Posted by Bryan Pezman on January 8, 2009 at 5:29 AM
My very first trip to Yosemite, I came up with a buddy via the Fish Camp/Wawona road into Yosemite and we were greeted with heavy snow & fog almost the entire drive.
Once we reached the Tunnel View, I glanced my very first ever view at that mammoth granite El Cap & the beautiful valley. This was what I saw that fine day as the clouds broke just long enough to peek what was to come... Needless to say, I was awestruck.
Posted by Derek Sedillo on January 8, 2009 at 11:56 AM
Very Nice capture Bryan!
What a glorious first sight of the valley!!! I have been wanting to catch some of that famous low level fog over the trees. Which day was this taken?
This definately works as a B&W. You nailed the composition. And the snow on the foreground trees really brings it up a notch.
The only suggestion I have is to work on the highlights a bit, specifically the bright snow in the UR corner. It seems to be clipping. You could try some selective dodging. And possibly try lowering the contrast just a bit. But the UR corner may be all that needs work.
Posted by Andre Torng on January 8, 2009 at 5:05 PM
The snow on the trees makes them look like Christmas tree lights. The fog on the ground makes it a little dream like, and the 35mm lens make the emphasis on the foreground valley rather than the deep tunnel view. Very unique and excellent view.
Posted by Jetson Nguyen on January 8, 2009 at 6:19 PM
The soft glow in this is awesome - did you do some Orton? Whatever you did, it worked! Such a dreamy scene.
Posted by Lon Overacker on January 9, 2009 at 2:53 AM
Bryan,
This is exactly why it never hurts to make a short trip up to Tunnel View no matter how many times it's been photographed! The fog in the valley and climbing up the north walls is wonderful. This is great in b&w. I do detect a little Orton? Regardless, a classic and timeless catch.
On a side note, I'm still a bit distracted by the ski-jump watermark. I totally understand the need, but it takes away from the enjoyment of the image, IMHO.
Lon
Posted by Bryan Pezman on January 9, 2009 at 3:23 PM
No worris Lon, if it were up to me, I'd never have watermarks haha.
Thanks for the comments all! I'm pretty stoked about how well this one turned out. Derek, I agree, it still needs a bit of pullback on that upper right hand snow.
So the processing of this shot was a pretty interesting conversion. The photo was originally in color and when converting into black and white, the foreground trees ended up pretty muddled and without tone. So I changed the color temperature in raw, pulled back the highlights (the sky was blown out in several spots) and rather than convert it into black and white, I used Nik's Infrared B&W soft filter which really added the mood to what I was hoping to capture.
Needless to say, if I had used this shot in its original color, it would have been a throwaway to me but when converted to B&W, it truly came together. Funny how that works isnt it? Makes me want to search through all my old catalogs and see what else I've been missing!
Posted by David Senesac on January 9, 2009 at 11:48 PM
Hi Bryan,
Better than any of mine on snowy days from that spot. Until recently when the park removed several pines below the wall, that wonderful view was limited to one narrow spot between trunks and increasingly crowded. A long drive from Orange County, but now you know and will need to burn gas again in the future.
Posted by Eric Good on January 10, 2009 at 1:21 AM
It's amazing that even with the popular Half Dome shrouded in clouds this image still commands attention. That fog spread about the valley floor and fresh dusting of snow really paints this scene in the best of conditions. Nice conversion, both in terms of tones and just the right amount of softening. Good stuff!
All I can say is that you were incredibly fortunate to have this as your very first view of Yosemite Valley. This is stunning. Congratulations on a fine image.
Posted by Jimmy Gekas on January 11, 2009 at 7:56 PM
Congrats, Pez. I love this.
Posted by Art Escobado on January 18, 2009 at 3:19 PM
I like how you composed the foreground trees to heighten the U shaped valley effect. I wish I had done this on my first trip to Yosemite. This inspires me to go back to my files and try to get more tree foreground. Between this and the web sharpening techniques I look forward to going over my first trip and sharing.
Discussion
14 repliesOnce we reached the Tunnel View, I glanced my very first ever view at that mammoth granite El Cap & the beautiful valley. This was what I saw that fine day as the clouds broke just long enough to peek what was to come... Needless to say, I was awestruck.
Canon 1dsMarkII 35mm f1.4 @ f16, ISO 50, 1.3 seconds exposure
What a glorious first sight of the valley!!!
This definately works as a B&W. You nailed the composition. And the snow on the foreground trees really brings it up a notch.
The only suggestion I have is to work on the highlights a bit, specifically the bright snow in the UR corner. It seems to be clipping. You could try some selective dodging. And possibly try lowering the contrast just a bit. But the UR corner may be all that needs work.
Thanks for posting!
Derek
John
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Enduring Light Photography
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Site Updated 10/27
This is exactly why it never hurts to make a short trip up to Tunnel View no matter how many times it's been photographed! The fog in the valley and climbing up the north walls is wonderful. This is great in b&w. I do detect a little Orton? Regardless, a classic and timeless catch.
On a side note, I'm still a bit distracted by the ski-jump watermark. I totally understand the need, but it takes away from the enjoyment of the image, IMHO.
Lon
Thanks for the comments all! I'm pretty stoked about how well this one turned out. Derek, I agree, it still needs a bit of pullback on that upper right hand snow.
So the processing of this shot was a pretty interesting conversion. The photo was originally in color and when converting into black and white, the foreground trees ended up pretty muddled and without tone. So I changed the color temperature in raw, pulled back the highlights (the sky was blown out in several spots) and rather than convert it into black and white, I used Nik's Infrared B&W soft filter which really added the mood to what I was hoping to capture.
Needless to say, if I had used this shot in its original color, it would have been a throwaway to me but when converted to B&W, it truly came together. Funny how that works isnt it? Makes me want to search through all my old catalogs and see what else I've been missing!
Better than any of mine on snowy days from that spot. Until recently when the park removed several pines below the wall, that wonderful view was limited to one narrow spot between trunks and increasingly crowded. A long drive from Orange County, but now you know and will need to burn gas again in the future.
All I can say is that you were incredibly fortunate to have this as your very first view of Yosemite Valley. This is stunning. Congratulations on a fine image.
Thanks for posting!
AE