Shutter-life|Adaptive photography and more, by Henrik Johansson

Royal Arch Cascade is one of the lesser known waterfalls in Yosemite Valley, despite its impressive 1250 ft drop. The water volumes are quite low and the fall is usually dry by June. The fall is not that easy to spot - the low flow makes it hard to see the fall from a distance and it’s often shielded by trees when you get a bit closer. This also makes it hard to get a good shot of the fall. From far away, the fall will be small and hard to spot in the photo. If you venture closer, the trees makes it nearly impossible to get a good composition. When you go all the way to the bottom of the fall, the lighting conditions are very bad. The bottom is usually in deep shadows while the upper part is in full sun light.

This is a hand held shot of the base of the fall. I used a shutter speed of 1/10s to get the water to blur a bit. The composition turned out nicely, and I didn’t find any crop that I think can enhance the shot. The upper left of the shot was a bit to dark, and I used the new adjustment brush in Lightroom 2 to locally increase the exposure. As I usual, I increased the contrast with the tone curve. I also had to add a bit of fill light to get the lighting I wanted. Finally, I’d liked the photo to have a warmer feel. I made some changes to the hue for the yellow and orange tone. The stone now had the color I wanted, but the water felt cold and had a slightly blue tone that didn’t fit into the general feeling of the photo. To remedy this, I applied the same yellow/orange tone to the highlights as I use for my sunsets shots. After the change to the highlights, the color tones of the water matched the tones of the stone.

Yosemite National Park is a paradise for nature photography. Many places for great photography in the park are easy to get to, while others can involve long hikes (like shooting Half Dome from Indian Rock). A few seem to be almost unknown. During spring time, Vernal Fall is one of the most impressive water falls in Yosemite. Thousands of people make the hike up the Mist Trail every day. Yet, only a handful make it the most scenic spot along the trail. A spot more beautiful than you can imagine. A spot that Ansel Adams used for some of his photos.

Most people that hike the Mist Trail stop at the bridge where Vernal Fall is visible for the first time. A minority continues toward the fall and even fewer make the full hike to the top of the fall. While all of these people will experience great scenery, almost every one will miss out on this truly awesome spot. After hiking about two thirds of the distance to the bottom of the fall (where the steep section begins), look to your left for an opening in the woods. You will see some large and flat rocks that reach out into the stream, just 100ft from the trail. If you look closely, you will also see some faint traces of a small trail. Leave the trail and marvel at the scenery. If possible, do this hike a spring morning. The big mist cloud will be filled with rays from the rising sun. It’s a truly amazing sight that few people will ever experience.

The photo at the top of the post is from late March this year. Besides converting it to sepia, I only did some minor adjustments to the contrast. The photo in b/w is an older photo from last year.

This is my last post for a while. Tomorrow, I will travel to Lofoten in northern Norway for hiking, climbing, and photography.