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.
The first morning we were in Yosemite, we decided to make an early morning trip to Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias to beat the crowd and get the soft lighting of the morning on the western slopes of the sierras. We were the first people to arrive in the parking lot at the bottom of the grove. I got bundled up in a thick jacket to keep my mind off the near freezing temperatures. The first sight that anyone walking through Mariposa will see is this 2,000 year old Sequioa, which fell over 300 years ago. With the roots spreading outwards 15' in the air, they seem to dwarf anyone standing near them. Looking at the roots, you could get a sense of these thick mangled roots working for millennia to bring nutrients to this giant. Although the grandness of the scale is lost here, the weathering of thousands of years of life was evident in the rough texture of the roots.
