Firefall mist - Yosemite National Park

Here is one of the shots focusing on the mist. I recall this one vividly. It was almost like the falls cloned itself and shifted to the right before dissipating. It looks as if the falls is a lot bigger than it really is because in reality it’s a trickle compared to some of the other raging falls in the park hence why sometimes there is no water coming down at all. I’ve seen a bunch of cool patterns from others as well so I’m glad I was able to catch a few frames like this.

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Horsetail Firefall mist - Yosemite National Park

The light changed so much that I was struggling on what to shoot. I probably switched between my 70-200 and 50mm a dozen times. Still had some great light on the valley floor treetops but in this set of exposures the mist coming from the falls was incredible. The clouds up top at this stage were a bit more scattered, but spread out and lit nicely on top of El Capitan. You can see that the beam on the falls is still a bit wide, which gives you an indicator that this wasn’t towards the finale. Check out the light on all the ridges tho. 

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Light through the Valley - Yosemite National Park

I’ve been asked a few times how high I had to hike up to get to the viewpoint I shot Firefall at. This shot gives you that sense. I started my hike below the tree line near the bottom of the photo. It wasn’t until about ¾ of the way up that I was able to turn around and begin to see this clearing. The hike wouldn’t have been that bad but when you gotta carry 2 telephotos, 2 bodies, a wide and a mid range lens along with a tripod, food, water and extra layers its worse than if I had to carry my son up with me. I got up in time to watch the sun set behind the cathedral peaks for this shot. The light on horsetail is still harsh as this was well before the beam was thin enough to produce the phenomenon, but the light spreading across the valley was way too sweet not to snag a shot.

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Firefall - Yosemite National Park

It’s officially Firefall week and this week I’ll share some of my favorite shots from last season. If conditions are there (I believe recent reports stated Horsetail is dry), this will be the best week to see the natural phenomenon based on the position of the sun relative to Horsetail Falls. If you are going be sure to check out the parking permit system Yosemite implemented to help with traffic congestion. This is a piece of a vertical pano from last season when some amazing light lit up the falls and the valley below. Well before the finale but it’s hard to beat that light on the valley floor.

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Partial Lunar Eclipse over LA with alpenglow

As daybreak dawned, the alpenglow got stronger. I zoomed out a bit to catch a wider view with some of the nice pink tones as the partial lunar eclipse was close to setting. This focal length is at 300mm. I also created a separate gallery on my website called moon scapes where the moon plays a significant role in the shot. This one, along with some of the other eclipse and supermoon shots will be in that gallery. 

Nikon D750, Nikkor 200-500, f/8, 1/5 sec, ISO-100

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Dodgers Fireworks, Los Angeles CA

Happy Lunar New year from Los Angeles

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Eastern Sierras airglow over the petroglyphs

Here’s a rework of some of the best airglow I’ve seen at one of my favorite places to sit and stargaze. Foreground exposure was taken at twilight to utilize the last ambient light to allow for a naturally lit scene throughout and the sky was a single exposure at 10k ISO.

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Supermoon rising over Los Angeles

Caught the supermoon rising over the Wishire Grand building in the Los Angeles Skyline.

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Foggy canyon road through Malibu

Here’s one from my last fog sesh in Malibu. This was well after sunset as the street lights on Malibu Canyon Road came on. The fog was drifting in and out of this section nicely and was thin enough to let the street lights to shine through. Caught the fog creating some crazy patterns in the foreground which I didn’t see until I edited this one.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200, f/8, 5 sec, ISO-250

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Supermoon rise over Los Angeles

The supermoon rising over Los Angeles at around 550mm taken with the Nikon D750 and Nikkor 200-500 lens. Taken from Baldwin Hills.

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