wild flowers – Page 2

May 24, 2012January 14, 2013

Lake Vernon Loop

The spray from Wapama Falls creates a rainbow as it rushes into the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, Yosemite National Park

Recently a friend and I headed up to Yosemite for an early season 4-day backpacking trip. It was a good excuse to loosen up the joints for the summer and get out in the Sierra backcountry. We chose the area around Lake Vernon as sort of a staging point from which to launch an off-trail loop into some of the less explored drainages. Supposedly, this area was relatively snow-free compared to other areas at similar elevation (7,000 – 9,000 ft).

We decided to hike up out of Hetch Hetchy due to the easy access. Because permits are issued at the entrance gate, you can get a wilderness permit the night before as late as 9pm. That is a huge help for those driving up after work from the Bay Area. We got there Friday night, got our permit, and settled in at the backpacker’s campground overlooking O’Shaughnessy Dam. We were up at 5:30 the next morning, and hit the trail by 7am. We had a very long day of hiking and lots of climbing, so we needed the early start.

The uneventful hike along the edge of Hetch Hetchy reservoir was punctuated only by the raging waters of Wapama Falls (see photo above). A couple of weeks earlier, the flow from the fast snow melt was so great that park rangers closed the bridges across the falls and shuttled people by boat around the dangerous spots. I was happy that we timed it such that it was a easy walk through the water spray.

We reached Rancheria Falls by 9:30 and began our long climb up out of the lower elevations of Hetch Hetchy. After a long day of absolutely nowhere to camp (not that we were ready to stop anyway), we reached our destination of Lake Vernon. It ended up being a 16 mile day with 4800 ft of elevation gain. Not surprisingly, we were pretty worn out for a first day of the season! With little time to scout before it was fully dark, I set my alarm to wake up before sunrise and do some quick scouting for shots along the shoreline.

Twisted trunks of trees are reflecting in Lake Vernon are silhouetted against the pre-dawn light, Yosemite National Park

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One of the features of the lake that struck me was that all along the shoreline, trees were growing directly out of the water. I’m guessing that the Lake was at peak capacity and was flooding the base of the trees, but it definitely made for an interesting silhouette abstract. The sun soon rose into a cloudless sky, and we were quickly packed up and ready to hit the trail once again.

Above Lake Vernon, we hit quite a few places where the trail was under one to two feet of water. Large patches of snow began appearing amongst the trees. As we climbed higher, we began to worry about our original plan of climbing off trail to 9,000 feet and from there, exploring some of the ridge lines. As we got closer to our destination, we could see the ridges were still full of snow. With no choice but to change our plans, we camped up above Lake Wilma on some flat granite slabs next to a quiet cascade.

Water cascades down flat, open granite above Wilma Lake, Yosemite National Park

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The next morning we decided that the best course of action was to more or less retrace our steps back to Lake Vernon, as we were pretty worn out from trudging through flooded meadows and snow drifts. At least this day would be mostly downhill (only 1500 ft of elevation gain), as the previous two days combined were close to 8,000 ft of gain. Walking downhill most of the day allowed us to enjoy the beauty of Falls Creek, which the trail followed most of the day.

We set up camp in the same spot along Lake Vernon that we had used two nights earlier. A bonus was getting to use the rest of the firewood we had already gathered! The next morning was quiet and beautiful. The surface of the lake had settled into a mirror, reflecting everything along the shore with perfection.

A large pine grows out of a pile of granite boulders along the shore of Lake Vernon, Yosemite National Park

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After enjoying a leisurely morning at the lake, we didn’t hit the trail until 9:30, our latest start yet. That was okay, because we had only an 11 mile hike out to the car, downhill almost the entire way. We left the lake opposite our entry point, creating a loop from Hetch Hetchy to Lake Vernon. We made quick time, blasting out of there in 4 1/2 hours. The most scenic part of the last day was descending the old construction road from Beehive Meadows. This was a road built to service the building of the dam, which has been converted into a hiking trail. A few chunks of asphalt were still seen here and there, but for the most part, mother nature had wiped out this road long ago with severe freeze/thaw cycles and many rock slides. Although the exposed decent was hot and hard on the joints, it did offer some stunning views of the reservoir.

Lupine blooms adorn the hillsides surrounding the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, Yosemite National Park

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As I was reaching the waterline, I couldn’t help but try to visualize what this valley would look like in its original condition, before the dam was built. I couldn’t help but feel a touch of remorse as I imagined John Muir shaking his head in disgust.

