I dedicate this post to my father, J.A.R. Grenier, and wish him a Happy Father's Day!

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My father, John Alfred Ronald Grenier, or 'Ronnie', as his family and friends called him, was born on 19 November 1912, in Kegalle (about 50 miles east of Colombo), and was raised and grew up in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. He was a gentle man with an outlook on life heavily influenced by the philosophies of the East that left him with a keen sense of humour, and an unsophisticated and easy-going outlook towards life and its various complexities. He was an avid line fisherman, or “Angler” to use his term, and loved the ocean, its fish, and especially the fishing folk of Ceylon.

He also had a talent for story telling and spent a great deal of his time writing about these two loves. A number of his short stories and articles on fishing were published in the 'Ceylon Sunday Observer'. He also had two books published in Ceylon, the first in the mid-fifties, and the second in the early sixties. Due to his own couldn't-care-less attitude about money and, I am told, an unscrupulous publisher, my father received no compensation whatsoever for his two published books, 'Tales of Fish and People of the Ceylon Estuaries' (a ‘how-to catch fish’ and several short stories), 1954, and 'Isle of Eden' (21 short stories), 1961 - the original book covers are shown below. My father ended his life by drowning, under tragic circumstances, on 29 July 1988. He was 75 years old.

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In 1997, in order to honor my father and give him the recognition he so richly deserves as a writer, I decided to embark upon a project to republish his book of short stories, 'Isle of Eden', by painstakingly scanning each of the 116 pages of the original book, from the only copy that I am aware that still exists today. After several futile attempts to find a publisher of my liking that would do the book justice, as well as being sidetracked by life’s demands and limitations on my time having to hold down a full-time job, I gave up the search but not the dream or the original intent. Fast-forward to March 2014, I found myself on a journey back to the ‘home of my birth’, Sri Lanka, a full fifty-five long over-due years after the departure from the country that was then known as Ceylon.

I am still processing the many facets of my journey back to Sri Lanka. It has had a profound effect on me and brought back memories of my beginnings, and reminded me of where it all began. It has also rekindled my original goal of honoring my father, and I have now begun the process again of looking for a publisher. This time I am searching for someone to work with and publish the book in Sri Lanka. I am pleased to say that I am encouraged by my initial efforts and have my fingers crossed that this time I can actually accomplish my original goal - honor my father and have his book made available to readers in Sri Lanka, Australia and eventually in the USA.

On this Father's Day 2014, I would like thank my father for his insight and his efforts to capture the spirit of the people of Sri Lanka, that are the essence of the stories of his books. My father was a very special man and had a significant influence in my life, for which I am eternally grateful. I am certain his love for the people of Sri Lanka has somehow influenced me  and I think it shows in my recent portraits of people during my visit, two examples shown below. My only single regret is that I did not have the opportunity to get to know him more closely, unfortunately, because our time together was prematurely cut short.

Dad, wherever you are, I wish you well and hope you have found peace of mind - I will always love you and thank you for all you did!

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Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Yosemite National Park, to me, has always been a place of wonder, a place to get back in touch with nature, a place of awe at the sight of the most magnificent granite structures that dominate the Yosemite Valley, a place that reminds you of the presence of a Supreme Being, and as a result, a place that I like to call 'The Granite Cathedral'! In this blog I would like to highlight a couple of phenomena that occurs in Yosemite National Park annually, that makes this place even more special - 'The Horsetail Falls Phenomena' and 'The Yosemite Falls Moonbow'. While the moonbow is not specifically unique to Yosemite, as it does occur in other places in the world (Victoria Falls, Africa, Big Island, Hawaii, the cloud forest in Costa Rica, etc.), the 'Horsetail Falls Phenomena is truly one of a kind to Yosemite. They both require several conditions to be present on any given day for it to occur and be seen, each at specific times of the year, and when these conditions do occur they result in simply wondrous sights that I have been fortunate to witness and capture with a DSLR camera.

'Horsetail Falls Phenomena'

For a few weeks in February, if the water is flowing in Horsetail Fall, and there are no clouds in the western sky, photographers and park visitors gather in the waning evening light for an amazing natural display.  The Horsetail Fall phenomenon appears when the angle of the setting sun sets the waterfall ablaze with reds and oranges, like a fire was falling down the cliffs on the shoulder of El Capitan. The first image above was shot from a location on South Side Drive, and the one below it from the El Capitan picnic area on North Side Drive in Yosemite Valley.

