Double Firefall (Horsetail Falls, Yosemite National Park).

            You know the old saying that "close" only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades?  Well, close doesn't quite count at Horsetail Falls, either.  You may notice a little pink and purple in the sky in the upper left corner of this shot--that's a hint of what was going off in the valley while I was doggedly shooting horsetail.  Keep an eye out for others' shots from this past Saturday, especially from tunnel view (I've seen one so far, and it was a GORGEOUS sunset from there).  I did get a tiny bit of the tail-end of the color at valley view; if I can quit being grumpy about missing the full-blown epicness, I'll post that one in a day or two.  The color on the east buttress of El Cap (where Horsetail is) was insanely lit up with all that reflected color, so I had to desaturate this a bit to keep it from looking like weirdly neon granite.  One thing I do like about this shot, is that the light of the setting sun also picked up a smaller ephemeral fall to the left/west of Horsetail, which is something I haven't seen before.

This was shot from the El Cap picnic area, and I think I'll try the other spot on Southside Drive when I'm back in a few weeks (I just like the angle better from there).  Hopefully, the falls will keep flowing and I'll get another (better) chance at it.  This is a tricky one to shoot, and this weekend was the first time I've tried.  Live and learn!

Amusing anecdote on this one (since I seem fated to always have something odd and/or embarrassing happen when I go out shooting):  I was running a little later than I'd have liked getting over to the picnic area to shoot this, which tends to turn me into a bit of a spazz (don't act like you don't know what I mean--it's that I MUST GET TO THE COLOR!! freakout we all go through).  I get parked, jump out of the car, grab the camera bag in one hand, the already-extended (but folded-in) tripod in the other, and go tearing over to a spot to shoot.

I look up and see Edie Howe (of Little Red Tent fame), who yells a hello.  She's one of a small army of photographers all lined up, so I make a beeline to set up next to her, and start post-holing WAY TOO FAST through the knee-deep snow to get into position.  Just as she yells "be careful--slow down!" I faceplant right into that snow, in front of about 30 other photogs.  Camera's fine, but my pride's a little bruised.

Taken in: United States / California / Yosemite Village (show map)

Taken on: February 5, 2011

Tags:

horsetail falls

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natural firefall

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light

golden hour

fiery

glowing

el capitan

waterfall

yosemite

national park

valley

neon water

epic sunset

galen rowell

sierra nevada

range of light

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high sierra

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Sets appears in: • Yosemite 2011 • Yosemite

Groups appears in: • High Sierra • yosemite more » • Sunrise, Sunset -- Anything Sun! • U.S. National Parks • U.S. National Parks and Places • SUNSET&RISEPIX • Outdoor Photographer Magazine (Unofficial) • Waterfalls • The Nature Conservancy • Sierra Nevada Sunset/Sunrise • Yosemite Photographers • NATURE'S BEST • Official National Geographic Group • Waterfalls Long Exposure • Sunset light • G Dan Mitchell's "Sierra Nevada - Photographs from the Range o • Yosemite Blog • National Geographic Group • Best of U.S. National Parks • Yosemite Nation • Yosemite Conservancy • Flickr Favorites (Post One, Pick One Favorite) « less

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/8.0, 1.3 sec, 70mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens:	70-300mm
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	1.3
Focal Length:	70mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Manual
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
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