Yosemite: Channeling Ansel Adams

(Continued from Yosemite: In the Village)

Featured Photo: “Half Dome, Merced River, Autumn (No. 2)” Yosemite National Park, California—2023

I’ve made the comment several times already: during our visit to Yosemite Valley on Saturday, I was repeatedly struck by the effect the sunlight had on what we saw; the panorama changed in dramatic ways as the sun traversed the sky. At the time—and even now, as I look back at my pictures from the trip—I was reminded of the wonderful series of paintings by the French Impressionist, Claude Monet, who captured in oil on canvas, the impact of light in different seasons, and at different times of day, on subjects both simple…

…and ornate.

You may also recall, from my very first post, that I mentioned Monet as an artistic inspiration—with his mastery of the interplay of light and dark—when I began my love of photography. And I’ve previously mentioned another of my creative heroes: Ansel Adams, the legendary landscape photographer and environmentalist—known for his black-and-white images—who often visited and captured unforgettable pictures of Yosemite, himself.

In the previous post, I presented my own pictorial version of the effect of light, comparing two images of Half Dome with trees, which I photographed in Cook’s Meadow at different times of day. I would once again observe this effect, even more dramatically, with my later photos of Half Dome taken from Sentinel Bridge over the Merced River…which serves as a nice segue to transition back to my story, at the point where we were midway along our hike on the Cook’s Meadow Loop Trail in Yosemite Valley on that Saturday afternoon.

When I left my sister to rest at the Sentinel Bridge parking area, and started to walk toward the bridge, you can imagine my excitement as I went to stand where Ansel Adams once stood—to see what he saw and photographed.

As soon as I stepped onto the simple, peaceful bridge, I was struck by the spectacular view, and understood why Adams had paused there.

But when I crossed over to the other side and observed the reflection of Half Dome in the Merced River, I was astounded. I took two-dozen photos pacing back and forth across a 20-foot span that provided the best views over the river, trying to capture that “perfect photo”. I was there no more than 10 minutes before I tore myself away from the view and walked back to my sister. I showed her my pictures (including last week’s Featured Photo) and said, “You’ve got to come and see this for yourself.” Viewing what I had captured with my camera/phone, she agreed and eagerly walked back with me; and she was glad she did, as we stood together on the bridge, admiring the vista. Still, I took a few more photos, seeking the perfect image.

My sister and I left the bridge and finished walking the mile-long loop trail around Cook’s Meadow, having been out nearly three hours, soaking in the scenery. All along the way, my sister graciously allowed me to take countless pictures, and I was pleased to see she was still smiling.

I took one more photo of Half Dome with my favorite trees in the meadow, the image seemed new again in the mid-afternoon sunlight…

…and we headed back to Degnan’s Kitchen to relax with a cold beverage. My sister ordered a soda to quench her thirst. I opted for another beer offering from the Mammoth Brewing Company, which I had first discovered at the Wawona Hotel the day before. This time, I sampled their appropriately named Yosemite Pale Ale.

Sitting at a table outside in the fine October weather, we watched as someone approached the restaurant, riding on a bicycle. When she stopped, we saw it was a mom—probably in her mid-30’s—with a young child in a small seat behind her. The little girl—no more than three years old—was clearly asleep; her head, protected by a helmet, drooped by her shoulder and it seemed a miracle she was still sitting up. As I sipped my beer and glanced their way, the mom took the girl out of the seat, placed her gently on a bench near the door, took off her helmet, and went inside while the girl still slept. The mom returned with a small bowl of ice cream to gently tempt her daughter to awaken.

Observing this tender interaction between mother and daughter, my sister struck up a conversation and we learned the two travelers had just taken a long bike ride; and before that, they had hiked the Upper Yosemite Fall Trail—the long seven-mile path that leads to the top of the tall waterfall. My sister congratulated them on the accomplishment, while I pondered how the mom, with her child, could have even attempted such a feat.

