Tag Archives: Half Dome

Above Half Dome

I was staring idly out of the window as I was flying across California when a shape on the ground below caught my eye.  I grabbed the camera as I realized we were coming across Yosemite.  From above, the most conspicuous shape is that of Half Dome.  However, it looks very different when looking down on it than it does when you are on a level with it.  It almost seems distorted.  I grabbed a few shots as we zipped overhead and then it disappeared behind the wing.

Half Dome Sunset

One of my goals while in Yosemite was to go to Glacier Point later in the day and watch the sunset casting its warm light over Half Dome.  Half Dome is always an impressive sight to behold.  Taking pictures of it never allows you to experience the scale and impressiveness of it but you do the best you can.  I got up there about an hour before the sun was due to set in order to get a few other shots.  I had intended to hike up to Sentinel Dome but I was running out of time so that part of the trip got scrubbed and saved for another day.

Shooting sunset type shots is a funny thing.  The view looks great and you take a few shots.  Then, as the sun dips lower, the light gets better and you shoot some more.  This continues until suddenly it stops getting better and it is all over.  You have to shoot a bunch of stuff since you never know whether it is at its peak or not.  Consequently, you end up with a lot of shots that you will never use again.

The other odd aspect about this shoot was the discrepancy between the view and the atmosphere.  Sunset at Glacier Point is a popular thing as you might expect.  Plenty of people are there.  Lots of them are families and families often include small kids.  Small kids are not so enthusiastic about sitting around for an hour waiting for the sun to set.  Consequently, the scenery looks great but all you can here is crying kids and desperate parents trying to buy off a tired and grouchy kid.  Not quite what you had in mind.  I just hope the parents still enjoyed the beautiful view since the rest of it looked painful for them.