Round the World - or Maybe 'Round Alaska Instead

A lot has happened since I started seriously thinking about leaving work to travel. It all culminates in one simple happy statement: I am now free from the shackles of employment and finally have the time & means to do some adventuring.

However, instead of circumventing the globe by bus, plane and boat I'm planning to travel out of my new mobile home - an aging Toyota Landcruiser. Right now I'm busy modding the vehicle and getting ready for the trip. Soon, I'll be setting off for ... Alaska?

Yosemite Falls Lunar Rainbow

During the full moon each spring, the moon creates a lunar rainbow, or moonbow, over upper and lower Yosemite Falls.

While a moonbow can be created wherever the conditions are right, there are only a few places, like Upper & Lower Yosemite Falls, where a moonbow is predictable.

Predictability is key to photographing the moonbow since it is also difficult to see unaided.  The eye isn't sensitive enough to discern the colors.  This results in a dim monochrome rainbow against a moonlit backdrop.

All of the colors of the rainbow are represented, however, and can be captured using a long exposure to overcome the low light levels.

As the moon crosses the sky, the angle with which the moonlight strikes the mist from the falls changes.  The moonbow is only visible for a short time each night when the moonlight hits the mist at the right angle.  You can see the effect fade over the course of about an hour in the following progression of images.


These images were taken on June 18, 2011 with a Canon A1 using Velvia 100 slide film . The exposures were all taken around 4-6 minutes @ f4.

Yosemite Falls

Sunday morning we got off to a late start since we'd stayed up so late photographing the falls by moonlight the night before. These shots were all taken from around the Sentinel meadows area using a Canon A1 and a variety of prime lenses. Metering was a combination of guess work and checking against the F1 as the A1's meter has gone thoroughly wonky.

Canon A1, 50mm/f1.8, Fuji Provia 400h, CPL.

Canon A1, 24mm/f1.8, Fuji Provia 400h, CPL.

Canon A1, 50mm/f1.8, Fuji Provia 400h, CPL.

I like the illusion of the clouds pouring over the waterfall even though I've seen dozens like it.  This is the double-edged sword of photographing a place like Yosemite.  It's a great fun to meander this park with a camera but unique images are rare indeed.

El Capitan by Moonlight

Canon A1, 50mm/f1.8, Fuji Provia 400h. 30s @ f1.8.

Sunday night we decided to take some long exposures by moonlight. This shot of El Capitan was taken around midnight from the Tunnel View vista on the road to Wawona.

Despite heading out late we still had to contend with tour buses and headlights. Once the crowd thinned we had a spectacular view.