As mentioned in the last post, the Merced River canyon had a fantastic poppy bloom this spring, while most of the other widflower hotspots were subpar. I spent a warm Easter Sunday photographing the bright orange blooms along the Hite Cove trail. After a couple of hours, I wanted to move on and check out another spot that I’d explored in 2009, a side road along the river near El Portal.

With the exception of the Hite Cove trail, the flowers in the Merced River canyon are difficult to access. The hillsides are very steep, with loose rocks and plenty of poison oak, as I found out the hard way earlier in March. This side road leads to some easier access to wildflowers, including poppies and lupine. About a half mile or so along, the road passes beneath a cliff that is topped by a steep slope full of brilliant orange poppies. I’m not a rock climber, so getting up the flowers wasn’t an option. So how should I photograph them?

To solve this issue, I used my 70-300mm lens to zoom into a backlit poppy patch. These petals let a lot of light through, so they really glow when backlit. I got almost directly below them to get a dark background, then used a polarizer to enhance the color and darken the sky even more. I used f/5.6 to keep the poppy patch in focus while blurring everything else.

While most of the famed California wildflower hotspots sit dormant this spring, one location stands out above the rest. The Merced River canyon in Mariposa County is a scenic spot that is a great warm-up for Yosemite Valley, which is the ultimate destination for travelers along Highway 140 through the canyon. In the spring, the steep hillsides become green after winter rains, which sets the stage for an awesome spectacle in some years. In 2009, for example, the hillsides above the river were ablaze with the bright orange color of millions of California poppies. The state flower definitely stands out, and any large patch of them is visible from a ways off. The highest concentration of these blooms can usually be found in the Antelope Valley of southern California, as well as the hillsides above the Grapevine pass on Interstate 5. However, the Merced River canyon contains just as many, if not more, poppies in a good bloom year as those locations.

The wildflower season in California usually begins sometime around mid-March in the central part of the state. This year, however, the season has been pretty quiet as the early and mid-winter periods were very dry. As March progressed, the storm track shifted and brought a couple of cold storms into the central Sierra, which drew me to Yosemite for some snow photography. On one of these trips, I noticed that the hillsides in the canyon were starting to turn orange, so I made a mental note to return here after a couple of weeks. But those weeks went by and more rain came, so the warm weather that flowers need to bloom hadn’t materialized.

Finally, the weather pattern shifted back to warm and dry and the poppies exploded in the canyon. I headed out there on a Sunday and spent most of the day photographing the bright orange flowers. One spot that provides easy access to the blooms is the Hite Cove trail near El Portal, about 15 minutes outside of Yosemite. The best flowers are within the first half mile, so you don’t have to hike far. This trail provides interesting compositions as well. The trail basically clings to a steep slope covered in flowers which drops to the south fork of the Merced River, so a common composition is the one you see here. Using f/5.6, I focused on the foreground group of poppies to give the “infinite orange” look to this image.

My last stop for the day on this late-winter Yosemite trip was the Valley View area, on the western side of the Valley. The snow was closing back in by this time, and I figured that I would head out of the park before the chain controls were hoisted again. Before I left, though, I wanted to revisit this popular spot for some snow-covered river rocks.

I was surprised to find only one other vehicle at the viewpoint; typically, there is at least one tour bus there along with several cars. I parked and wandered out through the trees, aiming for a spot just downstream from the big fallen tree in front of the paved viewpoint. This spot affords a nice view of the big rocks and tufts of grass in the river, which are covered in snow after a storm. These little “snow muffins” are awesome foreground subjects.

A brief break in the snow allowed me to set up the camera and capture a few images. For this shot, I sat down in the snow to get a low profile to capture the subtle textures in the snowdrifts. The view was almost too wide for my lens, but I was able to get it all in one shot.

Exactly one month before, I had captured this amazing scene. Just like the Yosemite Falls view, this spot paid off again.

As I made my way through Yosemite Valley on March 18, the departing winter storm was still hanging on. The clouds were breaking and sun was peeking through, but it was intermittent at best and I focused on smaller subjects for a while. After an hour or so, the clouds cleared a bit more and allowed some sun to break through. This light provided fantastic shadows along the snow-coated Valley walls. These shadows also made for nice abstract subjects, but after a while I wanted to capture some grand, snowy scenics. I headed to my favorite vantage point of Yosemite Falls to see what I could capture.

