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 Ξ±1
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 in fact come true, this group got to see Yosemite at its absolute best.
Rather than the clear skies and sunset fire every Horsetail chaser prays for, the day before the workshop 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 all this white stuff 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 Yosemite icons. 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 permitsβexactly 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.” Though 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. But 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 Yosemite Valley view of the Three Brothers. And if that’s not enough, Tahiti Beach’s proximity to an especially flat stretch of the Merced River means great reflections. (Continued below)
“Tahiti Beach”
Throughout Yosemite, the best Merced River reflections are possible when the spring snowmelt has subsided and the rushing Merced has slowed to a more leisurely paceβthat’s usually from mid-summer through early the following spring. That’s the case at Tahiti Beach too, but if you’re especially lucky, you’ll find yourself here at peak spring runoff following a wet winter, usually sometime in May, when the river rises enough to leave its banks and flood the meadow and form a shallow, perfectly still reflective pool.
Tahiti Beach can be very nice in late afternoon light, but I’m especially fond of the morning’s first sun on El Capitan, and the opportunity to add a reflection makes this one of my favorite spots for that. In a normal Yosemite workshop, conditions are predictable enough that I can get my group to each of my prime locations in the best conditions, and Tahiti beach is often on the menu for our second morning.
This year, a look at the forecast was enough to know that the conventional location rules would be completely different for this workshop, and I emphasized in the orientation that we’d need to be quick on our feet to adjust to rapidly changing conditions. That reality became immediately clear from the instant we set out for our first shoot, and was further reinforced the following morning, when my plans were immediately thwarted by closed roads and low clouds at several of my first-choice locations.
Refusing to be defeated, we slowly circled the valley, waiting for the inevitable clearing. I eventually took everyone on a short but sweet hike to an off-the-beaten-path spot where we 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, hoping that we might be able to get close enough to the fall to photograph it through the low clouds. I was afraid that this driving and waiting for openings was frustrating my group, but took heart in their unbridled awe for the beauty surrounding us.
Most of Yosemite Valley is navigated via a pair one-way roads: eastbound Southside Drive for those entering the park; westbound Northside Drive for those exiting; and a mid-point crossover to shortcut the loop. As we navigated the 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. Tahiti Beach wasn’t part of my plan for this morning, but I knew there were no more good views of El Capitan beyond here.
I parked and exited my car, 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 problemsβfortunately, multiple routes down to the river that range from short-but-steep to long-but-gradual allow me to offer my group multiple choice. But this morning 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 probably could get everyone down to the river, El Capitan and the Three Brothers popped out of the clouds. Though this roadside parking area provides nice views of El Capitan and the Three Brothers, its foregroundβa scrubby meadow filled with similarly scrubby shrubs and small treesβcan’t compete with the reflections possible at the river. But the snow had erased all of the negatives, replacing it with an undulating carpet of pristine white. Since there was no telling how long the increasingly spectacular El Capitan and Three Brothers view would last, I made a snap decision to Β not attempt to get to the river and just shoot from here.
Within minutes a shaft of warm sunlight split the swirling clouds to spotlight El Capitan, and I knew I’d made the right call. That was further validated when the direct light disappeared for good within a few minutes. Fortunately, the clouds stayed open long enough for everyone to get a wonderful assortment of beautiful and truly unique images of two Yosemite icons.
This workshop was filled with stories like this: frustrating disappearances, surprise appearances, sudden adjustments to plans, and ubiquitous beauty. Through it all, my group responded with euphoric enthusiasm, ignoring minor discomfort and inconvenience. Despite ending a day early, we all came away with memory cards filled with one-of-a-kind Yosemite imagesβno 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 
Gary, your many images of El Capitan and the Three Brothers are all epic. You’ve captured the soul of those mountains. Epic can also describe your workshop in February. Being from Florida and hardly ever seeing snow, I was a bit worried about how things were going to go. But they worked out incredibly well. I’ll never forget this workshop. I came away with images that I’ll probably never get another chance to see, let alone photograph. Your knowledge of the area made all the difference. And that moment that the sun came out ever so briefly at Tahiti Beach was a perfect chance to capture the beauty of that scene before us. Thank you for taking good care of us. Lastly, if Bob (with one o) is reading this, I want him to know that I can see Clearly now, Lorraine is gone. π
Since you didn’t sign your comment and it only shows up as “Anonymous,” I can only guess that this might be Carl (except I know you left Florida for South Dakota, which does get snow, so maybe I’m wrong…) π€·π»ββοΈπ
Anyway, thanks! Such a great workshop and group with so many fantastic memories in such a short time. (Also, I’ll have to have a word with Bobβhe promised he’d stop telling that joke.) π
Gary, amazing views of Yosemite I’ve never seen before! You are the best! Pamela Fitz Lawrence