Yosemite Day 1

Yosemite the Dream

When I was 10 years old, I saw pictures of Yosemite for the first time. Whether it was my mother or my 5th grade teacher Rick Redness who first introduced me to Ansel Adams, I can't really remember. I do remember thinking Yosemite was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. The photos inspired me to take up photography, begging my father for a communist made, East German 35mm camera (called an Exa, circa 1974) and eventually a B&W darkroom. Because of Ansel Adams, photography was all I was interested in for several years, driving many of my friends crazy with my obsessiveness.


Many obsessions would intervene over the years, but I always remembered the feeling Yosemite generated for me, never passing an Ansel Adams print without remembering how beautiful it was and how deeply I wanted to go.


Since buying a DSLR 2 years ago, I became friends with Ralph, a member of my local camera club. Eight months ago I mentioned to him that the Nikonians were sponsoring a photographic workshop and how it would be the perfect way to finally see Yosemite. After only a few days, he said we should do it and we started making plans. I couldn't believe it, I was really going.


On May 12, 2010 we both met Ralph's friend Scott at JFK and took a plane to San Francisco. After an uneventful flight to SFO, a rare treat these days, we drove 1 1/2 hours to the East and found a hotel for the night 2 hours shy of Yosemite. I fell asleep in the big comfortable bed knowing the next 3 nights would be in soft-sided cabins with no heat. I couldn't wait.


Yosemite: Day 1


When we started driving the next day, the terrain was all very flat. Florida flat. I was wondering if the GPS had lost its way. I checked my email and Facebook one last time, it would be the last decent signal I would have for days.


Ralph and Scott have known each other since high school, but they were careful not to reminisce that much and we descended into talking about guitars. I tried to keep my mind on the conversation, but my thoughts were flying over the hills ahead to Yosemite.

As we drove on, the hills stared rolling and I was starting to feel like we were getting closer. There were some interesting things to photograph, I rolled down the window and squeezed off a few shots (those shots always look like you took them from a car window). But Yosemite was the goal and we kept going up the many switch-backs that led to the park.

Now the terrain looked right. As we gained altitude I started to get very excited and then I saw the sign for the entrance to Yosemite. 


Now after dreaming about doing anything for 36 years, I think anyone might get emotional during that dream's fulfillment. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I got a little misty behind my polarized wrap around shades. Alright I got a lot misty, but Ralph and Scott seemed to be totally unaware, so my manhood, in their eyes, remained intact (that is, until now). A thought started running through my head like a drum beat, "I'm really here, I'm really here." As we entered the park I studied every tree and rock, slapped Ralph on the arm, all the time thinking "I'm really here."


As we drove down the picturesque road we saw several people standing by the side of the road next to a marsh. Scott and Ralph said I guess they have never seen a marsh before. But from my trip to Yellowstone I knew what this kind of crowd meant. As we passed I craned my neck and saw it. In the middle of the marsh was a bear. I told the guys and we turned around as I attached my 300mm lens. Now before we had left home, the FAQ section of the Nikonians web site had said that the odds of even spotting a bear were between 1-5%. We had now been in the park 10 minutes and had beaten the odds. The 3 of us stood by the road squeezing off shots until the bear looked right at me.

It was then I realized I was pretty damn close, about 25 yards, and if he charged I wasn't sure I could make it back to the car. But it was a black bear (who was in fact brown). They are a lot mellower than grizzlies and since there were no cubs to defend, I figured I was relatively safe. The printed guide they gave us at the park’s entrance said in order to be in danger you would have to be within 20 yards. More on that later.


After we had taken our fill of shots, we said goodbye to the bear and drove farther into the park with plenty of time left to make our orientation at Curry Village in an hour. Then in the middle of the road a man with a stop sign loomed. "Sorry folks they are taking down some trees, the road is closed for about 30 minutes." Now the New Yorker in me quickly thought, "What are you kidding me?" But the newly emerged "Todd of Yosemite" intervened when I heard the loud crack of a 10 story lodge pole pine crashing to the forest floor. "We are on Yosemite time now." 

Quickly we grabbed our cameras and began to shoot the loggers taking down the trees that had been killed by a fire. 


They were experts at this and took down a large tree every few minutes. It is always a pleasure to watch a true master at work, and the 30 minutes went by very quickly.

We waved goodbye to our new friend, the stop sign holder, and drove through large fields of devastation. The fire had all but cleared the land leaving the occasional burnt pole of a tree and rocks. It must have been a very large fire. 


