On the morning of July 5th we got up early and decided to head to Yosemite Valley. I knew I wanted to get some sunrise shots and we decided the view from the Yosemite Valley View was a good place to start. We circled around the valley (due to the one way streets and certain areas being blocked off, you had to drive all the way around the valley to get heading West again) and eventually found the spot we wanted to stop. When we first got to the pullout we were the only ones there. It did not take too long for others to join us however. I setup my tripod and picked out a composition I wanted to shoot. I was using my Canon 16-35mm 2.8 version III lens adapted to my Canon R5. I wished I had brought a second tripod so I could have setup a time lapse with a second camera, but I was trying to travel light on this trip. Once I got my initial composition I wanted, I hurried and moved over just a little bit to get a couple of variations while the sun was still just peaking over the valley. I was a little disappointed when I saw the sky that morning, as the smoky haze and lack of clouds was leaving the scene a little flat. So I decided I would wait for the sun to rise so I could capture some sun rays to add a little visible interest. I was already shooting a small aperture to keep everything in focus, so I did not need to adjust anything to create the effect. For those of you that don’t know, to create the sunrays or some people call it a starburst, you need a really high (small) aperture. And the number of rays you get is dependent on the number of aperture blades your lens has. I was also intentionally using a fairly slow shutter speed so I could create the milky effect in the water. Once the sun was actually up I no longer had that option however, as the slow shutter speed with direct sunlight would have been too bright and would have overexposed the image.
Sunrise photo of Yosemite Valley as seen from the Yosemite Valley Viewing area with the Merced River in the foreground.
Another sunrise view of Yosemite Valley just downstream a little bit for a different composition.
Another view from Yosemite Valley View.
Once the sun was completely up and we felt like we had experienced everything we wanted to see at the Yosemite Valley View we decided to make the drive up to Glacier Point to see what that view was like. Looking back that was actually a bit of a mistake. By the time we drove up there (I think it takes almost an hour as it’s a very steep and winding road) the sun was getting higher in the sky and there was so much smoke that morning the view was just not worth the drive. I tried to take some pictures and even tried using a polarizing filter to cut through the haze, but I just did not end up with anything worth sharing. And maybe the bigger issue was by the time we drove back down to the valley it was starting to get warm and we still had some hikes we wanted to do. We should have done the hikes first while it was still a little cooler out and then maybe did the drive to Glacier Point later in the day. But hindsight is always 20/20. While we were on top at Glacier Point we did see some lizards, ground squirrels, a grouse and we saw several deer on the way up, so I guess it wasn’t a total waste.
A grouse hanging out on top of Glacier Point.
A lizard on top of Glacier Point, which was strange to see as someone coming from Montana.
A ground squirrel perched on a rock soaking up the sun at Glacier Point.
Another lizard on a tree at Glacier Point.
Once we got back down to the valley we decided to do the quick hike up to the Lower Yosemite Falls. Saying it’s a hike is an exaggeration, it is actually a pretty easy walk up to the lower falls. I think it’s maybe about a mile round trip or so. With it being such a dry year and later in the season, the falls was not spectacular, but there was actually more water coming down then I thought might be the case, as I had read it sometimes dries up completely. I only took pictures from the viewing area as they had the rocky area below the falls roped off, but that didn’t stop some people from going in there anyway. I was actually kind of surprised by how few Park Rangers we saw during our visit there. I don’t know if that was due to COVID or not.
Lower Yosemite Falls from the viewing area.
A wider shot of Lower Yosemite Falls as seen from the viewing area. If you look closely you can see people on the rocks below the falls.
Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls as seen on the trail to the lower falls.
Another shot of the Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls as seen from the start of the trail to the lower falls.
After we finished at the lower falls we decided we wanted to do the hike to Vernal Falls. By this point it was starting to get kind of hot and I did not leave that morning super prepared for a hike in almost 100 degree weather. We also got off on the wrong trail initially and ended up walking well over a mile extra before we realized our error. I was also surprised by how poor the signage was in the park. Having been to other national parks that usually had things well marked, I felt like Yosemite was really lacking in that department. Anyway, we did eventually get on the right trail and made the climb up to the falls. I would consider this a hike as it was pretty strenuous. Had we not already done a couple of miles that morning and waited until the heat of the day, it probably wouldn’t have been as bad as it ended up being. The trail itself is a good trail and paved for much of it. It is a pretty steep climb the whole way though and not a lot of shade that time of day. You eventually cross a bridge and you get a pretty good view of the falls. If you are in a hurry or don’t want to continue on to the more strenuous part of the hike, that is a good place to turn around. I decided to keep going to the falls and you go up the Misty Trail steps. The “steps” are 600 stairs kind of carved into the rock as you go up next to the falls. They are steep and a little bit treacherous. Once you get closer to the falls you do get hit with mist from the falls, so they are true to their name. I think the whole hike to the falls and back is only about 2.5 miles, but in the heat and I did not bring a lot of extra water, I did struggle a little bit. I had also meant to pack some extra socks as my feet tend to get sweaty, and I forgot those as well.
Vernal Falls.
A wider shot of Vernal Falls. I left the people in the foreground to show a little scale.
Once we got back to our vehicle (we had to walk about another mile back to our vehicle to the parking lot, typically there are shuttle buses to the trailhead, but with COVID they were not running) we decided we were ready for some downtime and we went back to the hotel for a nap. That evening we decided to drive back up to Glacier Point to catch the sunset. When we got up there the smoke had cleared quite a bit and we were treated to some spectacular views. By sunset it had got very busy up there, so I had to work a little bit to find a spot away from the crowds. I was again wishing I had a second tripod along to capture a time lapse of the setting sun. With the large vista I was once again using my 16-35 wide angle lens and I was still having to do some panoramas to take in the entire scene. I usually do not like shooting that wide, but with so many sweeping vistas in Yosemite I found myself leaving that lens on my camera most of the time. After sunset we drove back down the mountain for some much needed R and R at the hotel.
Half Dome catching some color from the setting sun from Glacier Point.
A panorama of the whole valley at sunset from Glacier Point, including Nevada Falls on the right side. Sorry I had to compress this image a lot for posting as it’s a huge file.
Another panorama from Glacier Point earlier in the evening when the colors were a little more muted. I decided to include a little more foreground on this one as I liked the green in the shrubs and the flowers.