Description

Yosemite Dawn

One of the most beautiful mornings I have ever witnessed is captured in this image reminiscent of one of my favorite landscape painters from the 19th century, Albert Bierstadt. On a sub-freezing February morning, thick with fog and having stayed up the night before till 3:30 am capturing time-lapses of the incoming storm, I woke up around 5:30 to find it lightly snowing with almost zero visibility. Blurry-eyed, tired, and unmotivated to make the hike up the ice-covered cliff ledges with my camera gear in the dark, I assumed the snow would keep falling and there’d be no chance of capturing any early morning views. However, as the parking lot started filling with early morning traffic, I knew that if I wanted to secure the spot up the mountain I’d scouted the day before that I’d need to make the effort despite the miserable and potentially hazardous conditions. As I strapped the last of the camera gear to my body, ready to make my way up, the snow started to dissipate and hits of dawn's first light became faintly visible through the cold, wet fog. Becoming a bit more motivated at this point I carefully made my way up the route I’d scouted along rocky open faces sloping down towards huge drops and covered in ice. Luckily there was a light dusting of fresh snow which allowed for my boots to gain some traction. Arriving at the spot safely and finding I had it all to myself, my initial relief was followed by disappointment seeing that the view into Yosemite Valley was completely socked in with clouds. Despite that and having put forth the effort I set up the camera gear in the hopes that it may clear. However, a few minutes later it started to once again lightly snow and with the warmth of my initial exertion of climbing now giving way to frozen hands and feet, I thought it may all before not and decided to give it another 20 minutes before heading back down to the warmth of my truck. Deciding to wait was one of the best decisions of the trip because about 15 minutes later the clouds all started to clear, giving way to beams of sunlight glowing through the fog. Then suddenly, as if a giant curtain was being drawn back, the entire valley of Yosemite opened up, providing me with a view that nearly brought me to tears. This print was captured at that moment and represents one of the most beautiful morning views I’ve ever witnessed in one of the most iconic national parks in the world.