Yosemite valley
Nov, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on the north bank of the Merced River, in Yosemite National Park, during our all-too-brief visit there during the summer of 2013.Time
We started the day at a hotel in Mammoth, CA, and drove into Yosemite from the east, coming over the pass into the park. By the time we reached Yosemite Village, it was mid-day and so we ended up on an afternoon tram tour. All that suggests that this photo was taken in the mid- to late afternoon.Lighting
We stopped at one of the pull-outs from the road to enjoy the view. I was struck by the reflection of the mountains in the river. The sun was behind me, to my right as I framed this shot, with the sun beginning to drop lower in the sky, illuminating the mountains and trees across the river, while leaving me in the shade. The exposure was a bit tricky, because the sunlight was so bright...the auto exposure was reacting to the brightness of the mountains, leaving the river in the foreground badly underexposed. I ended up over-exposing the mountains just a bit so I could capture more detail in the foreground.Equipment
I was still using my trusty Pentax *istDS camera in 2013, and this shot was probably taken with my workhorse lens, a Pentax DA 18-55mm lens, mounted. This shot was captured without a tripod.Inspiration
We stopped at a pull-out off the road and got out to take in the view. I was struck by the view of the mountains across the river, with the trees in front of them, with the green contrasting against the lighter colors of the granite. I recall spending a few minutes walking along the river bank looking for the framing I liked the best. I liked this spot, with the overhanging branch to give the image more depth.Editing
No post-processing...this image is how it came out of the camera.In my camera bag
I typically carry my camera with a short focal length zoom mounted, to provide me with the flexibility to shoot anything from wide angle to short telephoto shots. I also normally carry a longer focal length telephoto zoom with me as well, for those situations that call for the longer focal lengths. Depending on what I expect to encounter, I might also include a fixed focal length prime lens with a faster f-stop, or a fixed focal length macro lens. Back when I was using the Pentax *ist cameras, I also frequently had a monopod or tripod with me, because those cameras did not include any image stabilization. These days, the built in image stabilization has significantly reduced my need for a tripod.Feedback
For a shot like this, I try to pay attention to my framing. It can be tempting to focus solely on the subject of the photo, but taking a few seconds to check out the periphery of your shot can improve it. In this case, I purposely chose to include the overhanging branch to give more depth to the image. Also, if you have a high-dynamic range setting on your camera (the Pentax *ist did not), then the exposure for an image like this would be much less challenging.
