Once upon a time I lived with Mike, a good friend and fellow hiking enthusiast. Between 1985 and 1989 Mike and I hiked Yosemite at least six times annually (the Tuolomne Meadows region in the summer, the Valley Floor in the winter). A ritual of those halcyon summer excursions was to descend from the High Country and spend the last few hours of Sunday afternoon taking in the sights of the Yosemite Valley floor, before exiting the park for the long, weary drive home.
On one such visit we discovered the Ansel Adams gallery; Mike was supportive and encouraging of my photographic pursuits and so patiently indulged the ample time I took touring this visual feast. When we finally emerged from the shop the sun was down (so far as the valley was concerned), it was nearly dark, and as I looked up this spectacular sight took my breath away. Knowing the lighting conditions were changing extremely rapidly, I dashed for our vehicle, grabbed my camera (a Nikon F2), and managed to take this single shot -- the last on the roll of film. It would not matter had I more: this incandescent orange faded so quickly that it would've been gone by the time I managed to reload.
The vast range of color contrast made taking this image challenging and a bit of a guess: I barely had time to fix the lens and shutter settings in order to properly expose the granite monolith. I knew the rest of the scene would be rendered in silhouette. Even with the sun shining on Half Dome's face the lighting was poor; I had to steady myself as best as I could, standing in the middle of the parking lot in order to get a clear view; this image was taken at either 1/30 or 1/15 sec, at the widest aperture possible (f/1.4?). Consequently, the full-size view reveals a bit of softness due to subtle camera motion. Still, the sceme was gorgeous and perhaps a slight bit of softness can be forgiven.
Half Dome Sunset
(c)2010 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.
(click image for larger version)
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Beautiful shot, and the frame on the roll!
ReplyDeleteThis is another great photo, I know that its the light of the sun hitting the peak of that mountain but honestly it almost seems as if the peak is actually glowing in the dark - which would be totally crazy but the first time I looked at the photo that was the sensation I got. Well done.
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