The sunset lights up just the falls and not the surrounding cliffs creating the effects of fire falling off the mountain. This only happens for two weeks in th...
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The sunset lights up just the falls and not the surrounding cliffs creating the effects of fire falling off the mountain. This only happens for two weeks in the year in late February.
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Awards
Action Award
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Legendary Award
Winner in Best Nature Shot Photo Challenge
Winner in Landscapes of the World Photo Challenge
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Volume7
Winner in Yosemite National Park; Summer of 2019 Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Mountain Waterfalls Photo Challenge
Winner in Rare Moments of our Natural World Photo Challenge
Winner in Wonders of the world...bucket list sites Photo Challenge
Winner in Wonders of the World Photo Challenge
Winner in Artistic Waterfall, River, or Waves Photo Challenge
Winner in Just the right moment Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Beautiful Waterfalls Photo Challenge
Member Selection Award
Featured
Contest Finalist in Adventure Land Photo Contest Outside Views
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
All Star
Genius
Virtuoso
Love it
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Bazz
February 29, 2016
Wow ... Beautiful! Glad you were able to see it, capture it and share it with us.
Flosno
March 02, 2016
WOW......OH.....WOW.....if you could bottle this you would be a wealthy man.....pure gold......superb capture....(you lucky thing, you!!!!)
MaryMulholland
March 10, 2016
Another 5 star one Ron love the way you can see the spray of the water
mcampi
April 15, 2016
Congrats on your win.. I know like you said "you should have seen it yesterday" Its like the big one that didn't get away.... Good going Ron.
auxgen4
April 24, 2016
Can you share lens mm info and your location. I saw the video story somewhere with hundreds set up with their long lens but your capture looks great with both far and near infocus maybe f/16 or f/20 and great dynamic range. Thanks for the share you were blessed with a good plan and weather.
Galendo1
May 04, 2016
What else is great is that im getting reaqianted w the park. The comments help alot.
Bazz
June 01, 2016
Congrats on being a Finalist in Adventure Land Photo Contest Outside Views for April, 2016.
Coshooter
September 03, 2016
Wow Ron! Looks like gold dust flowing off the mountain instead of water!!!
Bazz
December 31, 2016
Congratulations on winning Members Selection Award for December, 2016! Well deserved.
Lidmire
February 03, 2017
The natural fire fall is one fickle beast to capture, congrats! Looks amazing
MarliaPhotography
April 17, 2017
wow!! kuya Ron, this is soo stunning!!! i have seen many images of this, but this one is one of the top shots, plus the color of the falls is so natural, topped with HDR feel of the rocks. love it
DexHortonPhotography
June 17, 2017
Amazing shot! Congratulations on winning the Waterfall challenge!
danicleeland
November 12, 2017
Awesome photo! Why not submit something to my Yosemite National Park challenge :)
Pamelabole
March 13, 2018
Wow....so beautiful!! Someday I would love to see this too ....thanks for sharing so we all can see it! : ) Congrats on your challenge win!! : )
SteBil30
April 25, 2018
AHHHH Ron, you were truly blessed to capture this event. I went there this February with the sole purpose of photography this site. Unfortunately there was no water. The sun still reflected of the rocks but the water is what really makes this image special. Oh well just another reason to go back next year.
brianbaitystudio
May 29, 2018
thank you for giving us a title and description. I feel this is the correct way to submit photos. Well done!
Eramanst
February 09, 2019
Looks like you have won the lot with this one. Every thing has been said I was ckecking your pictures out Wow!!
Bazz
January 11, 2020
Gorgeous! Nicely done! Thank you for joining my "Favourite Nature Shot" challenge! Good Luck!
InnateArtist
August 29, 2023
Great capture, the sun light up the falls so uniquely! Yosemite is a spectacular place to photograph.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
My wife and I met up with some friends in Yosemite to try and capture an event that only happens for two weeks out of the year in late February. This is on the "back" side of El Capitan in Yosemite. This waterfall is called Horsetail Falls and it doesn't flow all the time. It would be considered a minor falls in the park. But for two weeks out of the year and when conditions are just right you get a glowing waterfall and it's name changes to Fire Falls. The conditions to make this happen is you need snow on the top of El Capitan, warm enough weather to melt the snow so their is water to flow over the falls, clear evening skies to allow the sunset to light up this area and the sun to be in the right area at sunset that only happens in late February.Time
This was taken at 5:30 in the evening of February 22, 2016. Every open space to view this Falls was filled with photographers and I imagine that there were probably many thousands trying to capture this event.Lighting
The lighting was a challenge to capture the shadows of the rocks with detail and the glowing waterfall without it getting blown out. But it was taken during the golden hour just before sunset.Equipment
What I used to take this was my Nikon D800 with my Tamron lens, 150-600 f5-6.3 zoom and my Manfrotto tripod with a ball head. I had the lens set at 240mm, my ISO was 100, Shutter speed was at 1/6th of a second and my f stop was f32.Inspiration
I have seen pictures of this event for many years and loved the images. I had heard that because of the drought and the conditions not being right that the past 6 years Fire Falls had not happened. With our friends we staked out an area each evening to capture this and on the first evening there I captured this shot. My inspiration is that I love traveling to the national parks, capturing rare events or nature in general. Landscapes of all kinds are my biggest inspiration.Editing
This shot was downloaded into Lightroom. Only basic editing was done. Highlights were dropped down, Shadows were brought up, Clarity was used to bring out more of the detail and finally used just a touch of Vibrance to enhance it a little.In my camera bag
The equipment I carry if I am near my car is quite extensive. If I am back packing I bring a smaller selection. I have a belt that carries up to four lenses, filters and cleaning equipment with wireless remote control and a harness that can carry both of my cameras. The cameras are Nikon D800 and Nikon D7000. My lenses are Tamron 15-30 f2.8, Nikkor 50 f1.8 (totally manual with no auto and over 30 years old), Nikkor 105 f2.8 macro, Sigma 24-105 f4, Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 (also totally manual with no auto and over 30 years old), Tamron 150-600 f5-6.3 and three more lenses for cropped sensors, all Nikon 24-50, 25-105 and 70-300, for my Nikon 7000 (use the full frame lenses on the 7000 thou) and my wife's Nikon D70. I also have two Nikon flash units, SB 700 and SB 910, a doubler, extension tubes, reflectors, light box, umbrellas and many other odds and ends that I bring with me if there is anything I need for a shoot. I think I have that photographers equipment disease. :-)Feedback
Patience, information, luck and desire are the most important. Patience because each evening we set up two hours before the sunset, sometimes longer. Finding parking in the park was a challenge also so we had to be patient looking for an area to park in. Probably more important thou was having the information about what was going on in the park when we were going to be there. Knowing that this only happens two weeks of the year was very important. So anywhere you travel to it is vital that you know what is going on. Examples are like moon rise and what phase it is in if you plan on shooting the moon. Luck is because we were very lucky that the Fire Falls happened while we were there for the first time in 6 years. I had talked to several people who stated that they had come every year for the past 6 years and walked away with nothing. And lastly and again very important is the desire to capture images like this. And that speaks for itself. No desire - no picture.