PINE (Pinus sabiniana) OVERLOOKING HETCH HETCHY
LEAF TRAILS
Rambling along the Merced River under a cloudy sky, I come across a colorful combination of rocks, moving water, and fallen leaves. I study the scene and formulate a concept for an image using a polarizing filter and long exposure times. Composing the frame, I partially rotate the filter to take in the reflection of the trees and cliffs as well as the rocks in the riverbed. Then I wait.
As leaves blown into the current from upriver trees float slowly toward me, I take a thirty-second exposure, which creates streaks. I repeat this process, one frame per gust of wind, for a few hours. When I’m done, I have eighteen images. In this shot, the position, direction, and flow of lines come together in a way far superior to the other frames. The Valley’s abundance of impressive icons can make these intimate scenes difficult to focus on, and as a result, I find them extremely rewarding challenges.
MERCED RIVER, AUTUMN
BRIDALVEIL FALL, WINTER
BRIDALVEIL FALL
Leaping over the edge of the south rim and plunging 620 feet (189 m) before eventually flowing into the Merced River, Bridalveil Creek feeds the first of several spectacular waterfalls visitors are likely to encounter when entering Yosemite Valley. Bridalveil Fall—a testament to the slow and magnificent forces of nature—typically flows year-round, thanks to a watershed filled with lakes, marshes, and groundwater-retaining meadows, as well as to its north-facing aspect, which means reduced evaporation.
Imagine the scene two million years ago: the floor of Yosemite Valley was near the top of the modern-day waterfall, and the creek was a simple tributary draining into a larger waterway. Then came the glaciers. Rivers of ice from the Tuolumne ice field repeatedly flowed into the Valley from both the Merced and Tuolumne crests, their massive weight cutting downward faster than the creek’s primarily water-driven erosional process. When the ice ultimately retreated, a hanging valley was left, a most striking and photogenic geologic phenomenon.
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