The Yosemite Falls Moonbow

The image of 'The Yosemite Falls Moonbow' above, also know as a lunar rainbow, was shot at 10:45 pm, 14 May, 2014, at Lower Yosemite Falls. It occurs at night, around the full moon, during the months of April, May and June. The conditions required for this phenomena to occur are a clear sky, enough wind at the bottom of the falls to create the necessary mist, and of course enough water to come over the falls to create the required mist. Some years are better than others, and some days around the full moon are also better than others. As with most landscape photography, a certain element of luck is required, but the more you research, plan ahead and work hard, the 'luckier' one seems to get!

Enjoy!

This blog is inspired by a poem by Lord Byron, ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage', and I have taken the liberty to quote below the few stanzas that are most inspirational to me on a personal basis, and relative to my experiences as a photographer in particular. There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but Nature more

'Blue and Gold'

‘Lord George Gordon Byron [1788-1824], commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was an English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement, he is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read and influential. He travelled all over Europe especially in Italy where he lived for 7 years and then joined the Greek War of Independence fighting the Ottoman Empire, for which Greeks revere him as a national hero. He died one year later at age 36 from a fever contracted while in Missolonghi in Greece. Often described as the most flamboyant and notorious of the major Romantics, Byron was celebrated in life for aristocratic excesses, including huge debts, numerous love affairs with both sexes, rumors of a scandalous incestuous liaison with his half-sister, and self-imposed exile.’ ~ Wikipedia

Growing up in the tropical paradise of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) I have always had a deep connection and admiration for Nature. There is something both calming and exciting about being in Nature, and I began my photographic journey at an early age with my Dad’s camera shooting amongst the beauties of the estuaries and jungles of Ceylon. To this day, one of my earliest memories is of looking down into the viewfinder of a Roliflex camera and composing an image of an ocean scene, and placing a Banyon tree off to the side in the foreground, and thinking to myself how much I loved doing this! Then going into my father’s crudely put together darkroom in our modest home, developing the film, creating a proof sheet of the twelve shot roll, and eventually printing a copy of that scene using an enlarger, placing a paper in a tray of chemicals and watching the print gradually appear of the scene I had shot was pure magic to me.

Over the last four weeks of this year, I have placed myself in Nature on three occasions, where I was reminded just how magical and awe inspiring it can be to witness the never-ending facets and changes this pursuit provides. As a photographer, I feel that being there at these moments allows me to capture a ‘sketch’ of what I am witnessing. My job on these occasions is to compose, focus and correctly expose the image that I bring back home with me, that I then take into my ‘digital darkroom’ to develop into an image that best represents what I witnessed in the field into a fine art product.

Sometimes I go out to various locations with a certain image in mind that I would like to create, hoping that Mother Nature will cooperate and provide on a particular morning or evening. I have found that this typically leads to disappointment. What is more effective is to go to a location with an open mind, with the attitude that I will create with and enjoy what Mother Nature decides to provide on any particular day. So here are some highlights of what I brought back with me from the three locations I visited recently, Death Valley National Park, Yosemite National Park and the Big Sur coastline along Highway One, south of Monterey, California. Enjoy!

'Shadows and Light'

Early morning light on the Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California

'Yosemite Sunrise'

An especially beautiful sunrise from Tunnel View, Yosemite National Park, California

'Paradise Found'

After numerous visits to this beautiful spot I was fortunate to find this beautiful sunset at McWay Falls, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, California

Happy New Year to all my family and friends. It is my sincere wish that 2014 brings you Peace and Happiness! I would like to thank everyone that have supported my photography through the years by buying my prints or taking the time to Comment or Like posts on my Facebook page - thank you! 2013 was an interesting year for me personally and creatively. I began the year having to deal with the loss of every piece of photographic equipment that I owned, having had it all stolen from my vehicle in SoCal in December, 2012. As it turned out eventually, it was a blessing in disguise because it gave me a chance to replace/upgrade all of my equipment with items that I really wanted, and make choices from experience and use in the field, rather than from hearsay or magazine articles.

“Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.” ~ Ansel Adams

I ended the year with a collection of some 10,850 images, captured from January 10, through December 25. When I am out on a photo shoot I usually have a modest goal of coming home 'with a couple of significant photographs'. That is based on the Ansel Adams quote above, as well as my experience from various photo shoots over the years. It keeps me calm and grounded verses being manic about what I need to get done on any given day's shoot.

