The best time to visit Yosemite Valley is February in my humble opinion. It is the only month when the visitor count drops below 100,000 and the hotel prices are at their least expensive. Two campgrounds, Camp 4 and Upper Pines remain open in winter. Camp 4 is walk-in only, but while we took a walk out to Happy Isles, I saw one lone RV in Upper Pines with miles of solitude and great views all around him. Winter storms can cover the ground and trees in snow and if you are lucky enough to time a clearing storm you can have the opportunity to make some of the best pictures possible. One book that I would highly recommend for aspiring photographers not intimately familiar with Yosemite is Michael Frye’s The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite.
It has great detail on all the classic locations, sunrise and moonrise tables and lots of great photography tips for everything from finding the light to photographing waterfalls. We aimed to hit the valley during a winter storm and stay for a day after with hopes of getting a day of snowy, stormy landscapes and maybe another day to photograph the spectacular light phenomenon on Horsetail falls, which only occurs the last two weeks of February. Well, our snow turned to rain and the light on the falls teased us until it was abruptly cut off just before turning deep red by clouds at the horizon. All in all, being a photojournalist, I didn’t think I would have as much fun here as I did. Granted it is quite a scene with all the photographers at the classic spots, but it is really harder than you think to make a really good photograph here. I consider all of these to be a warm up to hopefully some great pictures in the future. All in all, it is really quite a challenge to make really good pictures here. The problem is that the location is so beautiful that you think at first that everything you do is good, then you see the vast library of exceptional photography from the area and it really pushes you to think a little harder. I am currently a big fan of night time exposures, though with all the planes that come over the valley, I think the method of stacking exposures for star trails allows the plane lines to be more easily removed or discarded than long exposures. I think I just may become a regular winter Yosemite addict. Enjoy the photos and remember, get up early, stay out at night and sleep in the middle of the day!
With the weather shutting us down most of the day, we decided to do some night shots of the valley by moonlight.
The same view the next morning.
Cathedral Spires from the El Cap meadow at night again with a 15 minute exposure.
The same view from the next morning, sepia toned.
Almost good light on Horsetail falls. Clouds on the horizon shut us down just before the falls lit up red.
Moonrise over Sentinal Rock.
A wayward coyote in the snow. Actually this was shot on the way into Yosemite, but there was no shortage of wildlife in the valley, even in winter.
El Cap and dewdrops at sunrise. This was one instance when I REALLY wish I had a macro lens.
The Ahwahnee hotel at dusk.