We reached the car by 2pm and began the drive home. It was a great first trip of the season, clocking in at 3 1/2 days of hiking, just over 50 miles covered, and over 10,000 ft of elevation gained. If this was a warmup trip, what’s the next trip going to be like?

December 11, 2011January 14, 2013

Seeking Originality In Yosemite Valley

A California black oak stands in a field of wild flowers. In the background an immense granite wall rises from Yosemite Valley.

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This summer I spent some time with some old friends backpacking in the Yosemite high country. I love the high country any time of year, but especially in the summer, it offers a cooler respite to the throngs of visitors choking the roads of Yosemite Valley. However, one of my friends had not been to the park since he was a young child, and since we had a little time on our first day, we wanted to drive down in to the valley. I was game, but photographically, I was not expecting much. The valley was hot, had bad lighting midday, and several controlled burns were blowing smoke up the Merced, coating everything in a brown haze.

As we drove down into the valley, seeing all the tourists got me to thinking about originality and photographic vision. Here were millions of people getting out of their cars and taking essentially the same photo as the person they were standing shoulder-to-shoulder with. I started to formulate a challenge in my mind – search for a photograph that captures some of the essence of Yosemite Valley, but keep it fresh and unexpected. I didn’t know if I could come away with something I was proud of, having been through the same area with my camera so many times before.

Luckily the natural world is ever changing and constantly brings new surprises at every bend. The first thing I noticed were all of the wildflowers blooming in the fields on the valley floor. The yellowing grass of late summer was punctuated by brighter yellow blooms, spattered throughout the fields with chaotic perfection. Suddenly three elements came together, and I knew I had the shot I was looking for. A California black oak stood apart from its neighbors, surrounded by intense wild flowers. Behind the tree rose an immense sheer wall of granite, juxtaposing the flowers with cool blues and grays. Here was the essential Yosemite Valley, captured in a way I had never done before.

I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face as I strolled back to the car – a great start to a great trip.

August 9, 2011January 14, 2013

Columbia River Gorge Sunset

The sun sets on the Crown Point Vista House, overlooking the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon. Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L lens with the EOS-5D MkII. ISO 100. Evaluative metering -1/3: .4 sec. at f/16.

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Last weekend I was up in Oregon visiting my parents. One of the enjoyable aspects of visiting the area in which I grew up is some of the fantastic photographic opportunities there. Growing up at the mouth of the Columbia River Gorge, it was easy to take some of the remarkable scenery for granted. But living elsewhere and visiting this area helps me put fresh eyes on a familiar landscape.

This photograph features the famous Crown Point Vista House standing sentinel atop its cliff, overlooking the Columbia River. It is an over-photographed image, but one I love coming back to in different conditions. Here I only wished for a more dynamic sky, but as is always true in landscape photography, you get what nature gives you.

June 5, 2011January 14, 2013

California Quail

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The California quail is a very common bird, but one that is difficult to photograph. I usually only see them scampering from underneath one bush to the next, or flushing from a bush with a great commotion (and giving me a heart attack!) if I approach too closely. If there are other people around making any kind of noise, you can forget about any kind of photo. The only shots I have gotten in the past are of a quail streaking off into the forest.

A couple of weeks ago, I lucked upon one poking around for food on the ground out in the open. It was after sunset, and getting dark quickly. I was alone and trying to move quietly, hoping to see some wildlife before they saw me. When I rounded the corner and saw the quail, my heart skipped a beat and I silently lowered my tripod and prepared my camera.

It is then that I made a classic photographer mistake: I failed to recheck all of my camera settings from my previous shots. I had just been shooting a small song bird on a branch, surrounded by bright white sky. This required an exposure compensation of + 1 2/3 stops, in order to prevent the bird from being rendered as a dark silhouette. As soon as I saw the quail, I readjusted all the other important settings (shutter speed, aperture, ISO) but failed to realize I was over exposing. Luckily the magic of shooting in RAW format saved me, and I was able to recover any blown highlights. However, if I had exposed using a lower compensation (probably +1/3 or +2/3 would have worked here), I could have shot faster than the very slow 1/160 seconds that I used here. Thankfully I had locked down the gimbal head and the quail granted me with a brief over-the-shoulder glance, and I was able to come away with a decent shot.

This shot reaffirmed an old lesson – always know your settings. Sometimes if one setting is off, your images may be ruined, and it is not always immediately apparent from the camera’s LCD. I know wildlife photographers who always reset their cameras to a basic setup whenever they are finished photographing a particular subject. This is especially important in situations with varying light conditions. I know I’ll be following that lesson in the future!