Saturday, August 31, 2013

Mist Trail/John Muir Trail - Yosemite National Park (Part 18)

Yosemite National Park is a national park located in California that stretches eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in the central eastern portion of California and covers around 761,268 acres or 3,080.74 km² of land. Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, deep valleys, grand meadows, giant sequoias, giant wilderness area, and much more. I, personally, love Yosemite National Park. I think it is very beautiful and is a great place for photographs. I also happen to live in the SF Bay Area which isn't very far from it! I try to make at least 1 trip almost every year to the park. I visited the park several month ago and I am here to show you some of the photos I took in the park as well as some photos I took on the way into the park from the SF Bay Area. These photos will be divided over several blog posts. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos! Also, I have route information recorded using a Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver. If you are planning a similar trip to Yosemite National Park and would like to see the route I took, feel free to email me at the email address I provided on my "About the Photographer" page for a copy. I can provide you the route information in Google Earth KMZ, Canon NMEA, and GPX formats. If you would like to get notifications when I do post, you can Like/Follow me on the following fan pages: FacebookTwitter, and Google+.

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. If you are interested, choose one of the links below:
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Now let's introduce you to the photos for today. The photos for today was from the 3rd day of my trip. I begin my climb up Mist Trail towards Vernal Fall from the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge. First thing I have to tell you is that I didn't make it all the way up to Vernal Fall and turned back half way back because the trail was just too wet and slippery to continue. Other reason was I was that I didn't want to risk damaging my camera with such a hike. I have photos from both my hike up and hike down. I hope you enjoy viewing this blog post. :) Make sure you read about my encounter with two douchebags.

The first photo up is of the two douchebags! See those 2 sitting there on the rock? Here is what happened. I set up my camera and tripod and was about to take a photo of the Merced River and the rocks. These 2 douchebags walked right past my camera set up, climbed down and sat on the rocks, right in the middle of my shot. Please learn some proper etiquette in public douchebags. It is not like I'm taking forever. 5 seconds max for that shot and they couldn't wait. At that time, I was seriously hoping one of them slips on the rock and falls down into the fast current... Seriously. If you two are reading this, please do society a favor: break up, and don't reproduce. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 43 33 N 119 33 02 W 

HDR composition of the beginning of the Mist Trail.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 40 21 N 120 52 20 W 

A photo facing down the trail showing the Merced River. My GPS seemed to have lost the signal for the next few shots (the geotag on the photos are all the same), so I can't tell you the position. The mountain on the side and forest probably blocked the signal.


A photo of Vernal Fall. See how wet the area was? The trail was also this wet. The further up and closer I went, the heavier the water. The "rain" here was way worse than Bridalveil Fall. This is how good the weatherproofing on the Canon EOS 5D Mark III is. I use it with my Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM Lens which is a fully weather sealed lens (once a filter is installed) with a rubber gasket at the lens mount area (no moving parts except the zoom and focus ring). My camera setup was completely soaked, but no water got into the camera or the lens. Once I got away from the "rain", all the water evaporated off in a few minutes. 

Another photo of Vernal Fall. Also detailing how wet and risky the trail was.  

Product Recommendation: I use the B+W 82mm XS-Pro Kaesemann Circular Polarizer with Multi-Resistant Nano Coating filter for my lens. The cool thing about this line of lenses is that it has a new nano coating that makes water extremely hard to stick to the surface of the filter. For the photos I took near Vernal Fall, the only clean up I did was that I took out my Giotto Rocket Air Blaster and gave the filter a few puffs of air right before I wanted to take a photo. I blew all the beads of water off to the side onto the metal ring where it fell off. There was no residue. I am not exaggerating. That is how waterproof or "hydrophobic" (in more scientific terms) this filter is! 

Hiking closer up to Vernal Fall. The trail was getting really wet. 


