Photographing yosemit digital field guide

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Capture Postcard-Quality Photos
Lewis Kemper

Photographing

Yosemite

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Photographing
Yosemite
Digital Field Guide

Lewis Kemper


Photographing Yosemite Digital Field Guide
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
10475 Crosspoint Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN 46256
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada

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About the Author
Lewis Kemper has been photographing the natural beauty of North America and
its parklands for more than 30 years. During his extensive travels, he has been to
47 states from Alaska to Florida. His photographs are in many private collections
as well as in the permanent collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art and Kaiser
Permanente. His work has been shown nationally in galleries and museums,
including the Frederick S. Wight Gallery, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Cornell
Museum, the Princeton Gallery of Fine Art, the Popular Photography Gallery, the
Ansel Adams Gallery, Photographer’s Gallery, and the Yosemite Valley Visitor
Center.
His work has been published in numerous books including publications by The
Sierra Club, The National Geographic Society, Little and Brown, APA Insight
Guides, Prentice Hall, and Hyperion Books. His pictures have appeared in calendars published by Audubon, The Sierra Club, The Mono Lake Coalition, Self
Realization Foundation, Golden Turtle Press, The Sierra Press, Day Dream
Calendars, Avalanche Publishing, Browntrout, The Nature Conservancy, Tide-Mark
Press, and others. His work has appeared in magazines that include Backpacker,
Women’s Sports and Fitness, The Walking Magazine, Sierra, Motorland, Terre
Sauvage, Environmental Protection Magazine, National Wildlife, National
Geographic Traveler, American Photographer, View Camera, PC Photo, Camera
Arts, Shutterbug, and Outdoor Photographer. He is the author of The Yosemite
Photographer’s Handbook and The Yellowstone Photographer’s Handbook, and he
was the photographer for Ancient Ancestors of the Southwest, published by
Graphic Arts Center Publishing.
He teaches photography for many organizations including Palm Beach
Photographic Centre, Santa Fe Workshops, Light Photographic Workshops,

Aspen Workshops and Betterphoto.com. He produces the acclaimed Photoshop
training DVDs “The Photographer’s Toolbox for Photoshop®”, and he is a contributing editor to Outdoor Photographer and PC Photo magazines. His Web site is
www.LewisKemper.com.

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Credits
Senior Acquisitions Editor
Stephanie McComb

Project Coordinator
Patrick Redmond

Project Editor
Jama Carter

Graphics and Production Specialists
Andrea Hornberger
Jennifer Mayberry
Ronald G. Terry

Technical Editor
Mike Hagen
Copy Editor
Beth Taylor
Editorial Director
Robyn Siesky
Editorial Manager
Cricket Krengel

Business Manager
Amy Knies
Senior Marketing Manager
Sandy Smith
Vice President and Executive Group
Publisher
Richard Swadley
Vice President and Executive Publisher
Barry Pruett

Quality Control Technician
Lindsay Littrell
Proofreading and Indexing
Valerie Haynes Perry
Penny L. Stuart


Light…
I know not a singular word fine enough for Light.
Holy, beamless, bodiless inaudible floods of Light.
—John Muir

For all the Yosemite photographers before me,
with me and after me. . . Ride the Light!



Acknowledgments
Yosemite has always held a special place in my heart. I became a photographer in
Yosemite and made some great friends in my years spent living there. I want to

thank all of those people that were part of my experience in Yosemite, because I
cannot separate my experiences from the place itself. Together they are the spirit
of Yosemite that has been so fulfilling in my life.
I would not have been a part of this project if it wasn’t for my friends Deborah
Sandidge and Josh Anon for recommending me to the staff at Wiley to write this
book. Thank you both.
A special thank you goes to Stephanie McComb, senior acquisitions editor, and
Jama Carter, project editor, for being so helpful and supportive during the project.
A heartfelt thanks goes to my family, my wife Heidi, and my son Logan, for putting
up with me and my constant trips and my late hours in the office. If it wasn't for
their patience and understanding, I would never be able to have my career as a
photographer. I also want to thank my parents Sydney and Isobel for all the support and encouragement they have given me over the years.
I would like to thank all my friends at Canon, past and present, who have supported my photography for the past six years including Dave Metz, Steve Inglima,
Peter Tvarkunas, Erik Allin, Barbara Ellison, and Jim Rose. It has been an honor to
be associated with such a wonderful organization.
And last I would also like to thank all those that make the Yosemite experience so
wonderful including all the employees of the National Park Service, the two concessionaires that have been part of the park during my time in Yosemite, The
Yosemite Park and Curry Company, and Delaware North Companies, and special
thanks to the folks at The Ansel Adams Gallery.


