One more set of some of the beauty I found in Yosemite. A high lite, but yet a real crazy experience was being there during the possibility of the firefalls. It only happens for a few weeks in Feb every year if the conditions are right--at sunset the sky must be clear and there has to be water coming over the falls. This falls is only fed by rain and snow melt-no stream or river so very unpredictable. the first part of our trip when it was raining and snowing there was no hope to see it, and everything was normal--but on the days when the sky cleared it made being in the park just crazy. Most of the pull outs were blocked with no parking signs all day and a $250 fine for walking on the road! Sunset was to be around 5:30 so at 2 we left the hotel for the 2 mile walk on a marked off part of the road and then stood in a snow bank for 2 more hours at one of the viewing areas, just to secure some tripod space. Soon we were surrounded in front, to the sides, and many up the hill behind us with crazy photographers just like us! Some brought lawn chairs, a group was playing cards to pass the time, and we had fun watching the ranger in front of us trying to keep people off the road where the cars were driving by in front of us. As we stood and waited every once in a while a bus would come by and end up stopping and then we could see nothing! But fortunately that never happened at the crucial moment and we got our shots. More water coming down would have made for better photos, but the ranger said many times all the people show up and then noting happens--so we felt very lucky and went back to do it all again the next night too!

One more set of some of the beauty I found in Yosemite. A high lite, but yet a real crazy experience was being there during the possibility of the firefalls. It only happens for a few weeks in Feb every year if the conditions are right--at sunset the sky must be clear and there has to be water coming over the falls. This falls is only fed by rain and snow melt-no stream or river so very unpredictable. the first part of our trip when it was raining and snowing there was no hope to see it, and everything was normal--but on the days when the sky cleared it made being in the park just crazy. Most of the pull outs were blocked with no parking signs all day and a $250 fine for walking on the road! Sunset was to be around 5:30 so at 2 we left the hotel for the 2 mile walk on a marked off part of the road and then stood in a snow bank for 2 more hours at one of the viewing areas, just to secure some tripod space. Soon we were surrounded in front, to the sides, and many up the hill behind us with crazy photographers just like us! Some brought lawn chairs, a group was playing cards to pass the time, and we had fun watching the ranger in front of us trying to keep people off the road where the cars were driving by in front of us. As we stood and waited every once in a while a bus would come by and end up stopping and then we could see nothing! But fortunately that never happened at the crucial moment and we got our shots. More water coming down would have made for better photos, but the ranger said many times all the people show up and then noting happens--so we felt very lucky and went back to do it all again the next night too!

One more set of some of the beauty I found in Yosemite. A high lite, but yet a real crazy experience was being there during the possibility of the firefalls. It only happens for a few weeks in Feb every year if the conditions are right--at sunset the sky must be clear and there has to be water coming over the falls. This falls is only fed by rain and snow melt-no stream or river so very unpredictable. the first part of our trip when it was raining and snowing there was no hope to see it, and everything was normal--but on the days when the sky cleared it made being in the park just crazy. Most of the pull outs were blocked with no parking signs all day and a $250 fine for walking on the road! Sunset was to be around 5:30 so at 2 we left the hotel for the 2 mile walk on a marked off part of the road and then stood in a snow bank for 2 more hours at one of the viewing areas, just to secure some tripod space. Soon we were surrounded in front, to the sides, and many up the hill behind us with crazy photographers just like us! Some brought lawn chairs, a group was playing cards to pass the time, and we had fun watching the ranger in front of us trying to keep people off the road where the cars were driving by in front of us. As we stood and waited every once in a while a bus would come by and end up stopping and then we could see nothing! But fortunately that never happened at the crucial moment and we got our shots. More water coming down would have made for better photos, but the ranger said many times all the people show up and then noting happens--so we felt very lucky and went back to do it all again the next night too!