Chaz
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| p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Yosemite Horsetail Fall B.C. (Before Crowds!) | |
Given the poor water conditions this year and the difficulty of participating in the event I thought I'd post a shot of "Horsetail Past."
Like G. Dan Mitchell, I have been fortunate to have photographed the annual February phenomenon over a number of years before the hordes got wind of it and created the frenzy we have today.
I began taking pictures of the remarkable occurrence beginning in 2006 and tripped the last shutter in 2016. Happily, my archive houses many hundreds of captures, some of which are very pleasing to me.
I photographed from both the Picnic Area and the Southside Drive river bank over the years and typically spent 5-10 days in each year trying for the magical "keeper." The number of days was dependent each year upon the condition of the waterfall. And, even when getting "skunked" as we did many times, the enjoyment was in the hunt and we always went home happy!
Early on, like Dan, I found myself in a group of a small number of devotees and we enjoyed the comradery of standing around shooting the bull and waiting for the magic moments to appear. Wonderful stories and memories were created during these outings.
This scene is from February 13, 2014.
Among my numerous captures I always like to include a wide shot of the scene to indicate a sense of "place." In this case the view describes exactly where Horsetail Fall is located on El Capitan. This is very helpful for viewers who are not personally familiar with the location.
"It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over" Dept. This particular day was showing drab and dreary right through official sunset (you can see the heavy cloud cover to the left/West.)
We caught a few moments where the light teased us, and those nimble enough squeezed off a few frames before the scene began to darken again.
Then at 5:40 p.m. a hole opened and the "Holy Grail" appeared - that thin sliver of glowing light against the fully-shaded granite.
This was fully some 8-10 minutes after sunset and many had given up hope and were already packing up and leaving, only to miss the money shot of the day.
The Moral: STAY PUT until you can comfortably say it really is over.
This old timer is now signing off from the "Horsetail Fall Firefall…"
Horsetail Fall Firefall
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