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Contents
1

Ahwahnee Hotel . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . . . 4

Hotel interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Hotel exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Ahwahnee Hotel

2

Bridalveil Fall . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . . 14
Bridalveil Fall parking lot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Bridalveil Fall viewpoint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Southside Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Northside Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Gates of the Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Tunnel View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . . 18
Bridalveil Fall

Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

3

Cathedral Peak . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . . 26
How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . . 27
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Cathedral Peak

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4

Cathedral Rocks . . . . . . . . . . 33

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . . 34
El Capitan Meadow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Merced River at marker V17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . . 36
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Cathedral Rocks

5

Dog Lake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Where Can I Get The Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . 42
How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . . 43
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Dog Lake

6

El Capitan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . . 48
Southside Drive across from Bridalveil Fall . . . . .49
Merced River across from Bridalveil Fall . . . . . . .49
Southside Drive across from El Capitan
Meadow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
El Capitan Meadow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Turnout at valley marker V17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Gates of the Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Tunnel View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . . 53
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

El Capitan


7

Fern Springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . . 60
How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . . 61
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

Fern Springs

8

Half Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . . 66
Ahwahnee Meadow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Sentinel Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Mirror Lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

Columbia Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Cook’s Meadow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Tunnel View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Washburn and Glacier Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Big Oak Flat Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Olmsted Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71

Half Dome

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . . 72
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

9

Happy Isles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . . 80
How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . . 81
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

Happy Isles


10

Horsetail Fall. . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . . 88
Northside Drive picnic area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Merced River near Four Mile Trailhead . . . . . . . . .89

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . . 90
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92

Horsetail Fall

11

Indian Village . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . . 96
How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . . 97
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

Indian Village

12

Lembert Dome . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 102
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 102
Tuolumne Meadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
South side of Tioga Pass Road. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 104
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Lembert Dome

13

Mariposa Grove . . . . . . . . . . 109

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 110
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 110
Bachelor and Three Graces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Grizzly Giant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
California Tunnel Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 112
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Mariposa Grove

14

Merced Grove . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 118
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 118
How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 118
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Merced Grove

15

Merced River. . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 126
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 126
Footbridge in Cook’s Meadow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Swinging Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Gates of the Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
From Pohono Bridge to Big Oak Flat Road . . . . . 128

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 130
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Merced River

16

Mount Dana/Mount Gibbs . . . 135

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 136
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 136
Dana Fork at marker T36. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Reflecting Pond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 138
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Mount Dana/Mount Gibbs

17

Nevada Fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 144
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 144
Mist Trail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Washburn Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 146
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Nevada Fall


18

Pioneer Yosemite History
Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 152
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 152
How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 153
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Pioneer Yosemite History Center

19

Sentinel Rock . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 162
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 162
Cook’s Meadow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
El Capitan Meadow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 164
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Sentinel Rock

20

Siesta Lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 170
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 170
How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 171
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Siesta Lake

21

Tenaya Lake . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 178
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 178
Western shore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Eastern shore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Olmsted Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 181
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Tenaya Lake


22

Three Brothers. . . . . . . . . . . 187

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 188
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 188
Cathedral Beach Picnic Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Merced River near valley marker V17 . . . . . . . . . 189

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 190
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Three Brothers

23

Tuolumne Grove. . . . . . . . . . 195

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 196
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 196
How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 197
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Tuolumne Grove

24

Tuolumne Meadows
and River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 204
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 204
How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 205
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208

Tuolumne Meadows and River

25

Unicorn Peak . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 212
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 212
How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 212
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Unicorn Peak


26

Vernal Fall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 220
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 220
Mist Trail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221
Washburn Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 222
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225

Vernal Fall

27

Wawona Hotel . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 230
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 230
Hotel exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231
Hotel interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 232
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232

Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234

Wawona Hotel

28

Yosemite Chapel . . . . . . . . . 237

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 238
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 238
How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 239
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241

Yosemite Chapel

29

Yosemite Falls . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Why It’s Worth a Photograph . . . . . . . . . . 246
Where Can I Get the Best Shot? . . . . . . . . 246
Lower Yosemite Fall Trail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .247
Cook’s Meadow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248
Swinging Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249
Southside Drive near Yosemite Chapel . . . . . . . .249
Glacier Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251
Upper Yosemite Fall Trail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251

How Can I Get the Best Shot?. . . . . . . . . . 253
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253
Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254
Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255

Yosemite Falls



Introduction
I am excited to share my photographic knowledge of Yosemite National Park with
all who seek it. In this book, I guide you to 29 of Yosemite’s most photogenic locations in alphabetical order. For each location, I tell you where the landmark is
located, where to get the best image, when to get the best image, and what
equipment will be most useful. You can use this information and the maps included
with each landmark when planning your trip to Yosemite, and it will help you come
home with great photos.
While the book serves as your guide to photographing in the park and allows you
to find all the classic images, I want to encourage every budding photographer to
use it as a starting place. Take the images outlined in the book, add your own personal touch to the classic views, but also go beyond what I describe and find some
unique angles and perspectives when you visit Yosemite. Create your own vision
and portfolio of Yosemite images. If you get a great one, please share it with me at
www.LewisKemper.com


Free ebooks ==> www.Ebook777.com

The Ahwahnee Hotel photographed from the southeastern side at dusk on a summer evening.
Taken at ISO 500, f/11, 1/8 second with a 17mm lens.