So, this blog is a summary of my most significant images of 2013. The decision to make these selections, and the order of the final 12 photographs is determined by the number of Likes I have received from posts on my Facebook page http://facebook.com/djgrenier I will count them down from number 12 (with the # of Likes) and say something about each image, as well as provide some basic EXIF data.

#12 'Three Brothers Sunrise' (53 Likes)~ this is an image of the Three Brothers, a rock formation in Yosemite Valley, California. It is located just east of El Capitan and consists of Eagle Peak (the uppermost "brother"), and Middle and Lower Brothers. John Muir,  a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States, considered the view from Eagle Peak to be the most beautiful view of Yosemite Valley available.

November 16, 2013, Yosemite National Park, CA, Exposure 0.6 sec at f/11; focal length 25 mm; ISO 100

#11 'Against All Odds' (54 Likes) ~ this is an image from a fall photo shoot in Sedona. Shot early morning on our last day at Slide Rock Park, I was looking for something different to what all the other photographers were shooting and found this beautiful little waterfall. It was difficult to get to but the lone fall leaf, perilously surviving the rushing water, caught my eye and I created a composition around the theme of fall and survival.

October 17, 2013, Slide Rock Park, Sedona, Arizona, Exposure 1/8 sec at f/11; focal length 55 mm; ISO 100

#10 'Sand Dune Art' (55 Likes) ~ an image from my trip to Death Valley in November. Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. Situated within the Mojave Desert, it is the lowest, hottest and driest area in North America. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet (86 m) below sea level. Death Valley's Furnace Creek holds the record for the highest reliably reported air temperature in the world, 134 °F (56.7 °C) on July 10, 1913.

November 14, 2013, Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California, Exposure 1/15 sec at f/11; focal length 45 mm; ISO 100

#9 'Lake Fire' (58 Likes) ~ I drove up to South Lake Tahoe on a July evening, chasing clouds I began to notice in the afternoon near my home, about ninety minutes away. Went straight to my favorite spot in Emerald Bay, hoping that the clouds would cooperate for the evening's sunset at 8:30 pm. Cooperate it did and how - the most colorful and spectacular sunset I have ever seen in Emerald Bay!

July 10, 2013, Emerald Bay, South Lake Tahoe, CA, Exposure 0.3 sec @ f/11; focal length 18 mm;  ISO 100

#8 'Fall In Yosemite' (58 Likes) ~ Fall in Yosemite is a special time of the year, for brilliant colors and beautiful reflections. It is clearly one of my favorite seasons to visit this incredibly beautiful valley. Captured this image at a not so well know spot that provides for fall colors and reflections on the Merced River, together with the subtle low light of the morning's sunrise.

November 16, 2013, Yosemite National Park, CA, Exposure 1/50 sec at f/11; focal length 24 mm; ISO 100

#7 'Heaven's Gate' (59 Likes) ~ this particular evening in August, I started out on my way to the gym when, from out of my garage I noticed interesting clouds in the sky. Thinking to my self this could be a good sunset, I grabbed my camera and tripod and headed out to one of my local go-to locations. Just got there in time, maybe even a few minutes late, to witness this amazingly colorful, OMG sunset!

August 18, 2013, El Dorado Hills, California, Exposure 1/6 sec at f/11; focal length 24 mm; ISO 100

#6 'Seeing Double' (69 Likes) ~ I decided to join a group of friends who wanted to shoot the Milky Way at Wright's Lake, Kyburz, on an evening in early September. We arrived at this location just as the sun was setting before we planned to move to a different location for the Milky Way shoot. The light on the mountains in this alpine setting caught my eye, with the reflection on the lake making for a classical image.

September 6, 2013, Wrights Lake, Kyburz, CA, Exposure 0.5 sec at f/11; focal length 16 mm; ISO 100

#5 'Half Dome Full Moon' (71 Likes) ~ I went to Yosemite in November with two goals; shoot the fall colors and capture the rising full moon near Half Dome from Tunnel View. There were about 30 photographers lined up at the viewing wall on that evening, lots of talk and discussion, each one with their own guess/prediction as to where the moon would rise and at what time. Then, all of a sudden there it was, and all the chatter stopped, replaced by a palpable quiet as we each began the process of capturing what we had waited patiently for so long!