HDR composition of a rainbow caused by the "rain" in the air. This was the last photo I took before turning back. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 38 43 34 N 120 49 32 W 

Turning back and going down the Mist Trail. I took this photo hand held facing down. As you can see the trail is very wet. I also have a really bad fear of heights. The trip down Mist Trail was not fun at all. LOL Also my GPS seemed to have lost the signal again for the next few shots (the geotag on the photos are all the same), so I can't tell you the position. The mountain on the side and forest probably blocked the signal.

Another photo facing down the trail with the Merced River in view. Apparently I wasn't the only one afraid of heights. There was one guy who was even more scared than me. See the couple on the bottom of the image? The guy was literally on his hands and knees. He sure have a nice girlfriend helping him. She was very patient helping him along. If you two see this, good luck to you both. :) Too cute!


A photo facing up at Vernal Fall. This was how steep Mist Trail was. It was a nightmare coming down. I think I know why they have a bathroom at the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge now. LOL I had to go once I got there. XD 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 43 36 N 119 32 47 W 

Now hiking back down on the John Muir Trail now past the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge, I stopped for an HDR composition of the trees and rocks on the side of the trail. There are sure a lot of moss on those rocks. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 38 40 23 N 120 10 27 W 

Now approaching the end of my hike on the John Muir Trail. I went down to the riverbank of the Merced River and shot a photo of the Merced River. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 43 46 N 119 33 30 W


Now approaching where the John Muir Trail meets up with Happy Isle Loop Road, I went down to the riverbank of the Merced River to get a photo of the Merced River. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 43 52 N 119 33 31 W 

Now on Happy Isle Loop Road walking back to the parking lot, I saw this tree covered in mushrooms. Decided to take an HDR composition. If you know what species of mushroom this is, please comment below. These kind of mushroom looks all the same to me. LOL
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 39 18 27 N 120 35 55 W 

These are all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing them. Next time I will have more photos from the Sentinel Bridge and Cook's Meadow area. Please don't forget to share my blog posts with your friends! If you would like to get notifications next time I post, you can "Like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) - Yosemite National Park (Part 17)

Yosemite National Park is a national park located in California that stretches eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in the central eastern portion of California and covers around 761,268 acres or 3,080.74 km² of land. Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, deep valleys, grand meadows, giant sequoias, giant wilderness area, and much more. I, personally, love Yosemite National Park. I think it is very beautiful and is a great place for photographs. I also happen to live in the SF Bay Area which isn't very far from it! I try to make at least 1 trip almost every year to the park. I visited the park several month ago and I am here to show you some of the photos I took in the park as well as some photos I took on the way into the park from the SF Bay Area. These photos will be divided over several blog posts. I hope you enjoy the photos! Also, I have route information recorded using a Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver. If you are planning a similar trip to Yosemite National Park and would like to see the route I took, feel free to email me at the email address I provided on my "About the Photographer" page for a copy. I can provide you the route information in Google Earth KMZ, Canon NMEA, and GPX formats. If you would like to get notifications when I do post, you can Like/Follow me on the following fan pages: FacebookTwitter, and Google+.

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. If you are interested, choose one of the links below:
Next Post >>
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Now let's introduce you to the photos for today. The photos for today was from the 3rd day of my trip. Still resting near the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge, after shooting photos of squirrels, I noticed a few Steller's Jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) flying around the area, so I decided to shoot a couple photos of that. The photos for today are of the Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri). If you wish to view these photos as a slideshow, just click on the first image, and a slideshow should load. Also, from yesterday, a description of the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge. The Vernal Fall Foot Bridge is one of the main rest areas on the trail which has a great view of Vernal Fall, some places for you to sit and eat, and also a bathroom facility with running water (no trash cans though). If you are hiking to Vernal Falls, definitely stop here for a rest.










