15-OCT-2004
The Texture of Granite, El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California, 2004
A late afternoon, low angled sun brings out the texture of the sheer granite cliffs of Yosemite’s towering El Capitan. I deliberately restricted the frame of this image to only part of the cliff, thereby stressing its texture instead of its shape or form. I wrap the textured cliff within a large contrasting “C” shaped area of dark vegetation, and poke at the side of the cliff with tiny sprigs of leaves to echo the flow of El Capitan’s ancient granite and give the image a sense of dimension and scale. Once again, this is a landscape photograph that does not “show” the whole subject. Rather, it appeals to the imagination of the viewer to fill in the details.
16-OCT-2004
Large and Small of It, Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, California, 2004
I thought it would be appropriate to compare this young, fragile plant with the base of its ancient and mighty host – a giant Sequoia. To make this landscape “macro,” which is based largely on scale incongruity, I moved my camera so that the light will show off its frail green stems against a fire-blackened hollow in the trunk of the Sequoia. I abstract the image so that it tells the story of the Sequoia only by the illuminated texture of its rough red bark, which contrasts strongly to the smooth and slender green stems and tiny golden blossoms of the little plant. This is one of those pictures where less is more, even when one of the subjects is the largest living thing on earth.
14-OCT-2004
Evening Landscape, Yosemite National Park, California, 2004
Bring your eye out of the shadows and carry between the abstracted trees in the foreground, then race across a golden meadow to a lone, translucent tree standing before ranks of towering pines flanking a granite cliff. We are traveling through layers of time and space to enjoy this example of nature’s handiwork. While the foreground approach may somewhat similar to my Stoneman Meadow landscape “Layers of Light,” the middeground and background in this image work quite differently. In this example, the focal point of the image -- that one translucent tree -- is very far from the camera. We must journey across a vast field to get there, and once there. we are treated to a great scale incongruity – the translucent tree is many times smaller than the conifers stacked up behind it. This image spotlights the individual, instead of the masses. Even in nature, some must go it alone.
16-OCT-2004
Storm over the Merced, Yosemite National Park, California, 2004
Sun may be wonderful, but a rain soaked Yosemite can be just as productive photographically. I shot this mysterious image only a few minutes before we left Yosemite. We had enjoyed a two-day stretch of beautiful autumn light, which was ended abruptly by this onrushing storm. Flat light gray skies can produce richly saturated fall colors and I emphasize them in this view of the Merced River taken from the Stoneman Bridge. I also used the awesome column of low hanging clouds as an abstracting tool. They partially obscure the powerful diagonal created by the forested hillside in the background, and create a sense of power and mystery. Abstraction can bring mysterious thoughts to mind, and this image is no exception. Many years ago, Albert Einstein said “the most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science.” Weather is science, and art is expressed through landscape photography. This image draws on the mystery of nature at work upon the land, which is what landscape photography should be all about.
15-OCT-2004
Sunset, Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California, 2004
Perhaps the most memorable single moment of our visit to Yosemite came as we watched the setting sun turn the massive open face of its most famous landmark into a flaming orange slab of granite. I photographed it through the branches of an old Oak, connecting the living park with the park of legend. The Oak branches and my tight framing abstract Half Dome, suggesting its huge scale and forbidding nature instead actually showing it. I made numerous other images showing all of Half-Dome in this exquisite light, and they simply could not compare in terms of their ability to tell a story. Although the light in them was just as beautiful as in this shot, they were merely very attractive descriptions of an American icon. By covering Half Dome’s face with this screen of Oak leaves and branches, I give the image a sense of depth and also contrast the living Yosemite to the ancient granite that has always been dead, yet lives on in our dreams as a flaming orange slab of history.