November 16, 2013, Yosemite National Park, CA, Exposure 1/5 sec at f/11; focal length 228 mm; ISO 100

#4 'Fall Brilliance' (78 Likes) ~ this is one of my favorite images from of my November fall photo shoot in Yosemite. Fall is a time that reflections in the still waters of the Merced River are the most brilliant. When you add fall colors to the iconic monuments of Yosemite, it is hard to find a more beautiful time of year to visit this magical place. Spent about an hour at this location, first arriving in the morning when there was very little light and a bald white sky, to this image when the sunrise lit up the fall colors and a beautiful sky provided a brilliant image of reflections and colors - just doesn't get much better than this!

November 16, 2013, Yosemite National Park, CA, Exposure 1/40 sec at f/11; focal length 24 mm; ISO 100

#3 'Contentment' (79 Likes) ~ captured this image from The Gates of the Valley, also known as Valley View. From here you see El Capitan (left) and Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Falls (right), no falls due to an unusual dry winter. I have been to Yosemite several times over the last few years and this is one of the finest images I have been privileged to create, with the remnant fall colors and these magnificent granite structures ~ leaves me feeling very satiated, grateful and content as an artist.

November 16, 2013, Yosemite National Park, CA, Exposure 1/40 sec at f/11; focal length 16 mm; ISO 125

#2 'Into the Mystic' (87 Likes) ~ This image won 'Image of the Night' at the local Sierra Camera Club's Travel Singles Competition in November, out of 56 images submitted that particular night. I have never submitted images in this category before and this was my first experience at street photography, in the Brisbane Queen Street Mall, Australia. I asked this man permission to photograph him, but I was so intimidated/introverted I only released the shutter twice, apparently just enough to come away with this haunting image!

October 7, 2013, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Exp. 1/200 sec at f/5.6; focal length 105 mm; ISO 100

And the Most Significant and Popular Photograph of 2013!

#1 'El Cap's Magical Light' (88 Likes) ~ After it had snowed for most of the night on December 6, 2013 in Yosemite I drove into the Park in the early morning the next day. I was not allowed to go up to Tunnel View because they had not finished plowing the snow in that area and this is the first sight I had of the majestic El Capitan, which is amazingly beautiful with early light and low clouds. Located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end, this granite monolith extends about 3,000 feet (900 m) from base to summit along its tallest face, and is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers.

December 7, 2013, Yosemite National Park, CA, Exposure 1/30 sec at f/11; focal length 28 mm; ISO 100

There you have it, my first annual top 12 list of significant photographs in a year. I am very happy with my accomplishments this year, learned a great deal and have numerous journeys set up in the year 2014, including a 21 day journey back to the country of my birth Sri Lanka. My planned itinerary should put me in interesting places to hopefully allow me to have another  creative and successful photographic year.

And as we all say goodbye to this year and look forward to the next, let's take a few moments to be grateful for our family and friends, and all that we have accomplished, as well as all that we have earned and been given in this life.

Enjoy 2014!

I am sometimes asked by friends and family why their photographs don’t look like mine. My answer usually includes an Ansel Adams quote, ‘You don’t take a photograph, you make it’. The 'making' of a photograph begins in the field. A good photograph should be a well composed, tack sharp and correctly exposed digital (preferably RAW) file, or a negative as they used in a bygone era. There are volumes of information available that teaches a photographer how to use a digital camera and ‘make’ a good original digital file.

This blog is about what I did to ’make’ a specific photograph of mine, 'Into the Mystic'. I wanted to show you my original file, and briefly describe the various post development steps that I used to ‘make’ the final photograph, that turned out to be one of my most popular images! Post development takes lots of time, creativity and skill, a vital and necessary step to 'making' a photograph.

Ansel Adams also said, ‘Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships’. Dodging and burning were terms used in photography for a technique used during the printing process to manipulate the exposure of a selected area(s) on a photographic print, deviating from the rest of the image's exposure. In a darkroom print from a film negative, dodging decreases the exposure for areas of the print that the photographer wishes to be lighter, while burning increases the exposure to areas of the print that should be darker. Today, there are hundreds of software tools available to a photographer to develop a photograph and ‘take care of mistakes God made in tonal relationships’, as well as the mistakes of us mere mortals!

