Yosemite 2011 Scenery Shots

This year's Yosemite trip was a huge success. With minimal planning on our part, we were able to enjoy the company of both friends and family. The weather ranged from rain to snow to beautiful within the four days we were there. However, we stayed mostly warm and dry in our Housekeeping canvas room. Pictures of kids to come, here's a few of my favorite scenery pictures.

On a morning walk with just Blaine and I, a cool geometric pattern caught my eye.

The first morning there I took a walk by myself to Lower Yosemite Falls before anyone else was up. On the way, a lone woodpecker tree in front of the falls.

The second morning brought beautiful snow from Upper Yosemite all the way down to the valley floor.

While the boys skipped rocks in the Merced River, Sand beneath Glacier Point.

After putting the kids to bed, I glimpsed Half Dome through the trees. I ran down to the beach to get a clearer view. If only the boys had gone to bed 15 minutes earlier, I think the entire face would have been lit up. Next year.

That night, my pseudonymic photographer neighbor took me out to take pictures in the middle of the night. This was my first experience with long exposure photography. To get anything reasonable out of my D40 when using even its longest exposure--30 seconds, I had to use its highest ISO, so the pictures are a bit noisy. Even so, it was a fun experience.

Moonlit Upper Yosemite Falls. Since I didn't have a tripod this is taken from ground level, using my backpack to get some elevation. I got quite the crick in my neck trying to see through the viewfinder.

Taking pictures of Half Dome. Again, taken from ground level. In the middle of Sentinel Bridge.

After being bedeviled by fog all night, we finally drove up to Tunnel View and, escaping the clouds, found an absolutely incredible view of the valley in the light of a nearly full moon.

While I was taking this picture, my neighbor joked that we had one of the most beautiful views in the whole world and I was shooting the wrong way.