Travel: August 2005 Archives

Can you spot the hikers?

Rich and Gavin hike ahead of me on the Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. The trail rises 3,200 feet from the valley floor and is actually 4.5 miles. It was lengthened by half a mile by the National Parks Service to improve what had been some extremely steep sections -- but never fear, it's still pretty darn steep in places!

I was standing on the edge of a field last Friday in Yosemite National Park, taking photos of Half Dome illuminated by the setting sun, when this boy walked past with his fishing pole. He looked very small against the massive pine and fir trees behind him.

I didn't take a tripod to Yosemite, only the remote trigger that was already in my bag. This and the previous two shots (all long exposures, obviously) were taken with the camera perched, sometimes precariously, on a wall or a step or propped against a rock. This one was taken using the last technique -- propping the lens on a rock and hoping the camera wouldn't slip while the shutter was open!

It was working well enough until a car drove past...and not only drove past, but decided to brake right in the middle of the frame. I quickly closed the shutter and started another exposure once the car had passed, but ended up liking the effect of the headlights and brakelights.

Exposure was 79 seconds at 21mm f/4.

Here is another night shot from Yosemite, taken looking generally east from Glacier Point. That's Half Dome featured prominently on the right, and if you look carefully you can see a light on its sheer face -- someone must have been climbing, or settling in for the night.

Exposure time was 93 seconds, with slight exposure compensation on the RAW image done in post-processing.

I spent Saturday in Yosemite National Park, which after two visits is quickly becoming one of my favorite places on Earth. Two friends and I hiked about 13 miles total, 4.5 miles from the valley floor up 3,200 feet to Glacier Point followed by 8.5 miles back down to the floor past three beautiful waterfalls.

This was shot Saturday night from the tunnel view turnoff along the road to Glacier Point. The moon was only one day past full, and it lit up the granite brilliantly -- no flashlight necessary. This was taken at about 11:00 p.m. with my 17-40 f/4 lens wide open on both accounts -- 17mm and f/4. Exposure time was 109 seconds in RAW mode, which allowed me to adjust the exposure compensation to brighten it a tad more. On the left is the 3,000 face of El Capitan. On the right, far in the distance, is the obvious shape of Half Dome.

We also paid a visit to the famous (or infamous) sea lions at Pier 39 in San Francisco. The area is completely touristy, but it's hard not to get sucked in by the sight of huge sea lions barking loudly and playing what looks like a game of "king of the mountain" as they try to knock each other off the piers and into the water again.

Cable cars aren't a cheap ride. No transfers. No exchanges. $3.00 flat fee will get you from one end of the line to another, but you may find yourself crammed into the middle, like me. It's more fun to ride hanging off the sides. Still, I love riding them when I visit San Francisco. Something about the noise of the cable, the smell of the wood brakes, the clang-clang of the bell and watching the car operators really put some forces into getting those cars moving...

If the sunshine and palm trees don't scream "California," I don't know what does. This is the Stanford campus in Palo Alto.

Stanford has a lot of Rodin sculptures, including this one, one of the Burghers of Calais. They are a group of people who sacrificed themselves to save their town, and their expressions show suitable anguish.

San Francisco has been absolutely lovely. I adore this city! On Wednesday night we had dinner in Chinatown, and afterwards I walked the short distance from our hotel to the waterfront to snap this photo of the Bay Bridge, covered in a slight bit of fog and being left behind by a passing ferry.

Submitted for the August 25 Theme Thursday, Weather, because of the infamous San Fran fog!