Yosemite & The Eastern Sierra

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 October 2019

Introduction

These are photos from our Autumn Light in Yosemite workshop run as a fund-raiser for The Yosemite Conservancy and our back-to-back Fall Color in the Eastern Sierra photo trips I helped lead with my friend Dave Wyman. These are photo tours where we're out shooting all day and night rather than workshops that spend most of their time inside looking at computers. We're out shooting most of the time.

I brought a few camera systems, each with only one lens, and grabbed whichever I needed depending on what I was shooting.

I brought an amazing 102 megapixel Fujifilm GFX 100 and Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5 for the serious heavy-lifting shots:

Fujifilm GFX100

Fujifilm GFX 100 and Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5. bigger.

I brought my Fujifilm X-T30 and Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 for fun. I love this little jewel of a camera, especially after lugging around the GFX 100.

I brought my Canon 5DS/R and Canon EF 100-400mm IS L II for long shots.

And of course I brought my Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max for everything.

I shot everything as NORMAL JPG files, not FINE or SUPER FINE and certainly not in raw (I get everything I need with JPG and can edit everything about my JPG files if I need to).

I copied the JPG files into my Mac Pro (late 2013) and picked the winners with Photo Mechanic. Each pick received significant artistic input in Photoshop CS6 and the Perfectly Clear v.3.7 plugin until each completed work looked as I originally imagined it. Most of the iPhone shots were optimized in the  Snapseed app on my iPhone. Like all art, it first exists in my mind, and I do whatever it takes until the final result matches my original vision. For instance, I often add deliberate edge-burning (vignetting) and burning and dodging and split-toning. Photography is a creative art, not an application of rules; you have to know what the picture is going to say and how you want it to look before you take it. See my articles at How to Take Great Pictures.

 

17 October 2019, Thursday

I met my friend Dave Wyman in Los Angeles and we headed north.

Los Angeles Morning

Morning, Los Angeles, California, 7:37 A.M. Fujifilm GFX 100, Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5, f/5.6 hand-held at 1/80 at Auto ISO 200 (LV 10.3), Auto Dynamic Range 200%. bigger.

 

Rufy's Raspados, McFarland, California

Rufy's Raspados y Algo Mas, McFarland, California, 11:25 A.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 4.25mm standard camera (26mm equivalent) at f/1.8 at 1/3,311 at Auto ISO 32 (LV 15.0). bigger.

 

Salsas, La Preciosa Market, Delano, California

Salsas, La Preciosa Market, Delano, California, 11:54 A.M. Fujifilm GFX 100, Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5, f/3.5 hand-held at 1/15 at Auto ISO 320 (LV 5.9). bigger.

We met our group in Yosemite for dinner, and then out to the meadow to photograph last light:

Sunset on the Half Dome, Yosemite Valley

Sunset on the Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, 6:08 P.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 6mm long camera (52mm equivalent) at f/2 at 1/133 at Auto ISO 20 (LV 11.4). bigger.

 

18 October 2019, Friday

Tree in Glorious Backlight, Yosemite Valley

Tree in Glorious Backlight, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, 2:17 P.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 4.25mm standard camera (26mm equivalent) at f/1.8 at 1/1,397 at Auto ISO 32 (LV 13.8). bigger.

 

El Capitan, Yosemite Valley

The Face of El Capitan as seen from El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, 2:27 P.M. Fujifilm GFX 100, Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5, f/5.6 hand-held at 1/400 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 13.7), Auto Dynamic Range 100%.bigger or camera-original © JPG file.

 

Yellow Tree on the Banks of the Merced River, Yosemite Valley

Yellow Tree on the Banks of the Merced River, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, 2:39 P.M. Fujifilm GFX 100, Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5, f/3.5 hand-held at 1/30 at Auto ISO 100, -1 stop exposure compensation (LV 8.6), Auto Dynamic Range 100%. bigger or full 102MP resolution.

Image stabilization works so well on the GFX100 so I usually don't need to haul a tripod with this beast. Hand-held shots at 1/30 at 50mm are easy for ultra-resolution photos, no tripod needed.

 

Yosemite Valley View Panorama

Yosemite Valley View, Yosemite National Park, California, 3:38 P.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, Panorama mode, 1.54mm ultrawide camera (13mm equivalent) at f/2.4 at 1/1,020 at Auto ISO 25 (LV 14.5). bigger.

 

19 October 2019, Saturday

Fern Springs, Yosemite Valley

Fern Springs, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, 7:28 A.M. Fujifilm GFX 100, Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5, f/11 for 9 seconds at ISO 100 (LV 3¾). bigger.

For this nine-second exposure, I used the GFX 100 on my Nikon AH-5 tripod spacer (for my convenience with its thumb-screw mounting rather than a separate "quick release plate") on my Manfrotto 410 Geared Head on my original 1995 Gitzo G1227 Mountaineer (world's first) carbon-fibre tripod.

