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Archive 2016 · Recent Trip to Yosemite

  
 
Mike Jacks0n
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


Here are a few from a recent trip to Yosemite... actually my first trip as an adult. While I was happy to spend time in the valley, I didn't realize the real beauty of the place was everywhere else, at least at this time of year. It wasn't until I decided to leave and headed out towards Mono Lake that I really fell head over heels for the place. Next time I hope to do the place a little justice...

Half Dome from Glacier Point by Mike Jackson, on Flickr

Half Dome Yosemite by Mike Jackson, on Flickr

Tioga Lake by Mike Jackson, on Flickr

Water Under the Bridge by Mike Jackson, on Flickr

Mono Lake by Mike Jackson, on Flickr




Oct 19, 2016 at 03:20 PM
bobbytan
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


Mike, these are all nice images but they would have been better if you had shot them very early in the morning or very late in the afternoon. The image of Half Dome that you shot from Glacier Point, for example, would have a wonderful golden glow on the face of the dome, with a nice sunset or twilight sky behind it, if you had shot this late in the day. A little bit of research on the net on the best time of day to shoot these iconic sights would go a long way.


Oct 19, 2016 at 05:11 PM
Mike Jacks0n
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


Thanks for the input, I do agree morning/evening light can look amazing, unfortunately this was more of a spur of the moment deal and everything was done in the same day. In all honesty, I was totally underwhelmed by the visit initially. I had basically decided to cut the visit short and leave due to the overall look of the valley. After leaving the valley I began to see the true draw of the park... but by then it was too late and the decision to leave was set.


Oct 19, 2016 at 07:38 PM
junglialoh
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


Wow. all of hem are very nice set of nice landscape photography.


Oct 20, 2016 at 05:59 AM
pbraymond
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


Do go back, it's very rewarding. The photographer in me finds Yosemite both easy but maddening to get "my" take on it. The explorer / wanderer in me loves it, so I figure it's always worth a visit even if photography sucks for that day. And I'm pretty sure all photographers have shots like yours in midday, and I hope you enjoy yours and get back there soon.


Oct 20, 2016 at 07:18 AM
Mike Jacks0n
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


junglialoh wrote:
Wow. all of hem are very nice set of nice landscape photography.


Appreciate it, thanks.

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pbraymond wrote:
Do go back, it's very rewarding. The photographer in me finds Yosemite both easy but maddening to get "my" take on it. The explorer / wanderer in me loves it, so I figure it's always worth a visit even if photography sucks for that day. And I'm pretty sure all photographers have shots like yours in midday, and I hope you enjoy yours and get back there soon.


Yeah, I'll definitely go back, but I doubt I'll do another Fall visit. Winter seems like it would be an interesting time, but I'm afraid chasing conditions would leave me with too many road closures. Early Summer is an option, but something tells me early to mid Spring will fit my style best (very water driven style).



Oct 20, 2016 at 08:18 PM
IShootThings
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


bobbytan wrote:
Mike, these are all nice images but they would have been better if you had shot them very early in the morning or very late in the afternoon. The image of Half Dome that you shot from Glacier Point, for example, would have a wonderful golden glow on the face of the dome, with a nice sunset or twilight sky behind it, if you had shot this late in the day. A little bit of research on the net on the best time of day to shoot these iconic sights would go a long way.



I disagree, I think #1 and #2 are great. Good job OP!

On a side note, visit during the winter when it's snowing. It's a whole other world....



Oct 24, 2016 at 11:20 AM
Travis Rhoads
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


Yosemite is a place that requires many repeated visits...I have only been once and can't wait to go back.

I actually like the soft light in #1, different than what is normally shot.
The reflections in #2 are also nice, I remember looking a lot for a shot like that...we had very low water levels on our trip, that made it tough.



Oct 24, 2016 at 11:36 AM
Mike Jacks0n
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


IShootThings wrote:
I disagree, I think #1 and #2 are great. Good job OP!

On a side note, visit during the winter when it's snowing. It's a whole other world....


Appreciate it, what I didn't say prior on the first one... I was there well before sunrise, things just didn't materialize, but luckily I was able to get something I liked.

I would assume winter is a great season for the park, but one of the locals told me its a hit or miss deal with road conditions. Having experienced that in a trip to the Grand Canyon I was a little put off on the idea, but I have to admit... that trip gave me some images I really liked.

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Travis Rhoads wrote:
Yosemite is a place that requires many repeated visits...I have only been once and can't wait to go back.

I actually like the soft light in #1, different than what is normally shot.
The reflections in #2 are also nice, I remember looking a lot for a shot like that...we had very low water levels on our trip, that made it tough.


Thank you, the water levels were terribly low. All of the falls seemed to be at a trickle or dry, and it was pretty much the same with most of the tributaries as well. The only moving water in the valley appeared to be from the Merced which was still reasonably strong.

I had one other shot that I liked from the trip, which was my first attempt at star trails. It didn't go to plan (plan being I met a guy there who talked me into trying it) so I didn't include it originally but I'll add it now and fee free to comment.

Merced River by Mike Jackson, on Flickr



Oct 26, 2016 at 06:03 PM
jforkner
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


Nice set. Ya did great on the star trails shot.

