Yosemite--Falls and Rivers

Our photography club specifically chose April to visit Yosemite National Park because of the abundance of water from the snow melt and the resulting dramatic gushing over the cliffs as waterfalls.  By summer, the majority of the waterfalls are either dry or barely trickle.  As luck would have it, our visit not only had an amazing amount of water in the falls, but the weather could not have been dialed in more perfectly.  Mornings were crisp in the upper 30s and quickly climbed into the 50s and 60s.  With full sun most every day, one warmed up fast hiking around the valley and climbing trails—layering was the key to all-around comfort.

We stayed at Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, which is an easy ten-minute walk from your room to the base of the falls.  It was a 5 minute walk to the Merced River that meandered through the middle of the valley and was accessible just steps away from the Lodge.  Convenient (and free) bus transportation looped around the valley floor to all the major stops and destinations.  Another short walk from the Lodge took you to Swinging Bridge which straddled the Merced River.  The shot of Yosemite falls above was taken from the bridge.  From morning until evening, the lighting was constantly changing the way this seen looked.  I was lucky to capture this moment with the late afternoon sun and the abundance of clouds that had built up during the warm day.

Yosemite Falls was mesmerizing.  One couldn’t help but stand there motionless and just look at the water and listen to its sound.  Visible from so many parts of the valley, Yosemite Falls was a constant source of inspiration and beauty.  Bridalveil Falls, another iconic waterfall at Yosemite, was equally exciting to watch, although it was a little further out and not as readily visible.  Bridalveil's excitement stems from the fact that you get a pretty good soaking when you walk up to the base of the falls.  What you experience is being enveloped in a mist so thick that it’s almost like standing in the rain.  For photography, this presented a challenge that I was not quite prepared for.  Nonetheless, the falls and the ensuing streams were beautiful and offered many opportunities to capture their beauty.

There are so many images that I'd like to share with you here, but there isn't enough room--so to see them you'll have to skip over to my website gallery and check out my Yosemite collection there:  http://www.costamesaphotography.com/Northern-California-Central/Yosemite

If you have questions or comments, I'd love to hear from you.  You can get ahold of me at CostaMesaPhotography@gmail.com