 

Ahwahnee Hotel Interior, Yosemite Valley

Ahwahnee Hotel Interior, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, 12:56 P.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 1.54mm ultrawide camera (13mm equivalent) at f/2.4 at 1/30 at Auto ISO 800 (LV 4.4). bigger.

 

Barn, Yosemite National Park

Barn, Yosemite National Park, California, 3:21 P.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 1.54mm ultrawide camera (13mm equivalent) at f/2.4 at 1/311 at Auto ISO 20 (LV 13.1). bigger.

 

Speeding Kills Bears, Yosemite National Park

Speeding Kills Bears, Yosemite National Park, California, 4:45 P.M. Fujifilm X-T30, built-in flash ON, Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 at 18mm at f/16 hand-held at 1/15 at Auto ISO 320 (LV 10.3), Auto Dynamic Range 200%. bigger.

I love my X-T30: I knew that all I had to do was pop-up its built-in flash and it would light-up the retroreflective sign, and without taking my eye off the subject I could flick the shutter-speed dial (both so sorely missing on the GFX 100) down to 1/15 for great motion blur and the rest would all fall into place so I could concentrate on what was driving by.

 

500 Gallon Diesel Tank, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California

500 Gallon Diesel Tank, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, 5:15 P.M. Fujifilm X-T30, built-in flash ON, Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 at 28mm at f/3.2 at 1/75 at Auto ISO 320, -⅔ stop exposure compensation (LV 7.9), Auto Dynamic Range 200%. bigger.

 

Half Dome and the Merced River, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California

Half Dome and the Merced River, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, 6:08 P.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 6mm long camera (52mm equivalent) at f/2 at 1/122 at Auto ISO 80 (LV 9¼). bigger.

Somehow this evokes the feeling of 1940s postcard.

 

Photographing the Half Dome along the Banks of the Merced River, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California

Photographing the Half Dome along the Banks of the Merced River, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, 6:19 P.M. Fujifilm X-T30, built-in flash ON, Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 at 18mm at f/5.6 at 1/60 at Auto ISO 2,500, -2 stops exposure compensation (LV 6.4). bigger.

My X-T30 was the only camera I brought with a built-in flash, and it worked brilliantly to illuminate the others who otherwise would have been nothing but black shadows. The -2 stops exposure compensation brought down the brightness of the Half Dome and let the flash light the foreground.

 

20 October 2019, Sunday

Side-Lit Yellow Trees with the Half Dome along the Banks of the Merced River, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California

Side-Lit Yellow Trees with the Half Dome along the Banks of the Merced River, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, 8:38 A.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 6mm long camera (52mm equivalent) at f/2 at 1/436 at Auto ISO 20 (LV 13.1). bigger.

 

Flaming Maple Tree, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California

Flaming Maple Tree, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, 10:45 A.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 6mm long camera (52mm equivalent) at f/2 at 1/384 at Auto ISO 20 (LV 12.9). bigger.

We finished with our Autumn Light in Yosemite group in the morning, and in the afternoon we drove over the pass to Bridgeport to meet our next Fall Color in the Eastern Sierra group, and oh what an incredible group it was.

We all said Hi! at 3:30 P.M., broke into little car pools and drove past Walker Lake to an abandoned mine:

Belt Pulleys, Abandoned Mine, California's Eastern Sierra

Belt Pulleys, Abandoned Mine, California's Eastern Sierra, 4:31 P.M., Sunday, 20 October 2019, Cropped from Fujifilm GFX 100, Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5, f/16 for 1.6 seconds at ISO 50 (LV 8.4), 100% Dynamic Range, split-toned print. bigger or full resolution cropped (50 MP) image.

I shot this in the square-cropped mode, and then cropped this from inside that square. I still have over 50 megapixels here, and it saved me from carrying a longer lens for the week for this one photo. With 102MP, you don't need a lot of lenses.

I used the GFX 100 on a Nikon AH-5 tripod spacer on my Manfrotto 410 Geared Head on my original 1995 Gitzo G1227 Mountaineer (world's first) carbon-fibre tripod so I could both stop down to f/16 for depth-of-field and shoot at ISO 50 for the sharpest results.

 

Walker Reservoir Paradise, Bridgeport, California

Walker Reservoir, Sportsmen's Paradise, Bridgeport, California, 5:47 P.M. Canon 5DS/R, Canon EF 100-400mm IS L II at 400mm, f/5.6 hand-held at 1/200 at Auto ISO 125 (LV 12.3). bigger or camera-original @ file.