During my last annual visit to Australia I set out one day to try my hand at ‘street photography’. I wanted to walk down the Queen Street Mall, downtown Brisbane, and photograph people that I saw that captivated my interest. Most of my photographic experiences over the last several years have been based around landscapes. I feel intimidated and a little introverted to go up to someone I do not know on the street and take their photograph, not from a far but up close with their full knowledge.

So it’s this fear and the desire to overcome these negative feelings that motivated me to set out on a train bound for Central Brisbane on October 7, 2013. After photographing a couple of street musicians, mostly from a far, I stumbled upon, what I thought was ‘the most interesting man in the world’. I wanted to photograph this man from close up, so I walked up to him and somewhat timidly asked if I could take his photograph, to which he graciously said yes! Still being intimidated and apprehensive, I only managed to squeeze off two images, both shown below.

I thanked him and said ‘You have a very interesting face’, and he joyously burst out laughing as I walked away. I wish now that I had stopped, sat next to him and engaged in a conversation. When I looked at the images I had shot in my view finder I was not that pleased but was just too inexperienced, apprehensive, etc. etc. to go back and ask for his permission again.

When I got home I uploaded the original  RAW files into the software that I primarily use for my post development work, Adobe Lightroom, I was disappointed with what I had captured and went through the typical 'if only I had done this and then that, etc.' They just looked dull and uninteresting to me, but fortunately they were tack sharp and fairly well exposed. I decided that I would develop the closer up image, on the right above, because what interested me the most was his head and face, and that omnipotent mass of white hair. What began to develop in my creative mind was a real close up of his face and eyes; 'the eyes are the windows to the soul'.  I then felt that what I wanted to create would just be more striking and dramatic in black and white.

   

So, I simply looked at the image in Lightroom in black and white, left. I then processed it further by cropping out some of the background and refined it more using the NIK plug-in for Lightroom, 'Silver Efex Pro 2'. This software provides a lot more tools to allow a user to fine tune a black and white image globally as well as in specific areas, right. Finally, I felt I was on the road to creating an image that captured the feelings I had when I first stumbled upon this man. Again, I was drawn to those eyes and that massive amounts of silver hair, and thought the best way to emphasize these points of interest was to crop the image in tight. This was then my final adjustment and the final image is shown below.

And so that is how I stumbled upon and made 'Into the Mystic', from two images that I did not care for to begin with and turned into one of my favorites! After all, it is not how you begin sometimes but how you end that matters!

“You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” ~ Ansel Adams

Recently, I have found myself chasing sunsets around and in the area where I am fortunate to live, El Dorado Hills, in the California's Sierra Nevada foothills. Having lived in this area for the past ten years, I have developed some local knowledge as to where the best locations could be for a sunset on any given night, some a ten minute drive, stretching all the way up to South Lake Tahoe's beautiful Emerald Bay, a ninety minute drive each way. I love sunsets because they can be so colorful, with the setting sun’s ability to brightly light up any clouds in the sky with colors that are simply magical to witness and photograph. The most colorful moments are the few minutes before the precise sunset time, and the few minutes after the sun has gone down below the horizon. As a photographer, Mother Nature typically gives you less than ten minutes to capture these colors at their brightest and most vivid, which requires you to be in place and ready to shoot. This includes predetermining the best composition, depth of field, focus, metering/exposure, ISO, etc., and be fully aware of the changing light conditions and respond appropriately. It is exciting sometimes simply trying to keep up, especially when you are also in awe of what Mother Nature is providing for that particular evening's 'show' right before your very own eyes! The excitement is in the thrill to be creative now and in the moment, with the need to respond and capture a scene that does not last long and you most likely will never see again!

The following three images were all captured in this month of July, 2013, generally not know as a great month for clouds and beautiful sunsets in the local area, but ones that I am happy to have been there to witness, enjoy and capture.

'Lake on Fire", Emerald Bay, South Lake Tahoe, California, 8:31 pm, July 10, 2013, Canon 5D Mk III; Canon EF16-35mm f/2.8L lens @ 18mm; 0.3 sec @ f/11; ISO 100

This image  began with me noticing the gathering cloud patterns in the afternoon near my home. A short debate in my mind as to what would be the best location to go to for the evening's sunset was ended by an on the spur of the moment decision to drive up to Emerald Bay, in South Lake Tahoe. I had been to this particular location numerous times previously, with varying degrees of success with a sunset, and just had a hunch that 'tonight could be good'. I have learned not to build up my expectations on 'what could be' on any given occasion and instead accept and respond to 'what you are given'.

