Winter Yosemite

I went to Yosemite two Fridays ago with my friends Dick and Wilma.  It was a gray winter day, with temperatures in the forties after an overnight rain.  On such days I think of Ansel Adams, who shot so many iconic black and white photos of the park.  You can buy some of his prints in his gallery in Yosemite.  I was inspired to take some B & W shots of my own.  Here's Bridalveil Falls, at a happy medium between spring torrent and late summer trickle.

Misty morning.

El Cap in dissipating fog.

This is a color shot...on a gray day not so different from B & W.

El Capitan rises above the Merced River.

Tranquil morning on the Merced.  Fine light with the winter sun trying to break through the clouds.

River, forest, rock, and mist.

January is really a nice month to go to Yosemite.  There are no crowds to speak of...maybe a tenth as many people as in the summer, if that.  No parking problems...no lines in restaurants and gift shops.  And quiet countryside, even in the valley.

Reflections and mist.

The meadows are quiet.  The park has a manageable level of moisture...no spring flooding, no summer drought.

Landscape reflected in the Merced.

Classic shot of Yosemite Falls.