After enjoying their afternoon treats, the mother and daughter rode away, and my sister and I finished our drinks. We rose to leave but paused, our attention drawn this time by a couple of ravens hopping around a nearby table, where two other guests had inadvertently dropped food on the ground. The large black birds were fun to watch as they hopped along, picking at the abandoned food, but they also seemed aggressive, and we were glad they were not any closer to us.

It was nearly 5:00 when we left Degnan’s Kitchen to return to the Yosemite Valley Lodge—where we had begun our visit to the park earlier that day, seemingly so long ago. We had a 6:30 dinner reservation at the Mountain Room Restaurant, which boasted “astounding views and perfectly cooked steaks”.

We were hoping to get in early as we were both hungry and out of energy for any more sight-seeing…nearly. As we walked the paths we had taken so many times throughout the day, I looked over again at Cook’s Meadow and saw that it was refreshed—yet again—by the late afternoon sunlight. I felt drawn to follow the loop trail once more, to reach Sentinel Bridge and take in the view of Half Dome in the bright but fading golden light. My sister agreed to go on to the restaurant and wait. I said I would join her in 30 minutes, then headed off on my photo shoot, feeling like I was in paradise. This was the last photo I took…

…before I reached the bridge and saw Half Dome aglow in nearly ideal sunlight, only to discover that my iPhone battery was completely dead. I was unable to take this once-in-a-lifetime photo that I so desperately wanted! I waited a few minutes, hoping the remaining energy in the battery would build up sufficiently for me to get my perfect photo, but to no avail.

It was now time for my second attempt at channeling Ansel Adams. I like to imagine it was his spirit whispering words of encouragement on the wind, possibly offering advice on how to succeed in getting that photo; more realistically, I know I simply considered my limited options and quickly chose a course of action. I left the bridge and walked as fast as I could to where my sister was waiting. It took a few minutes to locate her in the large area around the lodge, but I was right on time to reconnect—half-an-hour since we had taken our separate paths from Degnan’s Kitchen.

I knew she would think I’d finished taking all the pictures I needed, but I approached her and blurted out, “I’ll explain later…I need to borrow your iPhone.” She looked puzzled, so I added, “My battery’s dead, and I have a chance to capture the perfect photo of Half Dome.” She started to ask, so I interrupted to answer her question, “I’ll be back in 30 minutes.” She handed her iPhone to me, and I walked again as fast as I could, retracing my steps back to the bridge.

The Merced River was nearly still—there was just a slight breeze—and the glorious sunlight cast a mirror-like reflection of Half Dome, with only small ripples marring the water’s glassy surface. I took five pictures in two minutes—including today’s Featured Photo—which I consider my best from the entire trip.

As I looked at the image displayed on the screen of the iPhone, borrowed from my sister, I thought it was just possible that Ansel Adams might smile in approval at the photograph. I also fancied that Claude Monet might look with interest at my two Featured Photos—taken less than three hours apart, using the modern medium of digital photography—which revealed the sunlight’s effect on Half Dome and the Merced River. (Below, I present the photos together for comparison.)

Leaving my “artistic help-spirits” behind to enjoy the beautiful, peaceful scene, I raced from the bridge to rejoin my sister, pausing only briefly, to snap a few more photos along the way…

…and found her waiting for me by the host stand at the restaurant, exactly 30 minutes since I had left. We were seated at our table by 6:15 and ordered the perfectly cooked steak with a glass of wine, while we enjoyed the majestic views from the dining room.

Waiting for our meal, I glanced at my Fitbit and was surprised to see I had taken more than 30,000 steps that day, in and around Cook’s Meadow, during our whirlwind visit to Yosemite Valley. And as we ate our delicious steak dinner, my sister and I talked about what we should do during our last two days in Yosemite. I shared with her what I had learned from the Park Rangers at the Visitor Center earlier in the day, in another conversation, when I had asked for their thoughts about Tuolumne Meadows and Hetch Hetchy. Based on their glowing recommendations, my sister and I agreed to scrap my itinerary and spend our remaining time exploring Yosemite in two new and totally different directions.

(To be continued…)