Sunset was officially at 8:30 pm and I arrived at 7:45 pm only to notice a gathering of about twelve people right at my favorite and most effective spot for a sunset shoot at Emerald Bay. I looked for an alternate spot, none of which I liked, and waited patiently for what turned out to be a wedding ceremony to conclude and the all the participants to depart. I quickly got into position about 24 inches above the ground, with beautiful boulders forming an effective and interesting foreground and simply waited for the magical light show to begin.

The image above was captured one minute after the official sunset time, with the best light and color being available for no more than five minutes. The sight of the 'lake being on fire' with an incredible red/orange glow reflected on the water, made me utter OMG several times in sheer delight. I left feeling exhilarated to have made the right decision to make the ninety minute drive up to the Sierras and be rewarded beyond my wildest expectations with the best sunset I had ever seen at Emerald Bay!

'Country Roads'. El Dorado Hills, California, 8:23 pm, July 24, 2013, Canon 5D Mk III; Canon EF16-35mm f/2.8L lens @ 16mm; 0.5 sec @ f/11; ISO 100

This image was captured at a location about a ten minute drive from my home. I chose this location by driving around and looking at the position of the clouds in the sky and contemplating and predicting what the light may produce, and where, with the setting sun. I also always looking for an interesting foreground and the road, that leads a viewer’s eye into the shot, with the gate and fence materials turned out to be well suited for the patterns generated in the sky by the clouds.

'Life's Twists and Turns', American River, Salmon Falls Road, California, 8:21 pm, July 25, 2013, Canon 5D Mk III; Canon EF16-35mm L lens @ 16mm; 0.5 sec @ f/11; ISO 100

The final image I have here was of the sunset that occurred the day after the image shown above. Again, the location was determined by the position of the clouds in the sky and my prediction of the reflected light and colors of the setting sun. This night, I was simply winging it as I had never been to this particular spot for a sunset shoot, and had not been here in about five years. Arriving a little later than ideal I had about five minutes to walk down a fairly steep trail, pick a spot, set up my tripod and camera and begin to trigger the shutter. What helped me make a quick decision was the reflection of the clouds I saw in a little cove of the river, as well as the layers of the bank on the left hand side. This time as well I set up close to the ground, chose a composition that I thought would work well and pulled the trigger sitting on my butt on damp ground! As it turned out, this was the first image I captured that night and the best!

I would like to end this blog post with a quote from a great man, who I admired greatly and was influenced by when I was a child growing up in Sri Lanka.

'When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator'. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Mark Twain is said to have remarked that Yosemite was so incomparable that it had to be the place God cast all his remaining treasures after the creation of the world! I am fortunate to live four hours away from Yosemite National Park, which I fondly refer to as Adventureland, as it is always an adventure for me to visit this huge and wondrous place in Northern California that I have lovingly gotten to know over the last few years. I first visited Yosemite some 25 years ago, on a family camping adventure with my young daughter and son. I have only vague memories of that visit, but the one lasting memory I have is of my young daughter, upon her return home, telling her friends that she had just visited 'Mysemite'!

As a photographer, using a newly purchased DSLR camera, I visited Yosemite again in 2010, and the adventure began and continues to this day. I last visited Yosemite on May 17, for an impromptu overnight visit. I typically stay away from the Park in summer because of the huge crowds that flock to this magnificent  National Park, but was driven there at this time of the year by the need for 'another adventure' and a weather forecast that promised 'clouds in the sky'. The images in this blog are from of my last visit, and yes, it was seasonally crowded with long lines of vehicles to get in to the Park, and congestion in the heavily trafficked areas of Yosemite Valley. About 4,000,000 people visit Yosemite annually, and it would be my guess that well over 3,000,000 of those visitors arrive during the months of April through October.

It has become a routine for me to drive to Tunnel View first when arriving into Yosemite, because I have learned from experience that this is a great vantage point to see what's happening weather wise in the whole Valley, and the image below is what greeted me on the morning of May 17, 2013.

Tunnel View

A quote from the the Yosemite National Park website http://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm ~ "Not just a great valley, but a shrine to humanforesight, the strength of granite, the power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra. First protected in 1864, Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more."

The National Park Service was created by an Act signed by President Woodrow Wilson on August 25, 1916. Yellowstone National Park was established by an Act signed by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, as the nation's first national park.

The national park system comprises 401 areas covering more than 84 million acres in every state (except Delaware), the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These areas include national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House.