FWIW, I live about an hour & a half away, and find the weather in the park can change in a heartbeat. Luck plays a big part in images captured there---right-place; right-time-kind-of-thing. Point being...careful planning doesn't always work out. You got some great shots for a spur-of-the-moment visit.

Jack



Oct 26, 2016 at 06:40 PM
DSC01
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


Mike, you did good here. I was there last week myself for the first time it's a place that you could spend your whole life shooting. I agree the more creative opportunities are up on 120 and the toga pass. I'm not a big fan of star trails but yours came out nice. I was surprised how much air traffic there was I can see a few planes in your image . I was standing in the same spot for a full light shot and put the camera away there were about 10 contrails crossing the sky. Always fun to see shots form Yosemite so thanks for sharing these. Regards Dean


Oct 26, 2016 at 06:49 PM
Mike Boden
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


Nice set of images


Oct 26, 2016 at 09:44 PM
Travis Rhoads
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


Mike Jacks0n wrote:
Thank you, the water levels were terribly low. All of the falls seemed to be at a trickle or dry, and it was pretty much the same with most of the tributaries as well. The only moving water in the valley appeared to be from the Merced which was still reasonably strong.



We were there almost one year ago this week...Yosemite Falls had some water, but not much, Bridal Veil from everywhere we could see was as good as dry...no visible water, maybe a hint of wet rocks but even that was faint.



Oct 27, 2016 at 08:46 AM
Mike Jacks0n
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


jforkner wrote:
Nice set. Ya did great on the star trails shot.

FWIW, I live about an hour & a half away, and find the weather in the park can change in a heartbeat. Luck plays a big part in images captured there---right-place; right-time-kind-of-thing. Point being...careful planning doesn't always work out. You got some great shots for a spur-of-the-moment visit.

Jack


Thanks, and yes sometimes the best laid plans go awry... pesky weather, just never does what the weatherman said it would... two or three days earlier.

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DSC01 wrote:
Mike, you did good here. I was there last week myself for the first time it's a place that you could spend your whole life shooting. I agree the more creative opportunities are up on 120 and the toga pass. I'm not a big fan of star trails but yours came out nice. I was surprised how much air traffic there was I can see a few planes in your image . I was standing in the same spot for a full light shot and put the camera away there were about 10 contrails crossing the sky. Always fun to
...Show more

Yeah, a few captures in I noticed there would be tons of air traffic or satellites. This being the first time trying it, I definitely made some mistakes, but it gave me tons on ideas on how to do it better. I think the shot is composed of nearly 40 images (from a 5DS) so processing wasn't as seamless as I'm used to.

---------------------------------------------

Mike Boden wrote:
Nice set of images


Thanks.



Oct 27, 2016 at 03:02 PM
Josh Bustos
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


Hey Mike,
I also recently just took a short trip to Yosemite, for the first time ever. Really enjoying the use of water for your shots, the Mono Lake one is really nice. I haven't done a lot of stair trail work, but I'd say for your first time it looks fantastic, and the air traffic is kind of unavoidable (you could probably clone them out but it wouldn't be fun). Is your foreground composited from an early exposure with minimal/no stars? Just wondering as sometimes in star trail photos you're able to see reflection of the stars and it can be pretty cool.

Nice job!



Oct 27, 2016 at 03:34 PM
kellyakinsart
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


Nice set. One and two are excellent.
I wouldn't say the real beauty is everywhere else; but instead, that there is much beauty outside of the valley as well. And it's less crowded

Kelly



Oct 27, 2016 at 03:50 PM
Mike Jacks0n
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Recent Trip to Yosemite


Josh Bustos wrote:
Hey Mike,
I also recently just took a short trip to Yosemite, for the first time ever. Really enjoying the use of water for your shots, the Mono Lake one is really nice. I haven't done a lot of stair trail work, but I'd say for your first time it looks fantastic, and the air traffic is kind of unavoidable (you could probably clone them out but it wouldn't be fun). Is your foreground composited from an early exposure with minimal/no stars? Just wondering as sometimes in star trail photos you're able to see reflection of the stars
...Show more

Thanks, you hit it on the head, its a composite of a single twilight shot and of course about 40 or so shots from the dead of night for the stars. The guy that talked me in to the shot was there on his second try because he had made errors the night before. I'm thankful for the help and processing tips he shared. He did suggest a tip that would help with the reflected star trails, but I got lazy and didn't try it. It seemed simple enough to add in after the fact in post (an additional layer mirrored/reversed at about 60-75%, with a lighten layer filter). Had I exposed the base image correctly I might have spent the time on the reflection and the air traffic cloning.

---------------------------------------------

kellyakinsart wrote:
Nice set. One and two are excellent.
I wouldn't say the real beauty is everywhere else; but instead, that there is much beauty outside of the valley as well. And it's less crowded

Kelly


I appreciate it. The number of people really affect the perceived beauty for me, but yes you're right. However the comment was intended to be more of a measure of the time of year. IMO, note very little experience there, I thought the type of trees and plant life in the valley didn't lend well to fall, aside from the beautiful grass fields. Winter however, I would expect to be a completely different story, and the same with spring.




Oct 27, 2016 at 04:20 PM





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