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Fortress
Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California
Campsites in Yosemite in the summer are hard to come by. The experience is often compared to scoring concert tickets. Wake up before 7AM, refresh like mad, and hope for the best. The site WILL go down, you WILL use every curse word you've ever learned... but things usually work out in the end.
That's exactly what happened back in March, when I was able to book a campsite for mid-August in the high country. It's impossible to plan around weather that far out (even as a meteorologist!), so I had just planned to hike around.
When the week of our trip finally came, the planning waters started to get murky. California was on fire again, as seems to be happening every summer. Skies were smoky, air was unhealthy. We waited it out til the last minute, suitcases packed but losing hope. The smoke models and forecasts weren't really showing things getting much better.
There were also clouds in the forecast, and even afternoon storms. Any mountain photography veteran is drawn to this kind of weather like a magnet. Of course, if it was too smoky, we wouldn't see anything.
We waited til the afternoon... then decided to just screw it and go. If conditions were terrible, we could do some sightseeing from the car and come home early.
That turned out to be one of the best decisions we've made. There was a little haze, but it didn't ruin the trip -- if anything, it added some nice atmosphere to the photos. The sunsets were fantastic, the hiking was excellent, the nights were clear and full of stars.
After doing a couple wild hikes the day before, this time we took it easy and strolled around the meadow. I was immediately drawn to this calm spot along the riverbank, reflecting a peak we had stood atop just the night before. I opened the lens all the way up to f/2.8 to intentionally blur the foreground for artistic effect.
When in doubt... just go!
| Date & Time | August 13, 2021: 7:15pm |
| Location | Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California |
| Coordinates | 37.874332, -119.357243 |
| Focal Length | 75mm |
| Aperture | f/2.8 |
| Shutter | 1/1250 sec |
| ISO | 100 |
| Num of Exposures | 33 |
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Mounting brace floats the display
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| Total Pixels | 285,095,508 px |
| Width | 18,003 px |
| Height | 15,836 px |
| Aspect Ratio | 1.14 : 1 |
| Date & Time | August 13, 2021: 7:15pm |
| Location | Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California |
| Coordinates | 37.874332, -119.357243 |
| Focal Length | 75mm |
| Aperture | f/2.8 |
| Shutter | 1/1250 sec |
| ISO | 100 |
| Num of Exposures | 33 |
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