Total recreation visitors to all National Parks in 2011 was an astounding 278,939,216 people!

El Capitan

El Capitan is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith extends about 3,000 feet (900 m) from base to summit along its tallest face, and is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers. The formation was named "El Capitan" by the Mariposa Battalion when it explored the valley in 1851. El Capitán ("the captain", "the chief") was taken to be a loose Spanish translation of the local Native American name for the cliff, variously transcribed as "To-to-kon oo-lah" or "To-tock-ah-noo-lah" .

The Three Brother

The Three Brothers, 7,783 ft (2,372 m),  is a rock formation located just east of El Capitan and consists of Eagle Peak (the uppermost "brother"), and Middle and Lower Brothers. John Muir considered the view from Eagle Peak to be the most beautiful view of Yosemite Valley available. John Muir (21 April 1838 – 24 December 1914) was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His activism helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he co-founded on May 28, 1892 in San Francisco, is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States.

Gates of the Valley

One of the two major waterways in the park is the Merced River, which carries rainwater and snow melt from the high Sierras and drains the southern part of the park. Arising high in the Sierra backcountry in the park, if flows though the heart of Yosemite Valley. The picture babove shows the river from the location known as "Gates of the Valley" or "Valley View", and in the background can be seen El Capitan (left) and Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Falls (right).

'As The World Turns'

The final image I leave you with is the star trails above Yosemite Falls. Captured at 9:58 pm on May 17, this was a 35 minute exposure that shows the movement of stars in the that time frame, with the exception of the constant North Star, the little white dot shown just above the falls.

Yosemite Falls is the highest measured waterfall in North America, and it is a major attraction in the park, especially in late spring when the water flow is at its peak. The total 2,425 feet (739 m) from the top of the upper falls to the base of the lower falls qualifies Yosemite Falls as the sixth highest waterfall in the world.

I would like to end this blog with a quote from John Muir, taken from his book The Yosemite, Copyright 1912, by the Century Co .

'Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.'

May you enjoy a visit to Yosemite National Park someday to marvel at 'the place God cast all his remaining treasures after the creation of the world'!

I dedicate this blog today to my daughter Michelle Grenier on her birthday - Happy Birthday Michelle, Love, Dad!

I just returned from spending seven enjoyable days in Arizona, covering a multitude of activities that have both touched my heart and satisfied the artist that resides within me. It all began with spending four days in Winslow, where I participated in a food run with the ‘Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program'.

Adopt-A-Native-Elder Porgram

Here is a direct quote from their website – ‘The Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program exists to create a Bridge of Hope between Native Americans and other cultures. It allows us to reach out to one another, share our gifts, and mend the broken circle of our relationship with the Land and the Native Americans who hold it in sacred trust. The Program provides food, simple medicines, clothing, fabric, and yarns to help these Elders live on the Land in their traditional lifestyle. As they have become elderly, it has become more difficult for them to support themselves on the Land in their traditional ways.’

I was deeply touched by this Program that has been operating for over 27 years. I found it to be a profound experience and one that I intend to attend as often as possible. ‘Respect your elders’ was a phrase that was repeated to me many times by my parents when I was a child, a concept that I struggled with in my rebellious youth. It appears that I now have reached a point in my life where I desire to give something back to all those ‘elders’ that have touched my own life in profound ways, and this program is a perfect vehicle to fulfill some of these desires.

The gratitude that I witnessed in the eyes of the Navajo Elders I was fortunate to come in contact with was priceless, and I would like to encourage you to look further into this Program at their website www.anelder.org

The above is a a photograph of the food run line-up that I captured with my iPhone  just after we had set up the line for distribution to the Elders at the Big Mountain reservation.  I am posting this image with permission given to me by the Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program.

Red Rocks of Sedona

I then traveled to Sedona, with the friend who so kindly invited me participate with her in the above Program. Sedona's main attraction is its array of red sandstone formations, the Red Rocks of Sedona. The formations appear to glow in brilliant orange and red when illuminated by the rising or setting sun. I had previously visited Sedona in January, 2011, at the invitation of friends that I knew from the Bay Area, and was immediately struck by the sheer beauty of the magnificent red rock structures so prominent in this area. However, since it was the middle of winter the area was devoid of the brilliant greenery that I was treated to during this visit, which adds a whole new dimension to these unique structures.  Below are some of my favorite red rock formations captured over the two days spent in Sedona.

