Yosemite Winter Photography Workshop with Horsetail Fall

by Jeff Sullivan
March 3, 2015January 29, 2018
41 Comments

Horsetail Fall backlit orange by the setting sun.

Winter is a magical time in Yosemite National Park, with snow on Yosemite’s iconic landmarks such as Half Dome and El Capitan. Winter also features low flows yielding great reflections in the Merced River. In late February when conditions are right, Horsetail Falls can be back-lit orange by the setting sun. There must be snow above El Capitan, but temperatures have to be warm enough to melt that snow for the waterfall to flow at all. You also need clear skies to the west for the waterfall to be backlit by the setting sun. The Park will be closing lanes on Northside and Southside roads to accommodate parking near the two most common viewing locations.

It can take photographers years of trying before they arrive in Yosemite National Park before all of the right conditions occur to see the ephemeral waterfall flowing, and to see it backlit as the sun sets. But from some angles, even without any significant flow, the orange light on the granite cliffs simulates the waterfall in orange light.

But the photos and description of “Horsetail Fall back-lit by the setting sun” don’t really do that event justice. When conditions are just right, the intense light of the sun, apparently radiating out from that thin ribbon of water, most resembles molten lava running down the face of El Capitan. It’s one of those phenomena in nature, like seeing the shimmering corona of the sun during a total eclipse, that must be experienced to be understood. Once you’ve experienced it, you both want to set aside the camera and experience it again. In the same way that simply seeing a partial eclipse is nothing like seeing a total eclipse with corona, simply seeing Horsetail Fall backlit isn’t like seeing it as “lava falls”. I don’t think it’s possible from all vantage points, and I don’t know how often the conditions are just right, but having pursued the event for over a dozen years now, I know it’s very rare. At the time you question your perception of it, question the ability of the camera to capture and convey it, and you simply marvel at the ability of nature to create unimaginably beautiful moments. I experienced that in February 2008, and in spite of an annual pilgrimage, I haven’t experienced quite the same intensity since. But it’s definitely worth the pursuit, in the same way that tens of thousands of people travel to experience total solar eclipses. Over and over again.

In years when the moon cycle is just right we can also pursue shots of the full moon rising at sunset as well. We’ll have that rare opportunity again in 2018. Yes, I’m a glutton: when I shoot somewhere, I maximize my own photography opportunities through exploration of the the area to be covered, bearing in mind seasonal considerations, and detailed astronomical research, so it’s only natural that when I schedule a workshop, I want my participants to enjoy the full variety of available shooting opportunities!

While Horsetail Fall at sunset and the moon rise by Half Dome are nice “icing on the cake” shots for late February, there’s a lot more to shoot then in Yosemite:

Winter photography workshop in Yosemite National Park

A sampling of February opportunities in Yosemite (see below for key & links).

If that sounds like the way you’d like to experience and explore a park, check the links at the top of this site for my workshops. I’m gradually building posts like this one to describe the various opportunities in more detail.

If you do join me, daylight hours are only half the fun, as you shoot with the 2011 Astronomy Photographer of the Year winner (People and Space category) who has licensed Yosemite night photos for the cover of Outdoor Photographer Magazine. We’ll have similar full moon shooting conditions for excellent lighting of night landscape photos. I can also show you how to create star trails images and techniques for light painting. Sometimes the setting moon lights up Horsetail Fall at night, just like the sun does during the day! You can be sure that I’ll check the angles and let my customers know if/when we can pursue that.

If this February trip sounds like fun, contact me for details. I’ll also be offering additional Yosemite National Park trips for lunar rainbow “moonbows” at night, and fall colors.

I’ve been exploring the park since 1974. By design for the past eight years I’ve lived only 90 minutes from the Tioga Pass entrance to Yosemite; I’d love to show you around one of my favorite “home” parks!

About your instructors: Jeff has a deep knowledge of digital imaging. Due to his love of photography, upon earning his Computer Science degree from U.C. Berkeley, he became involved in the industry in 1984 as an applications engineer at the Graphic Printing and Imaging Division of Tektronix (the world’s leading color printing company at the time), well before digital cameras were available, when digital images were scanned. I have owned at least eleven digital cameras since 2001. In 2017 I shot with the Canon EOS 6D and 70D, the Nikon D750. I’m renting additional models for evaluation for possible upgrades as well.

My co-leader for this trip shoots with both full frame and DX format Nikons, so we have all the major bases covered. Depth of field varies from full frame to crop sensors, so it’s important that your instructors have years of experience with both full frame and crop sensor cameras to adequately advise a diverse group of photographers. We’ve taught people with other brands such as Sony mirrorless cameras as well. There can be very important quirks in a given brand or model’s output which can affect both exposure technique and optimal post-processing approach.