• The top is 5,000 feet above the valley floor, which is about 4,200 feet above sea level. Yosemite is the second-deepest valley in California next to Kings Canyon which is up to 8,000 feet deep in spots.
  • The wind was blowing through the trees, creating a soft effect to the eye which comes through only in a long-exposure.
  • The wind was blowing from right to left, creating a soft look which was also better captured with a long exposure.
  • The clouds were streaking by the cliff tops, so a long exposure shows that movement well. I can better remember being here when I see these streaking clouds.
  • I made sure to include the entire reflections of the trees and a bit of the cliff. Anything less seemed to 'chop up' the composition. So I had the lens wide at 19mm.
  • I liked the dark branches and their smooth reflections.
  • I had to lay on a rock in the lake to get this open view. It was not the most comfortable spot!
  • LOVE the way the light plays on the rock in this area - John Lemieux
  • يازين الكشتة على جال هالنهر - fawaz albalagy فواز البلاجي

Half Dome Impressions #1 - Mirror Lake, Yosemite National Park, California

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This will be in the 2011 Nature Conservancy 2011 calendar!

Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!

support.nature.org/site/PageServer?pagename=bestnature200...

And this photo is in the 2010 nature Conservancy calendar for November:
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/275016883...

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Here is a 30-second slice of the history of Yosemite's glacier-formed and weather eroded Half Dome. As I watched the clouds streak by, I could really imagine how this place was formed over the eons. No HDR.

See the 1200 pixel version!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/366544232...

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Settings etc.:
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Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @ 19 (very wide to get it all into the frame)
30-second exposure @F13
Hoya ndx-400 10-stop filter - Very dark for long exposures in daylight.
2 hours before sunset when the light is still on the cliff face.
LEE soft ND grad (100x150mm) 0.9 + 0.75
Lee foundation kit filter holder with Lee 77mm adapter ring
No polarizer. I wanted reflections in the water
ISO 100 (a higher ISO to keep it at 30sec-F13 where the lens is very sharp)
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop

The clouds were moving quickly over the top of Half Dome, and the light looked good on the rock face. So I put on my dark filter to make a long exposure. Over the course of 30 seconds, the clouds moved a lot and the shadows of the clouds made for some good light across the face of the cliffs. And the moving trees and reflections softened in the reflected light from above.

This part of The Tenaya River is called Mirror Lake because is is often calm and reflective. But the wind softened the light falling on the water. The long exposure shows that soft light much better than a shorter one which would show the frozen choppy water. Sometimes a long exposure feels more realistic than a shorter one!

I do have some shots that are completely reflective when the wind calmed down. The effect is striking too.

The map shows exactly where this is. It is a 1-mile hike from the nearest road.

See my Flickr profile for a link to my newly designed website.
.

ilkin., May Bien, Abhishek \m/, Elia Cherici, and 1323 other people added this photo to their favorites.

View 20 more comments

  1. orlandojosemachado 30 months ago | reply

    Wonderful image! Congratulation!

  2. Trace Bug-A-Boo 29 months ago | reply

    awesome!

  3. Cocktailcarver 29 months ago | reply

    Wow!! Fantastic!!

  4. karelspringer 28 months ago | reply

    ok

  5. Juliotrlima 28 months ago | reply

    Perfect!!

  6. © Just B Photography [deleted] 28 months ago | reply

    I go to Yosemite National Park at least 4 times a year. This is absolutely amazing! Thank you for posting this!

  7. Qais Alamar 27 months ago | reply

    amazing shot and great colors

  8. Emotioned.com 27 months ago | reply

    We are working on a monthly travel and adventure sport competition, all winning entries will be published in an online magazine. Judge panel will selected from Flickr.

    There are 3 parts of the competition, 2 parts are currently under development:

    A Flick group called : www.flickr.com/groups/emotioned/

  9. *GeeRoT-> (WNR) (SMDB) 27 months ago | reply

    terrible just terrible!

  10.  Hubrouz 26 months ago | reply

    top de top !

  11. *Saariy* 26 months ago | reply

    NICE IMAGE & BEAUTIFUL COMPOSITION,WELL DONE


    Sunset time at marina

    *Saariy's Quality Pictures Gallery*
    Please comment & fave at least 2 photos after yours.
    Tag your photo : Saariy'sQualityPictures

  12. jeannie'spix 25 months ago | reply

    Just stunning

  13. Photo--Graphy [deleted] 24 months ago | reply

    Lovely capture


  14. Betsy J... 23 months ago | reply

    Spectacular !

  15. positive vibration... 21 months ago | reply

    terribles esos colores . un lujo

  16. Eyes of the Muse 19 months ago | reply

    The light in this photo is just phenomenal. :) Thanks for sharing.

  17. cyclops-photo 18 months ago | reply

    sensational shot...WOW

  18. m3rw1n's trav3logue 17 months ago | reply

    Extraordinarily breathtaking shot. c")

  19. victor98_2001 9 months ago | reply

    stunting shot

  20. Fotogravity KRK 7 months ago | reply

    Great shot... !!!

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