Is there any reason to get out of bed early in Yosemite ? I can think only of the Tunnel View if there is fog in the Valley, Cook's Meadow with the (relatively high) sun diffracted , maybe first light on the Yosemite Falls wall, and shooting in open shade forest scenes before the sun comes. Any other ideas ?
Well, I believe Yosemite Falls receives mid-day/afternoon light...not much point in getting up early for that!
I took a particularly nice image with the rising sun bouncing off granite and into my scene...this was just in from the Arch Rock Entrance. (This was not too early as it takes the sun awhile to rise over the mountains.) Sort of open-shade forest with a fill light!
Photographing along the Merced before the sun comes over the mountains is also nice.
Then there is always the joy of getting up before most of the other visitors do -- less car noise, et al.
Vaughn
I decided to sleep in one morning on my trip to Yosemite last month, since it had been cloudy the day before and rained for most of the night. My photo buddy proded me to get out of my sleeping bag about an hour before sunrise, but I ignored him, and slept until about 9:30. Turns out, the storm was moving out of the valley, and there was awesome fog and some great light breaking through. Man, did I kick myself (and still am) for missing that! Even without fog, there's always detail/macro/intimate landscape shots to be found in the early morning, when the light is good and there aren't tourists everywhere to distract you. And, as Vaughn pointed out, even if there are no good photos, it's always nice to get up before everyone else and enjoy the solitude of early morning.
Brian Vuillemenot
Yes, sunrises are always beautiful. Good time to drink a coffee and enjoy the sky show. You never know what you'll see until you see it. I've enjoyed the sunrise over Half Dome, and would recommend it to everyone.
There is never a good reason not to get up at sunrise when one is in "photographic" mode.
Deane, you are of course right. However, unless there are special conditions, most of the time I end up freezing myself before the sun comes while shooting what is essentially open shade intimate landscapes that are done as well or better later in the day. The question should have been worded more precisely: "what are your favorite sunrise-specific locations in Yosemite ?".
You don't know how much I envy your being in Yosemite. I live on the flatlands of the Mid-West. Not much inspiration. You do realize, I hope, that I was just having fun with my post, and of course, showing some envy that I'm not out there also.Originally Posted by QT Luong
Yep. You keep looking and you never know what you'll find. I found this tree and shadow at 6:00am or thereabouts. I got about a 10 minute window on that with the sun moving very quickly that early. An hour or two later I made this photograph of snow melt waters overflowing Yosemite creek.
I'm just saying, you never know what you'll find. And why would you make the effort to visit Yosemite and then waste daylight? You can sleep when you get home.
Bruce Watson
I like the early AM because if I'm lucky I won't have any wind. My best dogwood image was made at sunrise for this very reason - and I was able to sell it at the Ansel Adams Gallery. Earlier this fall, got some amazing AM light near the trail head to the 4 mile trail. As the bight sun hit the north rim it acted as a reflector creating some beautiful light to the golden oaks and reddish pine needles. Of course in the spring if one gets up early enough you may be lucky enough to find frazzle (spelling??) ice on one of the many creeks. I have to get back to work now and stop thinking about this - thanks for the distraction.
There is often fog in the meadows in the early morning. It burns off pretty quick. Well worth getting up early.
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