We burrowed through a couple of tunnels that went through the mountains and then I saw it. In the distance was Half Dome. Not in some dusty book, but right here in front of me. "We have to stop", I said. Scott and Ralph resisted due to the time, but only for a few seconds. 

Now it isn't the best photo I've ever taken, but each time I look at it I am filled the pure awe I felt at that moment. 


As we drove into Yosemite Valley, we passed all the places I had known from Ansel's work, but had never known where they were in relation to each other. I took off my seat belt so I could slide easily from side to side in the back seat. I knew I could get hurt if we got into an accident but I had to see this unencumbered. Bridalveil Fall to the right, El Capitan to the left, Sentinel Falls, Yosemite Falls and dead ahead Half Dome. I was speechless and happy beyond reason. I was 10 years old again.

We pulled into Curry Village and walked very quickly to the center lodge. Made it by 2 minutes. Mike Mariant was the instructor for the workshop. He explained about how the tents were heated (an unexpected surprise) and that you needed to keep all food and scented items in the bear box outside our tents so a bear won't tear it apart looking for food. He made sure we knew cars could easily be pealed like a piece of candy by a bear, so we shouldn't leave anything in our cars a bear might want. This seemed very different from the 1-5% chance of even seeing a bear described in the FAQ, but I had come through my first bear encounter okay, so I was ready for Yogi. Mike then told of a rock slide that had injured a few kids in 2008 right here in Curry Village, but this wasn't the season for rock slides so we shouldn't worry. After someone asked how you know a rock slide is coming, Mike said it sounds like thunder. It felt like something out of Moby Dick, but undaunted we grabbed our harpoons and headed out.


As we walked I asked Mike what we should do if we heard a rock slide, he said, ”Run for the meadow." This sounded like the same advice they give you on an airplane for a crash; put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye.

We were going to our 1st location, the Cascades. But first Mike threw everyone a curve ball. We wouldn't be using the meter or anything other than manual this week, including focus. Now I had gotten used to shooting in aperture mode and had done enough manual metering to be comfortable, but no meter at all and manual focus? Although my heart was again 10 years old, my eyes were definitely over 40. I didn't want to come back from my dream with a bunch of out of focus images. But I decided to go with it and snap off a few "just in case" images letting the camera focus as well (none of which I needed by the way). Not to get too technical, but Mike's philosophy is to use a starting point called "Sunny 16" which is to set your ISO and shutter speed to the same thing and your f-stop to 16 in the sun. You then dial in your exposure from there. No looking at the meter or the histogram. It works and frees you up to be more creative with exposure. It was also the perfect Zen teaching of Yosemite, forget what you have learned, and start with a blank slate.

We were using -6 stop ND to shoot the waterfalls. A laborious process, but the only way to get that "cotton candy" waterfall look in bright sunlight. The Cascades were kind of a starter waterfall by Yosemite standards, but those shots have gotten a lot of comments on FB, so once again always trust your teacher. The lesson there was not to try and get the whole waterfall. When we shot the whole thing it didn't work, but when we went in tight it was much cooler. The metaphor he used was when carving an elephant from a bar of soap; carve away everything that isn't an elephant.

We drove back to Curry Village to move into our tents and have an early dinner, making very sure everything was out of the car and all scented items locked in the bear box. I took a quick snap on my phone of Half Dome, found the one intermittent hot spot in camp and barely got it posted it to FB. We were racing to catch the light at Bridalveil Fall. It was always about the light the whole trip; Mike knew when it was right down to the minute. When we arrived at Bridalveil Fall we were standing were Ansel had stood or damn close. Mike then admonished us, there are plenty of post cards in the store, try and take something different. So after a few post cards and a few failed experiments, I snapped the photo below.

Mike saw it and said you should put that on the gallery on the Nikonians web site. I had stood where Ansel had, and according to Mike, come up with something different. Now, as a friend of mine would say, I really was over the moon.


We drove back to Curry Village to dress warmly for some astrophotography. We walked out into the woods with Mike leading the way. It was pitch black. Mike led us to a river bank and gave a quick lesson on the technique. Unfortunately, I didn't have a cable release so anything over 30 sec. was going to be a problem. I did my best yogic breathing to keep as still as I could for 3 minutes while holding down the shutter release. The result is below. 

On the way back to camp, I noticed fresh bear spore on the trail that hadn't been there on the way out. There were bears here alright, no doubt about it. 


I brushed my teeth in the communal bathroom 50 yards from my tent. It was 11pm and I had determined I wasn't going to the bathroom again until dawn to avoid any late night bears. I lay in bed too excited to sleep, listening for bear growls and rock falls masquerading as thunder. What a day, but it would only get better.