Cathedral Rock

Cathedral Rock at Red Rock Crossing is one of my favorites in Sedona, and is one of the most-photographed sites in Arizona. Early summer is a beautiful time of the year to photograph this site as the greens and reds are present in all their glory.

Cathedral Rock in the background, with the old mill and water wheel at the Crescent Moon Ranch recreation area in the foreground

Cathedral Rock captured from Oak Creek that runs through Crescent Moon Ranch

Courthouse Butte, located next to Bell Rock, is also a heavy photographed site in Sedona

The beautiful Bell Rock

The Chapel of the Holy Cross, a  unique Roman Catholic chapel, is built into this magnificent red rock (below) just outside Sedona

Garland's Oak Creek Lodge

The entry way to Garland's Oak Creek Lodge

Oak Creek Canyon

We were fortunate to spend two nights at the magnificent Garland's Oak Creek Lodge, in the beautiful Oak Creek Canyon, just outside Sedona. Highlights from their website -  'Garland's Lodge provides a unique experience in an unforgettable setting, marrying the beauty of Sedona's red rocks with the ever-changing seasons of Oak Creek Canyon. Sixteen cozy cabins nestle on ten lush acres of organic gardens and apple orchards.

The original homestead building dates back to the early 1900's and still functions as the Lodge kitchen. Garland's Lodge is much more than just another Sedona bed and breakfast or B&B. Afternoon tea, and sumptuous dinners and breakfasts are served in the historic main lodge, and are included in your stay, with seasonal menus from our award-winning cookbook, "Sharing the Table at Garland's Lodge".'

Check it out in more detail at http://www.garlandslodge.com/

Enjoy!

Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and also to ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection, and regrowth.

Spring is also the ‘season of hope’, and the time when trees begin to 'green' and flowers remind me that Mother Nature is truly amazing and profoundly inspiring to me as a photographer.

The flowers of spring also brings to mind one of my favorite quotes, ‘Flowers are the Earth’s way of laughing’, a quote attributed to the America poet, essayist, and lecturer, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882).

And one more new quote – “Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” – Luther Burbank

The images below are my tribute to spring, using mostly flowers from my backyard, and inspired by the sound of the Earth laughing!

Enjoy!

(Updated April 2023.) This has been one of my all-time most read blog posts. Written and posted originally in April 2013, I have updated it some ten years later with some of my all-time favorite flower images.

'Three Leaves'

'Gold 'N Ice'

Horsetail Falls, Northside Drive location, February 14, 2013

Horsetail Falls, Southside Drive location, February 15, 2013

As most of my friends already know, I experienced a stressful and traumatic event at the end of last year. On December 20th, five days before Christmas, my vehicle was robbed in a parking lot in Anaheim Hills, Southern California. I had seventy four items taken out of my vehicle, with a total replacement value of over $17,000. I was left with a feeling of disbelief, shock, violation and anger. All of the photographic equipment that I had carefully and painstakingly collected over many years was taken, along with my complete set of golf clubs, golf shoes, etc.. Also taken, an iPod, a gym bag with goggles, flippers, ear plugs, etc., the keys to my security gate, a Fastrack transponder, etc. etc.

Now just over two months later, I have replaced my photographic equipment and feel that, somehow someway, this occurred to me so that I would end up with better equipment than what I had; better equipment that I have wanted for some time but could never bring myself to buy. In retrospect, it is not clear to me why I prevented myself from getting the camera equipment that I wanted, and I am appropriately reminded of the phrase, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”.

Recently, I got back from my first photo shoot with this new equipment, a few days in Yosemite National Park, where the initial objective was to shoot the yearly occurrence that happens during the last two weeks of February, Horsetails Falls lighting up and giving the appearance that it is on fire. If Horsetail Fall is flowing and the weather conditions are just right, the setting sun illuminates the waterfall, making it glow orange and red, as can be seen in the two images of Horsetail Falls that I captured on February 14 & 15, 2013.

I have also posted a couple of other images from that shoot that can be described as ‘abstracts in nature’.  I am finding these tighter images more fun and satisfying to capture these days, particularly when the larger landscape opportunities are more mundane or uninspiring due to the weather conditions particular for that day or season. These abstracts, for me, tend to be more creative, unique and expressive when I get to design something from nothing, from whence I live up to my own term ~ 'LiquidDesigns'.