 

Redwood Motel, Bridgeport, California

Redwood Motel, Bridgeport, California, 6:22:53 P.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 1.54mm ultrawide camera (13mm equivalent) at f/2.4 at 1/60 at Auto ISO 125 (LV 8.1). bigger. Everything just changed.

 

Silver Maple Inn, Bridgeport California

Silver Maple Inn, Bridgeport, California, 6:31 P.M. Fujifilm GFX 100, Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5, f/5.6 hand-held at 1/30 at Auto ISO 1,250, -1 stop exposure compensation mostly to ensure that I didn't lose color in the neon highlights, (LV 6.4). bigger or full 102MP resolution.

 

Bar, Rhino's Bar & Grill, Bridgeport, California

Bar, Rhino's Bar & Grill, Bridgeport, California, 6:37 P.M. Fujifilm GFX 100, Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5, f/8 hand-held at 1/4 second at Auto ISO 1,250 (LV 4.4). bigger or full 102MP resolution.

Hold a camera properly and with the GFX 100's built-in stabilization, it's no problem for me to hand-hold at a quarter of a second!

Some of us went to preview the spot we intend to shoot the Milky Way in two days, and that was it for a great end to an extraordinary day.

 

21 October 2019, Monday

We were up well before dawn to photograph sunrise from Conway Summit:

Sunrise over Mono Lake as seen from Conway Summit, California's Eastern Sierra

Sunrise over Mono Lake as seen from Conway Summit, California's Eastern Sierra, 7:13 A.M. Canon 5DS/R, Canon EF 100-400mm IS L II at 278mm, f/7.1 at 1/500 at Auto ISO 100 with -⅔ stop exposure compensation (LV 14.6). bigger.

After dawn, we had breakfast at the Whoa Nellie Deli.

Sky over Negit Island, Mono Lake, California

Sky over Negit Island, Mono Lake, California, 8:29 A.M. Fujifilm GFX 100, Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5 at f/5.6 hand-held at 1/350 at Auto ISO 100 (LV 13.5), Auto Dynamic Range 100%, split-toned print. bigger.

 

Highway leading to the Mountains, California's Eastern Sierra

Highway Leading to the Mountains, California's Eastern Sierra, 9:33 A.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 4.25mm standard camera (26mm equivalent) at f/1.8 at 1/2,825 at Auto ISO 32 (LV 14.8). bigger.

We had lunch, and spent the afternoon at Bodie. Dinner was here:

Virginia Creek Settlement, California's Eastern Sierra

Virginia Creek Settlement, California's Eastern Sierra, 6:46 P.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 1.54mm ultrawide camera (13mm equivalent) at f/2.4 at 1/30 at Auto ISO 800 (LV 4.4). bigger.

After dinner some of us looked at some absolutely extraordinary photos back at our motel. We work and shoot so hard on these trips I'm unsure how we found the energy, but the excitement of the day kept us extremely energized. Some of the others' photos were eye-opening!

 

22 October 2019, Tuesday

Our earliest day, we were up at some ridiculous hour to get down to Mono Lake for sunrise:

Dead Bush in the Water, Mono Lake, California

Dead Bush in the Water, Mono Lake, California, 7:17 A.M. Fujifilm X-T30, Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 at 55mm at f/4 hand-held at 1/90 at Auto ISO 320 (LV 8.9), Auto Dynamic Range 200%. bigger.

 

Tufa at Dawn, Mono Lake, California

Tufa at Dawn, Mono Lake, California, 7:29 A.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 1.54mm ultrawide camera (13mm equivalent) at f/2.4 at 1/285 at Auto ISO 20 (LV 13.0). bigger.

The iPhone 11 Pro is astonishing at how it handles both shadow and highlight, all by itself. Back when I shot large-format film, it was nearly impossible to get anything other than pitch black where the iPhone shows explicit detail in the shadows in the much darker foreground.

 

Sand Tufa Tower, California's Eastern Sierra

Sand Tufa Tower, California's Eastern Sierra, 8:47 A.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 1.54mm ultrawide camera (13mm equivalent) at f/2.4 at 1/170 at Auto ISO 20 (LV 12¼), split-toned print. bigger.

Sand tufas aren't open to the public. To get here you need to apply in writing to the California State Park System and make a reservation to pay for a ranger to escort you to these delicate structures made of sand thousands of years ago. They are hundreds of feet tall, and very dangerous if they collapse on you — that's why you must hire a ranger to escort you so neither you nor the tufas are damaged.

 

Enchanted Forest, June Lake Loop, California's Eastern Sierra

Enchanted Forest, June Lake Loop, California's Eastern Sierra, 12:13 P.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 1.54mm ultrawide camera (13mm equivalent) at f/2.4 at 1/287 at Auto ISO 20 (LV 13.0). bigger.

