what to do in Yosemite ?

[Gordon]

Off for a 10 day tour of Death Valley, Eastern Sierras, Yosemite and Vegas, next weekend. I've been to Vegas and Death Valley, never been to Yosemite though and I can't wait.

I know I'll be tripping over awesome hikes, photographic vantage points etc. but wondered if anyone had any non-obvious suggestions for things to see in Yosemite.

[Charles Putnam]

Don't feed the bears...

Beyond that (yes, Yosemite does have bears), do take lots of film...I mean CF cards. Early morning/late afternoon light are the best. Google "photographing Yosemite" and you'll see a mess of ideas.

[Gordon]

Oh I have a mess of ideas. Several guide books, a few photo guides.

But I only have 4 days.

I wondered if anyone had any specific personal experiences to share.

[Charles Putnam]

Like I said...don't feed the bears.

Last time I was there (before digital existed) , one morning I hiked along the Merced river. Lots of good landscapes along there. I think there's still a walking trail thru the middle of the park. That'd be good for either early morning or afternoon.

Definitely plan your shoots in advance. There's a number of trails that are good for a half day hike and a full day.

[wondershots]

Well, four days is a lifetime compared to my time there. I had about 5 hours to visit as I was in San Jose on business. Defiantly get to Yosemite Valley and Glacier Point. Especially Glacier Point when the sun goes down. 5 hours was enough to convince me that I will be going back when I have more time. I'm sure the Merced River hikes are tremendous as suggested below.

I have a blog post of a few shots here: http://blog.wondershots.com/?p=29

Jim

[jeffkohn]

Early evening through sunset from Glacier and Washburn Points makes an excellent photo-op. The pullout on the opposite side of the tunnel from "tunnel view" is a good spot to shoot telephoto shots of Half Dome at sunset.

Shooting sunrise from down in the valley can be difficult, everything's in shadow until well after the sun is up. Early morning can be a good time to shoot at the base of some of the falls or along the Merced because the shade actually makes contrast more manageable. In springtime when we were there, there was a nice rainbow at the base of Lower Yosemite Falls around 7:30, not sure if the same is true in the fall.

The trail to Mirror Lake makes a good early morning hike (pretty short and flat, too), although at this time of year I don't think it will be flooded enough to get the reflection shot.

As for hiking, the two "big ones" we did while there were Upper Yosemite Falls trail, as well as to the top of Vernal and Nevada falls. Both are pretty strenuous, especially the Upper Yosemite, but well worth the effort. If you decide to go up Vernal and Nevada falls, my suggestion would be to go up the Mist Trail which goes right along side Vernal Falls on the way up, and when you come back down from Nevada Fall take the John Muir trail back to the valley floor and you'll get some different views of Vernal Fall.

If part of your visit will be over the weekend, you might want to consider going up to the high country (if it's still accessible), or over to Hetch Hetchy, to get away from the crowds in the valley.

[Gordon]

Thanks for the info, Charles & Jeff. I'm fairly well schooled in not feeding bears. I've been to a few other NPs before (Yellowstone stands out in my mind for bear sittings, 5 in two days)

Like the pictures Jim - thanks for sharing them.

I think from what I hear that the falls are pretty much down to a trickle in Autumn, but that the cottonwoods are all aflame for fall colours. I've been in the Sierras around this time of year before and the fall colour is actually pretty good.

We certainly plan on doing some of the longer hikes. I think we'll give half dome a miss this time around though. I've heard the hike to Glacier point is supposed to be a good one too. My wife and I are reasonably fit - not sure if I really want to carry a 1DII along though on some of the longer stretches.

We are coming in over the high side, via Tioga pass - I'm hopeful it won't be snowed in just yet. As for avoiding the crowds at the weekend, on Friday we head to Vegas. I hear it is pretty quiet there at the weekend...

[Gordon]

What a cool trip. Tioga pass was closed two days before we went in and closed the day after. Still quite a bit of snow on the ground too. Some great fall colour in the valley. It was incredibly crowded in the valley. All the lodges booked solid, couldn't find a parking space. All the view points were packed, people stopping at the side of the roads taking pictures everywhere.

Then you walk about 50 yards away down any trail and you are totally alone. We hiked for hours and never saw more than 2 other people each day. We did the 13 mile valley floor loops (and stumbled across a black bear about 5 yards from the trail - that was intense)

We hiked from the Tioga road out onto the top of North dome - a reasonably strenuous 10 mile hike but a fantastic view. Wasn't very steep or technical - just about 1500 ft of descent/ climbing to about 8,500 ft.

All the falls were pretty much empty, even with the snowmelt. Brideveil falls had a bit of water but not much. Was a great time of year to visit though, the fall colour was amazing.

[Gordon]

Here's some of the shots I took out there. Comments welcome.

[Dobick]

Originally Posted by Gordon

Here's some of the shots I took out there. Comments welcome.

Wow -- WOW WOW WOW!

I counted seven or eight shots that literally made my jaw drop.

The one with her arms spread wide on the edge, the reflection in the glasses, the night scene on the strip, the huge sky, etc etc, etc...

Incredibly good!

[TXFZ1]

Wow, After Sunrise and sential are my favorites. The lightstreaks in sential make it.

David

[Gordon]

Thanks Kent, David. The whole trip and portrait project were a lot of fun and I learned quite a bit along the way. Both of those national parks are stunning, in dramatically different ways.

[Dobick]

Originally Posted by TXFZ1

Wow, After Sunrise and sential are my favorites. The lightstreaks in sential make it.

David

I was wondering where you came up with the names, so I went back and looked at them without putting it into a slideshow.

Gordon, I hope you know the shots that I was referring to in the original post I made

[Jay Henley]

very nice detail Gordon. glad you had a good time. the wife and I will going there for four days in February. Lake Tahoe, then over to Yosemite. Staying in the valley at the "lodge at the falls". doubt if there will be any falls though in February.

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by Jay Henley

very nice detail Gordon. glad you had a good time. the wife and I will going there for four days in February. Lake Tahoe, then over to Yosemite. Staying in the valley at the "lodge at the falls". doubt if there will be any falls though in February.

That's where we stayed too - pretty good actually. The rooms were not bad. Location is amazing. Food court isn't great ;) There was no water in the falls when we were there, other than in brideveil falls. You probably won't be able to get in via Tioga pass at that time of year, but you probably already know that. We just got in between two closed days.