P105H – El Capitan in Winter – Yosemite National Park, CA

Yosemite is one of my favorite destinations, particularly in the winter months when the park is practically deserted. When a winter storm is expected though, unlike most people who head out of the park for cover, I make it a purpose to arrive before a known storm so I can be there and get stuck. One April I arrived just before the park service decided to close the road going into the valley. I must admit that the snow fall that night was a bit excessive but I was well prepared to spend several days in my van if necessary. When the snow did eventually stop that next morning, it was so peaceful, quite and of course beautiful. I didn’t want to waste any time and quickly got my van up onto the snow so I could drive to my previously determined locations.

During the course of the second day (being a late season snowfall), it suddenly became 60 degrees and the snow was quickly melting. This particular photograph was the last on my list and I got here in the early afternoon. This photo was taken soon after I arrived because I wanted to get as much snow on the trees as possible. By the time I left this site a couple hours later, all the snow had fallen from the trees and most of the snow melted from the tops of the rocks in the river.

I ended up with three excellent photographs this trip (of which one of them you can also observe on my site) thus making up for many trips where I don’t receive even one quality shot.