Yosemite & a May Full Moon

Yosemite or Lake Tahoe? With 2 weeks left of a 3 month sub job, I knew I wanted to go somewhere beautiful as soon as the job ended, and before most kids were out of school and the hordes descended upon the parks. But where? I had been to Tahoe in September and wanted to go back while there was still some snow, but I hadn't been to Yosemite in 30+ years. I chose Yosemite because it seemed like more of an adventure, but when I searched online for a room, none were available. I had waited too long. What to do?

Wait a little longer. Two weeks later, on Saturday, I found a room at Cedar Lodge which is just a few miles outside the entrance to the park. Perfect. I booked the room for two nights, packed, and left the next morning.

I got to the park at 10:30am. I wanted to use this day for reconnaissance, so I drove all the way in, past the turn to Bridalveil Falls, around Curry Village, and into Yosemite Village. I could not believe the number of people. I figured it was crowded because it was a Sunday. Most of these people would be heading home and I'd have the park practically to myself on Monday and Tuesday.

I was so naive.

Early Monday morning I arrived at the park with the intent of spending most of the day on my feet, instead of in my car. I headed straight to Curry Village, which was the closest I could park to the trail head to Mirror Lake. I found a primo parking space, grabbed my camera gear, and caught the shuttle to the trail head. Ah, it felt so good to be really in the park and away from the crowds. The trail was a well marked, rocky path through the forest that eventually opened to a huge meadow surrounded by high granite cliffs that were reflected in the lake.

I was not alone.

As I approached the trail head to catch the shuttle back to my car, I passed at least 50 people just starting out on the same hike. I was very glad I had made an early start. Back at my car, I saw there were just as many people in the park as yesterday, maybe even more. I left my car where it was and took the shuttle to the visitor center, which was the start of a self-guided walk across Cook's Meadow in the center of the valley floor. I saw the same beautiful vistas, but from a different, less crowded perspective. This photo shows both upper and lower Yosemite Falls.

Wondering on foot allowed a glimpse of a more intimate landscape.

While walking through the meadow, I imagined what the park was like before it became over-developed, auto-clogged, and tourist-congested. With all the rain this winter, the meadow water provided beautiful reflections.

By the end of the afternoon, I was glad to ride the shuttle back to my car, but I wasn't finished with the park quite yet. The road in/out parallels the Merced River and I had previously passed up many scenic spots in my quest to get into the park. On this ride out, I stopped numerous times to photograph and enjoy the river scenery...

and take a self-portrait.
(Did I mention that it rained most of this day?)

The full moon was only two days away, but since the forecast was for rain the rest of the week, I didn't think I'd have an opportunity to photograph it this month. I drove back to Cedar Lodge thinking I would not be returning to the park. Then as I was eating dinner, the sky completely cleared, not a cloud to be seen. I was tired, and debated whether shooting the full (almost) moon at Yosemite was worth the drive back to the park. I decided it was, quickly wrapped the rest of my meal in a napkin, climbed in my car, and drove a bit too fast back into the park and up to Tunnel View. This point provides a classic view of Yosemite Valley, including El Capitan, Half Dome, Sentinel Rock, Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Falls. The look-out was lined with photographers waiting for a beautiful sunset. When the light on the cliffs faded to gray, the pros expressed disappointment (at the lack of a spectacular sunset), packed their big lenses away, collapsed their tripods, and left the scene. I stayed put.

One of the last ones to leave turned to me and said, "Show's over for the night." I said, "Not if you know where to look," and I pointed up at the moon just cresting over the hill. I was ecstatic. My year-long full moon project was still on track.

Some thoughts on Yosemite:
The whole of the park is huge, but the valley that has all the iconic views of granite cliffs and falls is only 7 miles long and less than a mile wide. This small area has to accommodate millions of visitors.
Every visitor has a camera. What would Ansel Adams think if he saw someone whip out a cell phone to take a picture of Yosemite Falls? He had to pack hundreds of pounds of camera equipment.
When I got on the shuttle bus to return to my car, a young woman immediately popped up and offered me her seat. I was appalled. Did she think I was elderly?

Roses, Roses, Roses

Click on any photo to enlarge it.Another club shoot-out, this one at the San Jose Rose Garden. Sensory overload kicked in as soon as I walked through the gate: thousands of flowers. I want to see and smell and photograph them all. Where do I start? (Is this how a bee feels?) Flowers are my absolute, most favorite photographic subject. I surround myself with them, both inside and outside my house. They make me smile, lift my spirits, and fortify my soul. Their beauty astounds me. I have entered Nirvana. I take a few deep breaths, quell the shaking, and make a plan. Color! I will orchestrate my shots around color. Red summons my attention first.

This spindly bug was waiting for the temperature to warm.

After 3 hours I was just too tired to continue. This was only the start of the flower season. I had many more shooting sessions in front of me. Before walking out the gate, I switched to my wide angle lens, crawled under a bush,
lay down and looked up.You may view more photos from this shoot on my Flickr photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/suebrazelton/

Pacific Grove - Part 2

I wanted to go back to Pacific Grove (See my blog in April) while the ice plant was in full bloom, so I planned a shoot-out for the photography club on the first afternoon I had free. There is not a big story here, just an afternoon of clear, beautiful skies and lovely scenery.

It wasn't just the ice plant that was in bloom.
Wildflowers and succulents were bountiful...

even though some were a bit past their full bloom.

The shoot-out was over and it was getting late, but I wasn't quite ready to go home. On my way out of PG, I stopped at the marina to visit with the seals. There were hundreds of them, noisy and smelly. They barked and lolled and swam, squirmed, stretched and slept.

You can view many more photos from this shoot-out
on my Flickr photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/suebrazelton/

April (Almost) Full Moon

My project to photograph every full moon for a year was almost thwarted by the weather. The full moon was slated for Wednesday so I wanted to photograph it on Tuesday evening when it would rise just about the same time that the sun would be setting: perfect light. The problem was the forecast called for rain from Monday through Wednesday. If I wanted to shoot the moon, my only option was go out on Sunday, even though the moon would be pale in the afternoon sky, and it would not be 100% full. Sometimes you just have to take what you can get.

While I was waiting for the moon, I took this panorama (4 photos merged together) of Anderson Reservoir. Click on the photo it see it enlarged.

I may try this spot again in May if the weather cooperates.

Plan B

Sunday was a clear, warm, spring day, and I could hear Point Lobos calling. I photographed there last August on a club shoot-out, and thought it would be even prettier in the spring. I left early to beat the crowds that would surely show up on such a fine day. Boy was I in for a surprise. Just two miles north of the park entrance Highway 1 was closed for the Big Sur Marathon.

I wasn't going to waste a beautiful day at the coast, so I immediately created Plan B and headed for Pacific Grove. I have been visiting Pacific Grove every spring for the past 4 years, but usually in the afternoon. This is the first time I had been there in the morning, which made for better light when photographing the rocks and surf off Asilomar.

There is a stretch of coastline just north of Lover's Point that is covered in blooming ice plant. This is why I return every spring. I can't get enough of the incredible color combinations.

One last look as I drive away. I was a little early in the season on this trip. The full bloom won't happen for another week or so. I guess I'll have go back... again.

On the drive home, I spied these flowers along a highway in Salinas.
I had to stop.

I didn't make it to my original destination,
but Plan B turned out to be a successful alternative.

The Ascent of Fremont Peak

Like yesterday, it was another Spring Break day that had to be spent outdoors. Early in the week I had allowed work on my computer to occupy too much of my time. Now work was done and it was time to play. My friend Noella and I decided to explore Fremont Peak, a state park near San Juan Bautista. Neither of us had been there before, but I had heard that the views from atop the 3,169 peak were outstanding. My State Park Guide Book described a one mile trail to the top (that started after an 11 mile drive up) that seemed easy enough. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.In the beginning, the well marked trail was a gentle slope up, lined with wildflowers and commanding views of the valley.

Gradually the hillside became steeper,
the trail more narrow and rockier...

and the views more incredible.
(Click on this photo to see its full size.)

Just past this spot I stopped, sat down, leaned back against a rock, and just enjoyed the view. I was privileged to see three hawks soaring overhead, and a hummingbird hovered inches from my face. I had on a red sweatshirt and I think he flew away disappointed that I was not the mother lode of nectar. We continued on around the peak. The trail leveled off in a few places, but for the most part, we were now climbing, climbing, climbing. I was happy to stop again for a few moments to catch Noella's approach. Behind her, the darker blue at the horizon is the Pacific Ocean (Monterey Bay).

The climb was getting steeper, but the top seemed so deceptively near that we continued to push on. Click on this photo and you will see a flag pole, our ultimate destination.

I was ahead of Noella
and when I saw this sign (click the photo to read it),
I almost turned back.

Then I figured it didn't apply. I was going up, not down, so I sat and waited. (Noella is not a slower hiker. She stopped more often to photograph.) In this photo she is on a secondary rock shooting east toward Hollister.

From this point on there was no more trail, only rock.
We pushed and pulled and crawled our way up...

stopping often to rest and photograph.

It took awhile, and the final ascent wasn't pretty, but we made it to the top and we felt quite good about it. The views were as advertised... spectacular. (Click this photo to see a larger view. It is 4 photos merged into a panorama.)

I was on a natural high for the rest of the day.