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Ahwahnee Hotel


Why It’s Worth a Photograph
Since its opening in 1927, the Ahwahnee Hotel has marveled visitors including
several presidents, actors, and international dignitaries. With its unique architecture and Native American motif, the hotel offers a glimpse of the past mixed with
the modern. The Ahwahnee Hotel was originally designed to bring tourists to
Yosemite Valley and is now a National Historic Landmark.
Built from stone, wood, and concrete, the hotel took almost two years to build and
used 5,000 tons of stone, 1,000 tons of steel, and 30,000 feet of timber. The
“wood” you see on the exterior is actually poured concrete textured and stained
to look like redwood! All the material had to come from outside the park because
the park’s resources are protected.
The hotel features the Great Lounge with its elaborate stained-glass windows and
fireplaces so big you could walk inside them! The fireplaces are made from cut
sandstone. The whole building is decorated with Native American art, most of
which is of Miwok origin, in keeping with the original inhabitants of Yosemite
Valley. As you wander through the hotel, you see themed rooms such as the
Winter Club room that houses historical photos on winter sports in Yosemite, the
California Room, the Writing Room, and the solarium with views of Glacier Point.
The Ahwahnee Hotel is a luxury hotel and may be beyond the means of most park
visitors, but it is open to the public. Anyone is welcome to visit and they even offer
tours of the hotel. The Great Lounge with its Persian rugs and massive wooden
furniture is a great photographic subject as well as a great place to sit and relax.
There are many angles to photograph the hotel’s exterior, each giving a different

perspective of the Y-shaped building.

Where Can I Get the Best Shot?
The Ahwahnee Hotel is very photogenic both inside and out. If you are interested
in architecture and history, you could spend hours photographing here (see A and
B on map).

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Photographing Yosemite Digital Field Guide


Ahwahnee Hotel

The best locations from which to photograph the Ahwahnee Hotel: (A) hotel interior, (B) hotel exterior. Other photo ops: (9) Happy Isles, (11) Indian Village, (28)
Yosemite Chapel, (29) Yosemite Falls.

Hotel interior
The Ahwahnee Hotel is known for its beautiful surroundings and unique architecture. The hotel’s interior features many grand spaces (see A on the map). A few of
the most notable are the Great Lounge, known for its enormous stone fireplaces
and beautiful stained-glass panels (see figure 1.1), the solarium with a fabulous
view of Glacier Point, and the Ahwahnee Dining Room with its impressive 34-foot
ceilings and floor-to-ceiling stained-glass framed windows, all making for great
photographic subjects.

Hotel exterior
The most photographed view of the hotel’s exterior is from the southern meadow
looking north, as shown in figure 1.2. The entrance to the hotel is a bit more difficult to photograph; however, if you walk to the far side of the pond located at the
front of the hotel, you can get a nice shot.

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1.1 The Great Lounge features period furniture and massive fireplaces at each end.
Taken at 500 ISO, f/16, 2 seconds with a 17mm lens.

1.2 The Ahwahnee Hotel as seen from the south meadow (see B on the map) at
sunset on a summer evening. Taken at 100 ISO, f/11, 0.6 second with a 17mm lens.

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Photographing Yosemite Digital Field Guide


The Ahwahnee Hotel is photographer friendly; just be sure not to make a nuisance
of yourself. Set up your tripod so that other visitors can easily get around you. Plan
to photograph the interior of the Ahwahnee in midday when most guests are out
in the park, to avoid people walking through your images, and to be less of a hindrance to other guests.

Ahwahnee Hotel

How Can I Get the Best Shot?

The exterior that appears through the windows will be totally washed out when
you expose for the interior. Many photographers choose to make one exposure for
the interior lighting conditions and another for the exterior and combine the two
images in an image-editing program. An advanced technique to try is High Dynamic
Range photography, known as HDR, to get a full tonal range image.

Equipment

When shooting architectural subjects, using a wide-angle lens and tripod are equipment essentials. Because you are photographing in tight quarters, you will have to
tilt the camera upward to include the ceilings. Doing this causes some distortion,
which you can correct during post-processing. If you are really into architectural
photography, you may want to rent or buy a tilt-shift lens designed to reduce the
distortion inherent in wide-angle photography.

Lenses
As with most types of architectural photography, a wide-angle lens is the most
effective when photographing the hotel. When photographing in the interior, a
wider lens produces a better image. If you’re fortunate enough to have a tilt-shift
lens, it will help you keep all your lines straight when working in the hotel. Lenses
in the range of 14-24mm work the best. If you are photographing the details, a
short telephoto in the 85-250mm range will allow you to isolate those details.
When photographing the exterior, you can use lenses anywhere from 14-55mm.

Filters
When photographing in the interior, no special filters are needed. A polarizing filter
may be useful in eliminating glare from reflective surfaces. Star filters can add a
unique quality to your images: All the light sources in the hotel will have star-like
flares.

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