The trail leading along the river from the parking lot was covered in about 6 inches of snow, so I slid along the trail to the boardwalk that I usually shoot the falls from. The water below was frozen, and no reflection was evident, so I took a couple of shots and wandered back toward the parking lot. The sun broke through suddenly, and the passing clouds created nice shadows over the falls and surrounding cliff faces. One cloud seemed to be hugging the left side of the falls, so I composed an image that included the persistent cloud with the falls in the sunlight.

This spot pays off for me time and time again!

Wildflower season has gotten off to a slow start this year in the great state of California. The early and mid-winter months were very dry; the weather pattern was dominated by high pressure, which steered all of the usual winter storms farther north into the Pacific Northwest. The lack of rainfall for most of the winter season is a contributing factor, but the late winter and early spring weather pattern is also to blame.  Since early March, those winter storms have moved farther and farther south, bring rounds of wind, rain, and cold temperatures to the northern 3/4 of the state. This has hindered the wildflower blooms as well.

One area that has been blooming is my favorite Northern California wildflower haunt, Butte County’s Table Mountain. I usually make two trips here each spring, one in mid-March to check the progress of the flowers, and one around the end of March or early April to spend the day photographing them. My expectations were low when I made this exploratory trip; the weather for the previous few days had been cool, and the day itself was mainly cloudy. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of flowers that were out, especially at the end of the trail above the waterfall.

For this image, I crouched at the bottom of a gentle slope filled with California poppies. Using a large aperture, I shifted the focus point to the poppies in the foreground in order to blur the rest of the flowers. This creates a scene that leaves the viewer to imagine what could be in that expanse of bright orange.

The calendar may read April, but Mother Nature doesn’t seem to care. Winter in California is still hanging on; the weather pattern has shifted from high pressure, which dominated January and a good part of February, to a series of Pacific storm systems that has brought rain and mountain snow to the thirsty state. The contrast from previous years is stark; two years ago, the beginnings of an epic wildflower bloom were in progress at this time.  Even last year, at the tail end of the wettest winter in my time in California, spring had already sprung by the third weekend in March. But 2012 is an odd duck; the so-called “Miracle March” that so many water-dependant folks had wished for has come to pass.

One of these storm systems zipped through central California on March 17th and 18th, dropping some much-needed rain and mountain snow in areas north of about Fresno. This was a cold storm, probably the coldest storm that the state has seen this season. Snow levels started out high, but dropped to around 1500 feet by the morning of Sunday the 18th. After missing out on snow during my mid-February trip, I packed up some warm clothes and headed to Yosemite.

I arrived at the Arch Rock entrance around noon. Just like my post-storm trip here in January 2008, the clouds were swirling and breaking just as I arrived. I headed straight up the Wawona road to Tunnel View, where I was greeted by a classic winter Yosemite scene. Snow-covered trees and swirling clouds framed the famous view of Yosemite Valley as shadows danced across the trees below. Bands of snow moved across the viewpoint as I set up the camera, providing even more drama as they passed through the valley to the east.

At that moment, I thought that there was nowhere I’d rather be.

And that’s why I do this.

After a chilly night at Curry Village, I awoke before sunrise to an overcast sky.  A weak weather disturbance was passing by to the east, bringing clouds and a few snow flurries to the Sierra Nevada.  I had checked the forecast before I left home so I figured that the clouds would eventually clear out, much like they had the day before, so I wasn’t too worried about the photo opportunities later in the day.  But what to photograph in the meantime?

I decided to go to the Yosemite Lodge for breakfast, since the light and contrast weren’t too great.  Once I got out of the tall pines, however, I noticed a little break in the clouds to the east, right where the sun would be rising.  Envisioning a sun-star-type photo op, I stopped near the Yosemite Falls bus stop and wandered out into Cook’s Meadow.  Sure enough, the sun rose right through that little break in the overcast; however, the light quickly became muted by the persistent high-level cirrus above.

