Last week I was again in the Yosemite High Country for a few days, camping at Tuolumne Meadows and photographing (mostly) along Tioga Road between there and Tioga Pass.
Conditions were... "interesting." Smoke from the Garnet fire was drifting across the area, and at times (mostly in the morning) it was quite thick. In addition, the areas was experiencing colder than usual temperatures for this time of the year, along with some inclement weather. So photography was challenging at times (when the sky was just plain gray and smoky) and better at others (when fog unexpectedly appeared before dawn in Tuolumne Meadows and on the last morning when I almost gave up after looking at overcast skies in camp, but found much better light up higher.)
The following set includes some of the photographs from this visit. Enjoy!
Update: Since the post title mentions Tioga Pass, I have added one more photograph made from that location.
(Next visit to the Sierra is likely near the. beginning of October, when the aspen colors appear.)
junglialoh wrote:
Impressive classic photography work - each has own unique special character
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Ross Martin wrote:
Lovely images, Dan, full of subtlety and masterfully executed from composition to development. #3 for me is really special.
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Danpbphoto wrote:
Beautiful compositions all Dan!
Dan2
junglialoh, Ross, and Other Dan... thanks!
I recognize that these are not (well, mostly not) epic images of far-away places that most will never go to. Rather, these are from a location that I've been visiting and photographing for decades, and this landscape is like an old friend, though a friend who keeps surprising me when I pay attention.
Ross, #3 is one of the better cases in point. It is a spot that people literally drive past, typically at or above the local speed limit, with their minds on the pass (less than a mile if heading east) or Tuolumne Meadows and points beyond if heading west. It is also a spot that is very lighting-dependent — it can be pretty bland at most times of day, but can become interesting for a coupe of short periods each day.
But years ago a Yosemite ranger friend said something to me that changed my orientation to this place and other places like it. It was a simple thing, essentially "ask yourself what might be just beyond those places that you take for granted."
It is one of those spots. I didn't notice it for years. Then I did, but it took me more years to stop and figure out how I might photograph it.
It isn't a famous, epic spot. But to me it represents a whole bunch of associations that define the experience of this particular high country.
And...
... a bonus. Two videos.
The first is a little spot along the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River, probably around the 9500'+ level and not far from Tioga Pass. It is close to the road and perhaps a few people will recognize the location.
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The second is me after and hour of more of early morning photography, stopping to babble about what I'm up to on that morning. Enjoy! Yes, it was cold!
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(I'll be grateful if anyone can point me to instructions for embedding the actual video into posts, rather than just the link. TIA.)
p.1 #12 · Yosemite: Tuolumne Meadows to Tioga Pass
kschilli wrote:
Very impressive work, well done.
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jm10_former wrote:
Nice compositions and well executed Dan!
jacob
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Al Trujillo wrote:
Nice work Dan and thanks for sharing the comments from the NP Ranger - very true!
kschilli, Jacob, and Al... Thanks!
That ranger also persuaded me to say much less about specific locations than I did at one time. He'd seen a lot of damage from places being overrun... and he also pointed out that the photographs can usually say what they have to say even without detailed location information. I was taken aback by that at first, but ended up seeing his point.
He was (and is, in retirement) phenomenally knowledgable about the park. Traveling the backcountry with him was a revelation — he knows very trail, could name every tree, and had a ton of stories to share!
p.1 #17 · Yosemite: Tuolumne Meadows to Tioga Pass
Beautiful area, well captured. There are a couple of spots I've seen along the Dana Fork that I'd like to get a better look at. Not as familiar with the area as you so it's usually, a "oops, there it was!" and then try to find a safe appropriate parking spot, etc., but there will be more trips, I hope.
p.1 #19 · Yosemite: Tuolumne Meadows to Tioga Pass
ctgoldwing wrote:
Just a great set Dan! Good on you
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Craig Gillette wrote:
Beautiful area, well captured. There are a couple of spots I've seen along the Dana Fork that I'd like to get a better look at. Not as familiar with the area as you so it's usually, a "oops, there it was!" and then try to find a safe appropriate parking spot, etc., but there will be more trips, I hope.
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IndyFab wrote:
Dan, you always make the best of the conditions your presented with. Very nice compositions
Thank you ctgoldwing, Craig, and IndyFab. :-)
Craig, it can be tricky finding a place to pull over in spots along that roadway… and then you are faced with the challenge of walking along the shoulder-less road to get to the exact spots. In places that shoulder is pretty steep, too. That was the case with #3 in this set. (By now I could probably write a guidebook: “Photographer’s Guide to Unexpected Parking Places.” ;-)
It has gotten a bit moe complicated in Tuolumne with the recent reconstruction of the roadway that lined the road with a curb and eliminated most parking spaces. I do understand why they did it — parking there had been something of a free-for-all that occasionally encouraged on the meadow. But it creates some additional challenges for photographers who are trying get to locations before the conditions disappear!
IndyFab, working with “conditions” has become kind of a thin for me. Absolutely spectacular conditions are the exception rather than the rule, and for every “top 10^ day there is another bottom 10% day to balance the slate… and a whole lot of in-between days when I have to search harder.
In a way that is a good thing. It is easy to get stuck in the trap of being frustrated by less than optimal days or the related trap of shooting the same old thing in poor conditions. But by just plain being out there, keeping the eyes open, and working at it… it often turned out that there are unexpected opportunities that we might otherwise overlook.
p.1 #20 · Yosemite: Tuolumne Meadows to Tioga Pass
gdanmitchell wrote:
I believe you are underestimating your talent Dan. I do not go looking for the image that impresses other photographers, then join "the crowd", but look to the image that can provoke a response albeit maybe only just 1 response, but you did "connect" with that one person. I then can immerse myself into the frame and see the photographic foundations in making a good photo that I learned by, note I say "good versus great... Yes the more the merrier BUT....It is like comparing a "classic car" to a Tonka toy model.
