Eloquent Images by Gary Hart
Insight, information, and inspiration for the inquisitive nature photographer
Yosemite at its Best
White Gold, El Capitan and the Three Brothers, Yosemite
Sony α1
Sony 16-35 GM II
1/100 second
F/10
ISO 100
If anyone had told me that my annual Yosemite Horsetail Fall photo workshop would get no opportunity to photograph the molten sunset light on El Capitan; that many of my go-to locations, including Tunnel View, would be inaccessible for the entire workshop; that Half Dome would be shrouded in clouds for all but a few hours; that the park would actually shut down the afternoon before our final day, I’d have started preparing to placate a lot of disappointed photographers.
Instead, though all of that did come true, this group enjoyed some of the best photography I’ve ever witnessed. Instead of the clear skies and sunset fire every Horsetail chaser prays for, a series of cold winter storms descended on Yosemite, obscuring the sun and delivering more snow than I’ve ever had to deal with in 20 years of Yosemite photo workshops. In fact, I can’t think of any workshop at any location, including Iceland and New Zealand in winter, that had this much snow.
With so much snow came all the inconveniences you might imagine (and some you might not): challenging driving, difficult (to impossible) access to many photo sites, chilly photography conditions, wet clothes and gear, and vanishing subjects. Not only were some of my favorite views inaccessible, the views that were accessible aren’t much use when the featured monolith or waterfall isn’t visible.
Some of my workshops locations are so spread out, I don’t have a lot of location timing flexibility. But Yosemite Valley’s compactness enables me to change plans on the fly. I start each workshop with a mental list of must-see locations, plus a list of secondary and tertiary locations to augment the prime spots as schedule permits—exactly when we get to these locations depends on the conditions. But all this workshop’s snow really forced me to dig deep into my (lifetime’s worth) bag of location tricks.
One of my favorite locations to take my groups is a riverside view of El Capitan that has been unofficially, and affectionately, dubbed “Tahiti Beach.” If you’ve been in one of my Yosemite workshops, you’ve been here. Not just a great El Capitan view, it’s hands-down the best (and arguably only) view of the Three Brothers in Yosemite Valley. And if that’s not enough, Tahiti Beach also offers reflections of both Yosemite icons. (Continued below)
“Tahiti Beach”
No secret to photographers, being a little bit off the road with no obvious trail to the river makes Tahiti Beach relatively free of tourists. While it can be very nice in late afternoon light, I’m especially fond of the morning’s first sun on El Capitan, and this is one of my favorite spots to capture that.
This year, by the end of our first evening together I knew the conventional location rules would be completely different for this workshop, so I told everyone we’d need to be quick on our feet to adjust to the rapidly changing conditions. That reality became immediately became clear the following morning, when we were thwarted by closed roads and low clouds that block several of my first-choice locations.
Refusing to be defeated, we slowly circled the valley, waiting for the inevitable clearing. I eventually led everyone on a short but sweet hike to an off-the-beaten-path spot where enjoyed a brief but beautiful view of Half Dome before the clouds lowered again. Leaving there in very limited visibility, my plan was to circle back to the Lower Yosemite Fall trail in the hope that we might be able to get close enough to the fall to photograph it. On the drive, I took heart that everyone in my car couldn’t help marveling at the beauty of the snow-shrouded forest surrounding us.
As we navigated El Capitan Crossover and headed back east on Southside Drive, I saw hints that El Capitan might soon emerge and made a quick decision to pull over at the parking area for Tahiti Beach. This was not part of my original plan, but I knew there were no more good views of El Capitan beyond here.
I exited and told everyone to stay put while I surveyed the scene. Though access to Tahiti Beach isn’t treacherous, even in good conditions it can be a little problematic for people with mobility problems—fortunately, there are multiple options, ranging from short-but-steep to long-but-gradual, that allow me to offer my group multiple choice. But I also had to factor in all this fresh snow, that meant whichever route we chose, we’d be blazing a new trail. About the time I decided I could probably get everyone down to the river, El Capitan and the Three Brothers popped out and I hustled everyone out of the cars.
Though this roadside parking area provides nice views of El Capitan and the Three Brothers, its foreground, a scrubby meadow filled with similarly scrubby shrubs and trees, doesn’t usually come close to the reflections possible at the river. But the snow improved the foreground so much, and there was no telling how long the increasingly spectacular view would last, I made a snap decision to just shoot from here.
Within minutes a shaft of light split the swirling clouds to illuminate El Capitan, and I knew I’d made the right call. The direct light didn’t last long, but the clouds stayed away long enough for everyone to get a wonderful assortment of beautiful and truly unique Yosemite images.
This workshop was filled with stories like this—rapidly changing views, sudden adjustments to plans, and ubiquitous beauty. Through it all, my group responded with euphoric enthusiasm, ignoring minor discomfort and inconvenience, and despite ending a day early, came away with memory cards filled with one-of-a-kind Yosemite images—no small feat in one of the most photographed places on Earth.
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The Many Faces of El Capitan
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Eloquent Images by Gary Hart 