The Eastern Sierra

~ & ~

Yosemite

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 October 2015

 

Introduction

I made these photos as I helped lead Dave Wyman's 2015 tour of California's Eastern Sierra, and our fall 2015 tour for the Yosemite Conservancy which starts immediately after the Eastern Sierra trip. We're doing the same tours again in 2016.

 

18 October 2015, Sunday

I made this snap driving up from Los Angeles with Dave:

Crazy Sticker Window

Crazy Sticker Window at the Jerky Store, Olancha, 12:46 P.M. iPhone 6s Plus, f/2.2 at 1/5,128 at Auto ISO 25, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

Once in Bridgeport that afternoon, we headed to an abandoned mine:

 

Sunlight on Sheet Metal, Open Mine

Sunlight on Sheet Metal, Open Mine, 4:38 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 100~400mm L IS II at 248mm, f/14 at 1/1,600 at Auto ISO 100. bigger.

 

Brush at the Open Mine

Brush at the Open Mine, 4:48 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 35mm, f/4 at 1/30 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear, split-toned print. bigger.

After we lost our light, we headed back to town for our hotel and dinner at Rhino's.

 

Blue Roof, Bridgeport

Blue Roof, Bridgeport, 6:10 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 100~400mm L IS II at 330mm, f/5.6 at 1/80 at Auto ISO 1,000, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

 

Crazy Lit-Up Pumpkin Decoration, Bridgeport

Crazy Lit-Up Pumpkin Decoration, Bridgeport, 8:05 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 35mm f/1.4 L II, f/1.6 at 1/30 at Auto ISO 800, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

 

19 October 2015, Monday

Today we greeted the dawn at Conway Summit.

Sunrise as Seen from Conway Summit

Sunrise as Seen from Conway Summit, 7:12 A.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 100~400mm L IS II and Canon Extender EF 1.4x II making 560mm, f/11 at 1/640 at Auto ISO 100. bigger.

After sunrise we headed to Lee Vining Creek.

 

Water Flowing over a Rock in Lee Vining Creek

Water Flowing over a Rock in Lee Vining Creek, 10:11 A.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 100~400mm L IS II at 114mm, f/20 hand-held at 1/8 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

My stabilized 100-400mm lens lets me hand-hold it at 1/8 of a second, so I can capture blurry water motion without having to lug around a tripod. The Canon 100~400mm L IS II is state of the art and better than any other general purpose telephoto lens.

 

Grocery & Market

Grocery & Market, 12:34 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 24mm, f/10 at 1/400 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

After Lee Vining, we spent the afternoon in Bodie.

 

Crazy Abandoned Ghost Town Light Bulb, Bodie

Crazy Abandoned Ghost Town Light Bulb, Bodie, 4:22 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 24~70mm L II at 70mm, f/4 at 1/50 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

This bulb hasn't been connected to anything for 100 years, and yet it's still dimly lit. No one knows why. Some say that it's a Galvanic reaction (making a battery out of) the decaying flesh in the graves below ground through which the wires run. Look at the filament, and you'll see it glowing in orange.

And after Bodie, back to Bridgeport.

 

Bridgeport General Store

Bridgeport General Store, 7:15 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 16mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/10 at Auto ISO 250, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

I love my Canon 16-35mm L IS, whose stabilization is so good I can handhold it at night — no tripod needed.

 

Red Restaurant, Bridgeport

Red Restaurant, Bridgeport, 7:51 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 24mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/8 at Auto ISO 250, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

 

Red Restaurant Porch, Bridgeport

Red Restaurant Porch, Bridgeport, 7:57 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 16mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/10 at Auto ISO 640, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

 

Bodie Hotel, Bridgeport

Bodie Hotel, Bridgeport, 8:02 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 28mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/15 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

 

Moonrise Over the Gas & Go, Bridgeport

Moonrise Over the Gas & Go, Bridgeport, 8:05 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 33mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/5 at Auto ISO 12,800, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

Shoot by moonlight handheld? No problem with the Canon 5DS R and Canon 16-35mm L IS!

 

20 October 2015, Tuesday

Today we saw the dawn at South Tufa.

Dawn at South Tufa

Dawn at South Tufa, 7:29 A.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 24mm, f/10 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

The key to this piece is that we 1.) have dark clouds in the background, and 2.) the sun was golden for just a few moments as it rose. These two effects light the gray tufa in brilliant gold, and then they jump out against the dark sky that isn't yet lit.

You have to be in place and ready to snap when the sun pops up. A few moments later and the light turned white, and everything became much duller.

 

Yellow Aspen Leaves at Silver Lake

Yellow Aspen Leaves at Silver Lake, 11:55 A.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 100~400mm L IS II at 400mm, f/10 hand-held at 1/30 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

I love the colors I get from my Canon. I also love that I can hand-hold my stabilized 100-400mm lens at slow enough speeds to let me stop down in shade without needing a tripod.

 

Hunewill Circle H Guest Ranch

Hunewill Circle H Guest Ranch, 4:52 P.M. iPhone 6s Plus, f/2.2 at 1/591 at Auto ISO 25, very slightly optimized in the Snapseed app and Perfectly Clear. bigger.

 

Red Neon Vacancy Sign, Bridgeport

Red Neon Vacancy Sign, Bridgeport, 6:26 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 35mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/10 at Auto ISO 200, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

The red neon catches your eye against the background of blue sky and clouds at dusk.