A brief bout of disappointment was broken by what I noticed next – a rainbow-type feature known as a circumzenith arc.  This feature, a type of “photometeor,” occurs when the ice crystals in the cirrus clouds refract the sunlight, much like a prism, creating the effect seen here.  I used a polarizer and a 3-stop graduated neutral density filter to darken the sky and enhance the arc.

As mentioned a couple of posts ago, my President’s Day trip to Yosemite had one main goal – to photograph Horsetail Falls.  During the latter half of February, the setting sun strikes the small waterfall that cascades down the eastern face of El Capitan and turns it bright orange and red.  This phenomenon has become very popular over the past several years, attracting photographers from far and wide to Yosemite Valley.  This was to be the first time I had attempted this shot.

For this phenomenon to even occur takes very special conditions.  First of all, the sun angle must be correct, which happens in both February and October.  Second, the waterfall must be flowing.  This winter has been very dry, so this has been a hit-or-miss proposition at best.  Finally, the western horizon must be clear to allow the sun to get through.  In most winters, this is rather rare as clouds tend to bank up against the gentle western slope of the Sierra Nevada.  But this year, it hasn’t been much of a problem due to the lack of storm systems.

All of these conditions were met for my trip, except for one – a flowing waterfall.  When I got to the El Capitan picnic area two hours before sunset, the parking lot was already full and tripods were lined up beneath the pines.  I joined the group and waited for the spectacle to begin.  Sure enough, the rock face started to glow about 20 minutes before sunset, turning a more reddish hue as sunset drew closer.  Even without the waterfall, the glow of the rock was quite a sight to behold.

The Sentinel Bridge over the Merced River is a favorite shooting spot of many photographers, including yours truly.  Although I’ve shot many a picture from this bridge, I just can’t resist the urge to shoot another each time I’m in Yosemite Valley.  One of my signature images was taken from this bridge in January 2011.  The bridge affords a beautiful view of Half Dome, which in the winter can be absolutely spectacular.

As the afternoon clouds cleared over the Valley, I made my way to this bridge and set up with a few other photographers.  The clouds were still covering Half Dome, but every once in a while, the famous rock would peek out from its water vapor shroud.  I tried some photographs of the clouded dome reflected in the river, but the compositions didn’t appeal to me too much; I switched from wide angle to a longer lens and compressed the scene.

Within 5 minutes of the lens change, the clouds cleared away from the face of Half Dome.  For the next 20 minutes or so, this thin cloud veil came and went.  I switched back to the wide angle to capture the dome and the surrounding trees, but the more compelling composition, at least to me, was the compressed one, with just the dome and the cloud.

The purpose of my trip to Yosemite over President’s Day weekend was to capture the famous (or infamous, if you are crowd-averse) “firefalls” phenomenon.  However, on the first day, the western horizon was blocked by clouds for most of the afternoon, so I made alternate plans for sunset.

The Valley View viewpoint is another often-photographed spot in Yosemite Valley.  It’s iconic for a reason; the view is simply spectacular.  El Capitan and the Three Brothers tower above the Valley floor while the Merced River babbles by in the foreground.  I’ve snapped many a frame from this spot, usually with clear blue skies.  One of my favorite winter photographs was taken from this spot in January 2011,  I had hoped for some snow on this trip, but it was not to be.  However, dramatic skies were not in short supply.

When I arrived at the location about 30 minutes before sunset, a large group of photographers had already staked out their spot.  I wandered downriver a bit to find a somewhat different composition.  However, that plan didn’t work, so I found an opening in the tripod line and set up for a classic Yosemite image.

By this time, the clouds had broken in the west and light was showing through.  It briefly lit up the entire face of El Capitan, but a couple of minutes later the light disappeared.  I stopped down to f/22 to get a longer exposure time for the water when suddenly the bottom half of El Capitan lit up.  The clouds must have broken one last time before the sun dropped below the western horizon, which allowed one last gasp of light to hit the famous rock face.  Remembering how brief the last bit of light was, I quickly shot several frames of this dramatic scene.  The clouds clearing from the top of El Capitan provided even more drama, and the longer exposure time helped to bring out the reflection in the river.