- This section is 320 feet high. The entire waterfall is 2425 feet high!
- I wanted each bubble to paint a little line in the water. A longer exposure would turn the water into milk!
- I included this tree on the edge to frame it a little and show that there is no lens distortion from such a wide-angle shot.
- The upper falls are here, but are hidden in the mist.
- This mist actually flows down hill right to where I'm standing. I was constantly wiping off the grad filters even while protecting the camera from the rain.
- I used the corner here as an exit point for the water. Other compositions just didn't feel right.
- I was on a slippery rock like this one, with just an inch of room above the water. The tripod was in the water in a somewhat precarious spot. But I wanted this angle so that is what I had to do.
- I love this - sdosick
- Congrats on FP!!! - www.matthansenphotography.com
- I ilke the mist - searcher101 ( charging up )
- This is a great detail! - FritsKlijn
- How did you protect the camera in the rain?? - I'm on a learning curve!!
- I hid under the bridge, plus I had an umbrella over the camera!
The Lower Falls - Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, California
It was a misty and foggy sunrise at 2425 foot Yosemite Falls. Here, only the bottom 320 feet are visible but it is still an impressive waterfall when the volume is high, like on this morning. No HDR.
Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!
See the 1200 pixel version!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/371016489...
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Settings etc.:
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Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @ 20 (very wide to get it all into the frame)
1.0-second exposure @F20 (only 1 sec to show movement and show detail
too)
10 minutes after sunrise
LEE soft ND grad (100x150mm) 0.9
Lee foundation kit filter holder with Lee 77mm adapter ring
No polarizer.
ISO 50
Small Slik tripod with Manfrotto pistol grip ball head
An umbrella with a towel to cover the camera
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
I think that a misty rainy day is the best time to capture a tall waterfall like this. There is more atmosphere, the mist from the falls shows up better and the soft light accentuates the color. The problem comes when you are trying to hop across slippery rocks with an umbrella and the tripod in one hand and a long walking stick for balance in the other hand. I'm glad that nobody saw me. There was nobody here at this time because of the rain and the time of day. Usually this place is crawling with tourists.
I used a 1 second exposure because a shorter exposure would freeze the water in place and a longer one turned the water into milk. This length allowed the water to paint the lower part of the image for me.
Can you believe that the waterfall you see is actually just the bottom 10% of the entire falls? The rest is hidden in the mist above.
The map shows exactly where this is. It is an easy 0.5-mile hike from the nearest road.
See my Flickr profile for a link to my newly designed website.
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Comments and faves
elginz, Rezoan Ratul, Wiffsmiff23, ©Helminadia Ranford(New York), and 1076 other people added this photo to their favorites.
elginz (47 months ago | reply)
Let me be the first one to congratulate you on an awesome and well thought out composition. Great shot!
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Jenae smiles :) (47 months ago | reply)
THis is beautiful! So amazing!
Rezoan Ratul (47 months ago | reply)
SUPERB!!! Amazing shot!
Shahriar Erfanian (47 months ago | reply)
wow! amazing!
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©Helminadia Ranford(New York) (47 months ago | reply)
Such a beautiful image Captured perfectly.
Graeme Webb (47 months ago | reply)
Perfect exposure and I just love the mist at the falls. Nice work.
1D110 (47 months ago | reply)
superbe photo
TiffanyCorrin5 (47 months ago | reply)
Aah, one of my favorite places! Great capture!
Dante Laurini Jr (47 months ago | reply)
Superb, as usual, Patrick. Great mist.
*MIAH* [deleted] (47 months ago | reply)
great long exposure shot, i used to live close to here as a child and i would go play guns on the rocks and pretend the tourists were the enemy, now i'm a tourist, but every time i see shots of yosemite those childhood memories flood back
TiDi (Tidiphotography.com) (47 months ago | reply)
Beautiful captured!
gb_packards (47 months ago | reply)
Incredible image!
amillionwalks (47 months ago | reply)
Sweet location, excellent shot!!
Paul Marcellini (47 months ago | reply)
Beautiful, very natural colors and a great comp
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Ted Rivera (47 months ago | reply)
The image just draws me in, love the details here!!
tropicaLiving - Jessy Eykendorp (47 months ago | reply)
excellent use of 1sec exposure, i like the details/lines of the motion water on foreground, details and colors of the whole scene are perfectly captured and yet another lesson from you..misty rainy day..thank you and have a nice weekend my dear~!
Patrick Campagnone (47 months ago | reply)
wonderful work.
Steve J O'Brien (47 months ago | reply)
Beautiful work thanks for sharing
A.Alwosaibie (47 months ago | reply)
very Amazing shot!!
A FUTURE FOTO (47 months ago | reply)
Perfect!
StevenPepper (47 months ago | reply)
Stunning, Patrick, as usual! Thanks for the info on how it was taken too. Very insightful.
JeremyRambles (47 months ago | reply)
Magnificent!
andrewhawleyford (47 months ago | reply)
wow
EileenaTurtle (47 months ago | reply)
absolutely amazing! :)
Borgabisi (Kris Harrison) (47 months ago | reply)
Paradise is correct...nicely captured in every way.
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crispyparty (47 months ago | reply)
Wonderful wonderful capture. Great decision on the 1 sec exposure instead of the usual long exposure. It truly shows the movement of the water!
albatros11 (47 months ago | reply)
Sublime !!
andyh120 (47 months ago | reply)
amazing capture!
Arjuna Ravikumar (47 months ago | reply)
Great shot! I like how the waterfall is framed in the background!
►Klaus Allmannsberger Photography (47 months ago | reply)
I like the perspective!
Great composition! - Congratulation!
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Jim Patterson Photography (47 months ago | reply)
One of my favorites from your Yosemite gallery on your website. A grand scene indeed.
sahara13 (47 months ago | reply)
Lovely shot as always.!!
* * Amanda * * (47 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Water Water Water, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Stunning!
OakleyOriginals (47 months ago | reply)
ooooo, this is SO NICE! Reminds me of our trek there last year.
© Ali Shokri / www.alishokri.com (47 months ago | reply)
excellent works, thanks
U A Satish (47 months ago | reply)
Awesome shot!
Wouter van Wijngaarden (47 months ago | reply)
Splendid , fantastic shot , great a really waterfall !
California CPA (47 months ago | reply)
wow! simply amazing! I love the angle as well!
Dirk Delbaere (47 months ago | reply)
great work again
Ga clicker (47 months ago | reply)
Terrific photo...
Fionn Luk (47 months ago | reply)
Wow stunning scenery! Love the long exposure on the waterfall and stream. Great composition
ashour rehana (47 months ago | reply)
Lovely landscape. Nice breakdown of the composition.
Stephen Oachs (ApertureAcademy.com) (47 months ago | reply)
Nice job, Patrick. Yosemite is an amazing place -- you've done it justice here.
In lak ech : soy otro tu (47 months ago | reply)
great work
Nuno S.Sousa (47 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Viagens e Locais Inesquecíveis - Unforgettable Travel or Place, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
'' 7 m D '' Mr.Dropy, my happy ending :'') [deleted] (47 months ago | reply)
absolutely amazing! :)
Pablo Poulain (47 months ago | reply)
just perfect
Foto Guy (47 months ago | reply)
Beautiful. You have all of the fun!
Julien Ratel ( Júllí Jónsson ) (47 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Fave Moi France (P1/ F3), Portrait Contest results!!!, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
excellent image dear!! thanks for the details of the shoot!!
Martina Morris ( Ireland) Thanks for your visits (47 months ago | reply)
Great Shot
Thank you for your visits. Have a great weekend