 

21 October 2015, Wednesday

Dawn's First Light on Distant Tree-Lined Mountainside

Dawn's First Light on Distant Tree-Lined Mountainside, 7:25 A.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 100~400mm L IS II at 263mm, f/5 hand-held at 1/60 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

Warm colors come forward, bringing out the golden swath across the hills, while the rest of the hills are still blue, lit by the sky.

 

Bridgeport Hot Springs

Hot Springs, 7:55 A.M. iPhone 6s Plus, f/2.2 at 1/120 at Auto ISO 25, very slightly optimized in the Snapseed app and Perfectly Clear. bigger.

 

Bridgeport Hot Springs

Hot Springs, 6:22 P.M. iPhone 6s Plus, f/2.2 at 1/15 at Auto ISO 250, very slightly optimized in the Snapseed app. bigger.

 

Mono County Courthouse

Mono County Courthouse, 7:55 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 20mm, f/4 hand-held at 1/10 at Auto ISO 2,000, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

 

22 October 2015, Thursday

Today we headed over the hill to Yosemite for our Yosemite outing.

Rainbow at Bridal Veil Falls

Rainbow at Bridal Veil Falls, 4:31 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 100~400mm L IS II at 400mm, f/5.6 at 1/250 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

 

Last Light on Half Dome as Seen from Stoneman Meadow

Last Light on Half Dome as Seen from Stoneman Meadow, 6:05 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 100~400mm L IS II at 107mm, f/4.5 at 1/100 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

 

Yosemite Falls by Moonlight

Yosemite Falls by Moonlight, 8:17 P.M. The moon was a waxing gibbous, 9¼ days old, 69% illuminated; the full moon will be five days later on the 27th. Canon 5DS R, Canon 24~70mm L II at 39mm, four minutes at f/2.8 at ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full 50 MP (20MB JPG) file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely can display this resolution properly).

A key to sharp pictures under any conditions is the successful use of low ISOs. High ISOs are only for hand-holding and action in dim light; when you have a tripod, always use the lowest ISO you can.

 

23 October 2015, Friday

Valley Floor Fog

Valley Floor Fog, 7:57 A.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 100~400mm L IS II at 241mm, f/5 hand-held at 1/50 at Auto ISO 160, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

 

Valley Floor Fog

Valley Floor Fog, 8:18 A.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 100~400mm L IS II at 400mm, f/5.6 hand-held at 1/80 at Auto ISO 320, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full 50 MP (20MB JPG) file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely can display this resolution properly).

Man, this is a sharp lens and camera, and the stabilization is so good that I can shoot in dim dawn light at 400mm and not need a tripod.

 

Tombstone of Galen Clark

Galen Clark's Headstone, Yosemite Cemetery, 12:27 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 100~400mm L IS II at 120mm, f/5 at 1/125 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

 

Valley View, Yosemite

Valley View, 3:45 P.M. iPhone 6s Plus, f/2.2 at 1/1,083 at Auto ISO 25, very slightly optimized in the Snapseed app and Perfectly Clear. bigger.

 

Ken Rockwell's Photo Stuck on the Back of a Bear's Head, Tunnel View, Yosemite

Ken Rockwell's Photo Stuck on the Back of a Bear's Head, Tunnel View, 3:45 P.M. iPhone 6s Plus, f/2.2 at 1/267 at Auto ISO 25, very slightly optimized in the Snapseed app and Perfectly Clear. bigger.

My friend Dave Wyman snapped a photo of me on his iPhone 6 plus. He then printed it on peel-and-stick photo paper on his portable battery-powered wireless printer. (cool, huh?). He handed it to me, and I stuck it on the back of Dave's bear-head hat as he looked into the valley at Tunnel View. I then made this photo with my iPhone.

 

24 October 2015, Saturday

Barn Roof, Yosemite

Barn Roof, 8:44 A.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 31mm, f/10 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

 

Inside the Barn, Yosemite

Inside the Barn, 9:23 A.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 16mm, 68 seconds at f/11 at ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full 50 MP (20MB JPG) file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely can display this resolution properly).

The numerous little stars are called sunstars, and are caused by diffraction around the edges of the lens' diaphragm. In this case, the Canon 16-35mm L IS has great sunstars.

 

Inside the Ahwahnee

Inside the Ahwahnee, 4:37 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 16-35mm L IS at 16mm, f/4 hand-held for ½ second at ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

 

Ken Rockwell as seen inside a Hasselblad 500C/M

Ken Rockwell as seen inside a Hasselblad 500C/M, 5:59 P.M. iPhone 6 plus, f/2.2 at 1/15 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

This is a straight shot. We set it all up, focussed the Hasselblad 500 C/M and its superb Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2.8 lens on me, and then my friend Dave Wyman snapped the photo on his iPhone 6 plus.

 

Ring Around the Moon

Ring Around the Moon, 9:01 P.M. Canon 5DS R, Canon 35mm f/1.4 L II, 15 seconds at f/2.8 at ISO 100. bigger.

What's hilarious is that I used a state-of-the-art $1,800 f/1.4 lens, but that I shot it at f/2.8 to try to keep both the tree and distant ridgeline in focus. At f/2.8, even the least expensive Canon EF 35mm f/2 would have given exactly the same image.

Look and you can see a colored rainbow, which is invisible to the naked eye because it's so dark. In this case the camera is not colorblind, and with a long exposure was able to show colors otherwise invisible in the dark.

 

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