Shortly after this shot the group posed for a group photo at 12:20 P.M. It was the best group ever and our last before COVID hit. I'd love to see that group shot in case any of you have it.

 

Three Glowing Aspens, June Lake Loop

Three Glowing Aspens, June Lake Loop, California's Eastern Sierra, 12:43 P.M. Fujifilm X-T30, Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 at 55mm at f/5.6 at 1/320 at Auto ISO 160 (LV 12.7), -⅓ stop exposure compensation, Auto Dynamic Range 100%. bigger or full-resolution.

 

Golden Aspens, Silver Lake, June Lake Loop, California's Eastern Sierra

Golden Aspens, Silver Lake, June Lake Loop, California's Eastern Sierra, 12:58 P.M. Fujifilm GFX 100, Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5, f/5.6 hand-held at 1/240 second at Auto ISO 200 with -⅔ stop exposure compensation (LV 11.9), Auto Dynamic Range 200%. bigger or full 102MP resolution.

 

Glowing Aspens with Sunstar, June Lake Loop, California's Eastern Sierra

Glowing Aspens with Sunstar, June Lake Loop, California's Eastern Sierra, 3:04 P.M. Fujifilm X-T30, Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 at 18mm at f/22 hand-held at 1/42 at Auto ISO 320 (LV 12.6), Auto Dynamic Range 200%. bigger or full-resolution.

 

Redwood Motel, Bridgeport, California

Redwood Motel, Bridgeport, California, 12:13 P.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 1.54mm ultrawide camera (13mm equivalent) at f/2.4 at 1/826 at Auto ISO 20 (LV 14.5). bigger.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max' ultrawide camera is so wide it sees well over 90º from side-to-side.

 

Redwood Motel Sign, Bridgeport, California

Redwood Motel Sign, Bridgeport, California, 5:08 P.M. Fujifilm GFX 100, Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5, f/5.6 hand-held at 1/1,300 second at Auto ISO 200 (LV 14.3), Auto Dynamic Range 200%. bigger.

 

Mono County Courthouse, Bridgeport, California

Mono County Courthouse, Bridgeport, California, 5:12 P.M. Fujifilm GFX 100, Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5, f/5.6 hand-held at 1/220 second at Auto ISO 100 with -⅔ stop exposure compensation (LV 12.9), Auto Dynamic Range 100%. bigger or full 102MP resolution.

 

The Milky Way as photographed with the iPhone 11 Max Pro

The Milky Way as Seen from Bridgeport, California's Eastern Sierra, 7:34 P.M. iPhone 11 Pro Max tripod-mounted with XUMA MTA-300B Tripod Adapter, 4.25mm (26mm equivalent) ultra-wide camera at f/1.8 at 1 second (30 second composite time exposure mode) at Auto ISO 12,500 (LV -5.4). bigger.

While the rest of our group frantically fiddled with mirrorless and DSLR settings in the cold and pitch-black night, all I did was shoot this in the time exposure mode of my iPhone, lighten it a bit later in Photoshop CS6, and voilà, the iPhone 11 Pro Max eats another segment of what phones didn't used to be able to do. Better than the time exposures on the "real" cameras, the iPhone even compensated for the rotation of the earth that leads to blurred stars in the other shots. (see also How to Shoot the Milky Way with old cameras.) I got results almost as good hand-holding; the Tripod mount let me set 30 seconds of accumulation rather than just 10 seconds.

30-second exposures with the Fuji GFX100 and GF 50mm f/3.5 were too blurry; there was too much motion in the stars due to the earth's rotation. You need a clock drive (or the iPhone's clever compensated intelligent accumulation mode as seen here) to get rid of the blur from motion.

The lines at the left and right bottom are airplanes in motion.

I added the blue color in Photoshop. The image from the camera was essentially monochrome so I forced it completely to monochrome and then colorized it in blue.

After another very, very long day and some of us still had the energy to look at more great photos back at our motel late. The excitement of everything kept us going and going without much sleep on this trip. There's so much to see! This is an extraordiarty group.

 

23 October 2019, Wednesday

Sunflower, Redwood Motel, Bridgeport, California

Sunflower, Redwood Motel, Bridgeport, California, 12:58 P.M. Fujifilm GFX 100, Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5, f/11 hand-held at 1/210 second at Auto ISO 200 with -⅔ stop exposure compensation (LV 13⅔), Auto Dynamic Range 200%. bigger.

 

Hot Springs, California's Eastern Sierra

Hot Springs, California's Eastern Sierra, 9:44 A.M. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, 6mm long camera (52mm equivalent) at f/2 at 1/1,229 at Auto ISO 20 (LV 14.6), split-toned print. bigger.

And that's it! After the hot springs we all headed Home.

 

< < Back to top

 

Autumn Light in Yosemite and Fall Color in the Eastern Sierra