I’ve been so busy the past week gearing up for the move to iCloud (yes, I’m a lagger) and installing Lightroom 4, etc., but finally had a moment to revisit my Yosemite images from our Spring photo tour there in late April. During one of the breaks, Jed and I went over to the deli to pick up sandwiches. He stayed with the car while I went in and ordered. When I was walking back, I looked up and saw this amazing explosion of water coming over the falls and had to photograph it. I had framed a similar composition a few years ago, farther away, and I liked this viewpoint even better. The color image was not nearly as interesting but I knew it would make a great black and white. The bottom right foreground is dark green shrubs, the water white and gray, and the rocks varying shades of gray granite – so what color was there, anyway?! In homage to Ansel Adams, who made such stunning pictures of the park, I chose to convert my image.
I used Nik’s Silver Efex Pro 2 to process the image, to bring out the structure and texture of the large plumes of water as they plummeted to the rocks below. The one pine tree has been there for a while – there are one or two more outside of my frame – and I liked how including it gave a sense of scale to the falls. I wanted to express the volume of water that was flowing. Yosemite Falls is ephemeral, but it’s hard to believe that when you stand there and see the b-zillions of gallons per minute pouring over the top!
“When gifts are given to me through my camera, I accept them graciously.”- Minor White
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I get you, Bob. I don’t visit his ‘mastery’ either, but it left such an impression on me as a growing landscape/nature photographer that he comes into my mind or should I say his images, from time to time! Thank you for your kind words about the image. I am making a print of it soon for my own wall in fact. It’s one of my favorites from the valley, a place I find challenging yet rewarding to photograph…
I’m not one to constantly revisit Ansel’s mastery, as so many current photographers do, but I daresay he’d approve and applaud this image. Really beautiful (I could see this one on my wall!)
Stunning use of shutter speed, exposure and contrast to create a dramatic and unusual perspective on this beautiful scene. Masterful!
Wow, Brenda. I really like this shot, as well as your observation that it doesn’t quite work as a color photo, but really hits the mark as a black and white. And I agree that the pine tree at the base provides a sense of scale for the grand falls…
Thanks for your comments, Tuna. It’s interesting how I’ve been to Yosemite so many times and yet I still see new things, or the regular things, in a different way.