We can layer our images in colors and tones as well as subjects. This is a good example of how color layers and tonal layers can work together to express an idea. The first layer is made up three subjects – the bright green grass of Yosemite’s famous Stoneman Meadow itself, the trees of the same color that stand on top of it, and the overhead leaves that are also bright green. The second layer offers a much darker shade of green – the shadows within the trees make it almost a layer of black, which provides a powerful contrast in both color and tone to the initial bright green layer. The third layer is made up of neutral color and tone – the tallest trees in the image are neither bright nor dark, thus differing strongly from the two previous layers. The fourth and final layer is the background layer. It is not green at all – instead it is a neutral gray cliff, full of soft vertical shadows. When we add the four layers together, we get a varied perspective on the natural world that is very special. It is one of the things that make landscape photography at a place like Yosemite so exciting and fulfilling.