Timeless: Steve's Rock

Timeless: Steve's Rock (7920)
I photographed this rock in honor of Steve Harper, a man I never met. Nonetheless, I owe him a huge debt of gratitude. I have heard only beautiful things about how much of a friend and inspiration he was to others. He taught what is thought to be the first college-level course on night photography and light painting at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, teaching and inspiring legions of night photographers, including Lance Keimig,Troy Paiva, and Tim Baskerville. It's probably safe to say that any of us currently stumbling around in the dark with our tripods, waving flashlights to illuminate our subjects owe much to him, whether we know it or not. One of Steve's most famous photographs was of this boulder, and for many night photographers, it has come to be known as Steve's Rock. Steve passed away a year ago today on 19 August 2016 at 85 years of age, and now, many of us night photographers carry on from his inspiration.
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I was on vacation with my girlfriend when we passed Olmsted Point in Yosemite National Park. I knew right them that I would need to return later that evening to do my small tribute to Mr. Harper.
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When I returned, there were some people sleeping in a van in the parking lot, but otherwise, I was the only person there. I crawled around in front of the rock to position the camera at a low vantage point, opened the camera shutter to three minutes, and applied a little light to the scene with a handheld flashlight. I let the camera continue to click away, combining five photographs together for a total exposure of 15 minutes, the stars and the moon showing their movements throughout the long exposure. I laid on my back and looked at the stars. I photographed Steve's Rock from two different angles. Eventually when finished, I drove back down Route 120 listening to Brian Eno "Shutov Assembly".
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