Yosemite Cliff Face

Gallery: LandscapePosted September 19, 2013135 views4 comments

I was on a cross-country hike in Yosemite as a spring storm was rolling in when I looked back at a pass and saw this shaft of light hitting a massive granite cliff face. The next morning I woke up with my tarp pressed against my face by 5 inches of fresh snow, in May! I'm interested what you all think.

Minolta Maxxum 7, 70-300mm lens, 1/500 sec at f/11, ISO 50, gitzo tripod

Comments

4 comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on September 20, 2013 at 8:45 PM

I understand the reasoning (i think...) behind your high contrast approach here--just not sure it's working for me, i keep hunting for details in the shadow. Might try a B&W, maybe more shadow detail?

Some cool atmosphere though--too bad that snow didnt help keep half the park from burning...

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Thomas Haney on September 20, 2013 at 11:05 PM

Thanks Stan, I'm unsure why no one has commented on this, but I can always count on you for an honest appraisal. The truth is that this is a photograph I really love, but that no one else seems to, and i've often wondered if it was the high contrast. The problem is that the slide looks almost just like this, I didn't add any contrast, and actually reduced the contrast by 100% before calling it good. There's no detail in the shadows because of the huge difference in DR between the cliff face and rest of the image. Not really sure what to do with it because it's one of my favorites, but I guess I can just accept that it doesn't appeal as much to others as it does to me. And yeah, the Rim fire really took a chunk out of the park. I'm a Smokejumper so I mostly fight fires just in Idaho now, but I was on a Hotshot crew for 4 years and i'm sure I would have ended up there this year. Thanks again,

Registered on April 7, 2013, 138 Posts, 537 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on September 21, 2013 at 2:45 PM

Oh such a great grab! What is not to like?

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Ben Horne on September 22, 2013 at 9:40 PM

I really do enjoy the drama of the light and the atmospherics here. It's very interesting with the spot of blue sky, and the direct light striking the cliff.

One of the latest fads with landscape photography is to show every ounce of detail in the shadows -- so much so that the result is often a very muddy image. People now associate deep shadows as a flaw rather than an aesthetic. It seems that one of the common comments on landscape forums is that the shadows are too dark, and that some detail should be pulled out of them. That may be the case for some shots, but rich shadow tone instills a sense of mystery, and adds drama to photos. This is something that is probably more appreciated in print than on a backlit monitor. The work of many masters over the years feature deep shadow -- and I'm sure if those prized shots were put up to critique, we would hear the same thing.

I can see how this is a favorite image of yours. It's a fleeting moment, and brings back great memories of the trip. I hope you have printed this shot, and have it hanging on your wall.

Registered on August 27, 2009, 51 Posts, 959 Comments