Spring is one of my favorite seasons in Yosemite: redbud and dogwood trees blooming, the waterfalls roaring at maximum flow, rainbows and “moonbows” (night rainbows) forming in their mist, and the spring ponds of snowmelt doubling the views of it all. Nearby patches of California poppies and lupine can often be found. Black bears are coming out of their dens, often with cubs, and storms still pass by periodically dusting the surrounding ridges with snow.
The days around the full moon in April or May can offer some of the best shooting opportunities of the year in Yosemite. That’s why I always include a spring workshop in my Yosemite workshop schedule.
Here are some sample images from my 2017 workshop.
Moonlit landscapes with star trails can make compelling images for publishers:
The presence of a rainbow at night can add a lot to the scene as well:
My star trails shot of the moonbow in Upper Yosemite Falls, a finalist highlighted in coverage of the 2011 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.
If you shoot a sequence to build a star trails shot, you can also play back the sequence as a time-lapse video, like this one from 2011:
Consider joining me some spring in Yosemite to pursue shots like these yourself!
http://www.jeffsullivanphotography.com/blog/yosemite-national-park-photography-workshops/
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fantastic shots
+Jeff Sullivan Tremendously wonderful work – execution, composition, postwork, everything!
Thanks +Carmen Cristea! I love Yosemite… I've been enjoying and exploring the park since 1974.
wow, pretty scenery
Beautiful set. The wildflowers havn't even started blooming up here yet.
Thanks +Chuck Jackson, My approach to post-processing is simple: I took the photo because it was a great moment… don't mess with it too much and screw it up!
I view it as being like walking a tightrope: the easiest and most likely outcome of too much activity is to fall off. Restoring a digital camera's often poor interpretation to an image of what humans perceive onsite is like reaching the other side of that tightrope of realism… is has to be done very delicately (and you may fall down and have to start over and try again).
sign of spring with this shot
Everyone should see this park. It's an amazing example of the beauty that is nature.
Me encantan todos las fotos son preciosas!!:)
Matchless!
Thanks +Jack Durst, One benefit of a low snowpack year is that you may have an excellent lupine bloom around the lake in early July: https://plus.google.com/photos/107459220492917008623/albums/5843703043251542929/5846055923461972866?authkey=CMn7yqSqro2qiAE
The bloom on mountain slopes may be a bit sparse unless we get more storms in the next couple of months to boost moisture content in the soil. At the moment the peak bloom should be Death Valley to Lone Pine to Lancaster, Gorman and the Carrizo Plain, Moro Bay and Paso Robles, moving up to Bishop (and camas lillies in Truckee) in May then the Mono Basin (7000 ft) and the Tahoe Basin in June and into July. It could all move a little early if the weather stays warm, but that can dry things out too (as the Poppy Preserve is reporting). Wildflower reports are pretty light from most of those places, but I'll go check a lot of them out later this week on my way to the coast.
At least the Summer is spectacular for night photography and stars, and it's hard for those to have a bad year!
Lovely scenes Jeff! Thanks for sharing them
好
very nice!
beautiful
Garden of eden! On earth!
Amazing images
SO NICE
شكرا على هذه الرحلة المذهلة وتحية لكل المجموعة وسبحان الله الذي خلق كل هذا الجمال وخلق من ينقله لنراه في كل العالم .
All the way across the sky 😉
I took my GF to Yosemite and we had a blast. It's a very beautiful place on earth.
epic place
Great captures of this so nice place !
Great views and amazing landscape !
every pic superb
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow that's awesome
Such beautiful pictures!
Sorry to hear this is not quite a spectacular year for water at Yosemite. Not much of a surprise though.
I saw more than 60 poppies along a path & old railroad tracks here yesterday! Everything now is lush green & blooming. Very beautiful. Did you get your book finished?
Apparently the poppies "escaped" from the preserve this year +Donna McClure.
I'm making strides on the book every day and week… just finished a pass at the "Ratings" table for the Appendix in the back yesterday. I actually discovered a few more spots I want to cover for the book, so I'll head out Wednesday for a lap of Southern California to to spend some on-ground time in them and get the best shots and access notes worked out. That should be the last pass, and hopefully I'll get the writing done for these new sections by the time I return from the trip.
Amazing pictures!! Made me realize why I loce this place so much! Just something about the heights of the granite and sounds of the river flowing thru the valley.
+Jeff Sullivan To be surrounded by such a greatness of Nature is in its best trophy-life.
You must feel so lucky. And with a good reason. : )**
Magnifique
beautifull
Natural wonders beautiful
¡Congratulations! Magic World
Beautiful!
حلو
Amazing!
wanna visit
Beautiful
Wow – I need to add this to the places to visit soon
Beautiful photos. I was there last fall, most waterfalls were dry or almost dry. I have to see it in the spring. These photos are great.
Spectacular photo album +Jeff Sullivan. I am heading to Yosemite in two weeks for the full moon and hopefully moon bows. Was there last year so hopes aren't high. Lots of other ideas though. See you there? I was "this" close to doing your Death Valley trip in December, but just couldn't make it work
SO Beautiful for your the places＊iezumi
absolutely stunning pics, thanks! 🙂
Beautiful
Makes me all the more unhappy that I didn't get up there two springs ago for the record water flow.
Waw
Hopefully things will hold out until I can get there in early/mid May. Doing a quick 3-day trip to finish up part of a trip from September that didn't go the way I wanted it to due to a broken finger & a smashed up shoulder. Now that everything has healed its time to head back!
Beautiful…
Awesome!
Beautiful!!!
You have to hear it in the Spring +Howard Hoffman. The thunderous noise of the waterfalls at full Spring flow is one of the most striking things about the experience.
very nice
Thank you for sharing the beautiful images.
so nice
very good
Beautiful!
beautifu
+111 +Jeff Sullivan
I am from Belgium and Was there in May last year, thank you for your fantastic pics , it was a second revival but much nicer !!! Congratulations and thanks again.
Hi and thanks for sharing those photos.
Lindas imagens!!!
really beautiful pics, very pleasing to the eye!!!
This is absolutely stunning
beautiful…
lugares encantadores!!
beautiful. how I wish I could be as good as you.