America's Best Landscapes • Capture Nature / No human elements / No Zoo shots or people in y • California Photo Trekkers • Great Pictures of Landscapes • *Earth's Natural Photography* • G Dan Mitchell's "Sierra Nevada - Photographs from the Range o • America's National Parks and Monuments Group • Mountainscape • Yosemite Blog • California Nature Photography • Mountain Trail Photo Nature Photography Group (POST 1/COMMENT 3) • Earth Images Nature Photography • Northern California Photography • "Quality Only" LandScape Club • Best of U.S. National Parks • Monochrome Group f/64;P1/C at least 1 • Landscape QUALITY Photography/ADMIN Invitation ONLY • Celebrate California • F-Stop - Nature, Landscape & Wildlife • Yosemite Conservancy • California Currents • West Coast (USA) • Inspirational Landscape images • California Landscape Photographer • Best of Yosemite • Outdoor Photographers Around The World « less

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/11.0, 1/125 sec, 400mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens:	EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Aperture:	f/11.0
Exposure Time:	0.008 sec (1/125)
Focal Length:	400mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS5 Macintosh
Show full info

Stats: 6,998 views / 15 comments

Link to this photo view:
Link to this photo large view: