I had to make another trip out to Yosemite over the New Year holiday, making it my third trip! I never get tired of seeing the sights in Yosemite, especially this time, being my first time there in the winter. On my first morning in the park, the temperature was nearly 20 degrees below freezing, plenty cold to create some great looking ice and frost along the ground and river. I made a short trek through some of the meadows and along the river winding through the valley. A sharp bend in the river gathered a massive slab of ice and created several opportunities for photos. I stepped cautiously onto the ice and shuffled further out over the river to capture the minute details of the sheet of ice.
Shooting in the snow was unlike anything I've ever tried before. Having never really seen it before, I had to think on my toes to try to get the right shots. I found that while the snow and frost was absolutely amazing, it was much more difficult to shoot in. Any footprint in the snow created imperfections in the scene, and the typical colors I look to highlight in my scene simply weren't there anymore. I had to look for spots people hadn't walked, and I looked for scenes highlighting the warm colors of the granite walls. I'm not sure if this spot has a specific name, but after hours of searching for a great sunset location, this was perfect. The orange glow from the valley walls helped bring a unique color to the cool blue surroundings of the snow. I made sure to take a photo with a long exposure to keep the water looking smooth to highlight the reflected light from El Capitan.
Around the rim of Yosemite Valley is a one of a kind ecosystem, that is nearly 100% different from whats found only a half mile down the valley walls. 100' tall Pine Trees stand like barriers around the high altitude meadows in the Sierra's. The abundance of different animals is matched by the amount of different plants. Small clusters of green stalks sprouting from the ground caught my attention. These Corn Lillies (no relation to actual corn) were so saturated compared to their surroundings I knew I had to take a photo. This particular group of plants was perfect for what I needed, but the mid day sun was too harsh to capture the soft curves of the plants, so I returned 4 separate times my first day in the park. About a half hour after the sun hid behind the mountains was exactly what I needed. With the sky dimming, I had to work fast to capture this moment. The photo turned out better than I could've imagined. The perfection of the new sprouts was unique from any plant I've seen before.