These are all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed them. Next time I will have photos from my hike up the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls. Please don't forget to share my blog posts with your friends! If you would like to get notifications next time I post, you can "Like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Squirrels - Yosemite National Park (Part 16)

Yosemite National Park is a national park located in California that stretches eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in the central eastern portion of California and covers around 761,268 acres or 3,080.74 km² of land. Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, deep valleys, grand meadows, giant sequoias, giant wilderness area, and much more. I, personally, love Yosemite National Park. I think it is very beautiful and is a great place for photographs. I also happen to live in the SF Bay Area which isn't very far from it! I try to make at least 1 trip almost every year to the park. I visited the park several month ago and I am here to show you some of the photos I took in the park as well as some photos I took on the way into the park from the SF Bay Area. These photos will be divided over several blog posts. I hope you enjoy the photos! Also, I have route information recorded using a Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver. If you are planning a similar trip to Yosemite National Park and would like to see the route I took, feel free to email me at the email address I provided on my "About the Photographer" page for a copy. I can provide you the route information in Google Earth KMZ, Canon NMEA, and GPX formats. If you would like to get notifications when I do post, you can Like/Follow me on the following fan pages: FacebookTwitter, and Google+.

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. If you are interested, choose one of the links below:
Next Post >>
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Now let's introduce you to the photos for today. The photos for today was from the 3rd day of my trip. After hiking up the John Muir Trail, I decided to take a rest near the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge. This is where you access the Mist Trail to go right to Vernal Falls (which was the trail I took after the rest). The Vernal Fall Foot Bridge is one of the main rest areas on the trail which has a great view of Vernal Fall, some places for you to sit and eat, and also a bathroom facility with running water (no trash cans though). If you are hiking to Vernal Falls, definitely stop here for a rest. The photos for today are of squirrels near the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge. If you wish to view these photos as a slideshow, just click on the first image, and a slideshow should load.






These are all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed them. Next time I will have photos of the Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) that I took photos of near the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge. Please don't forget to share my blog posts with your friends! If you would like to get notifications next time I post, you can "Like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

John Muir Trail - Yosemite National Park (Part 15)

Yosemite National Park is a national park located in California that stretches eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in the central eastern portion of California and covers around 761,268 acres or 3,080.74 km² of land. Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, deep valleys, grand meadows, giant sequoias, giant wilderness area, and much more. I, personally, love Yosemite National Park. I think it is very beautiful and is a great place for photographs. I also happen to live in the SF Bay Area which isn't very far from it! I try to make at least 1 trip almost every year to the park. I visited the park several month ago and I am here to show you some of the photos I took in the park as well as some photos I took on the way into the park from the SF Bay Area. These photos will be divided over several blog posts. I hope you enjoy the photos! Also, I have route information recorded using a Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver. If you are planning a similar trip to Yosemite National Park and would like to see the route I took, feel free to email me at the email address I provided on my "About the Photographer" page for a copy. I can provide you the route information in Google Earth KMZ, Canon NMEA, and GPX formats. If you would like to get notifications when I do post, you can Like/Follow me on the following fan pages: FacebookTwitter, and Google+.

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. If you are interested, choose one of the links below:
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Now let's introduce you to the photos for today. The photos for today was from the 3rd day of my trip. After walking down Happy Isle Loop Road, I turned onto the John Muir Trail to hike to Vernal Fall. The photos for today are from the John Muir Trail up to the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge where I took some photos and a rest.

While hiking up, saw this squirrel just sitting there, probably sunbathing, or just pondering on little squirrel questions. :P It let me get pretty close for a photo. I didn't even have to switch to my telephoto.  

 Hiked down near the river bank for a photo of the Merced River. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 43 52 N 119 33 34 W 

 A photo I shot on the John Muir trail hiking up. On the left, at the peak is where the Glacier Point Viewing area is. On the right is Upper Yosemite Fall. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 43 37 N 119 33 32 W 


 View of the Merced River while hiking up John Muir Trail.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 43 36 N 119 33 29 W 

Another photo of the Merced River.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 43 36 N 119 33 30 W 

An HDR composition during the hike. Notice the snow on the mountain?
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 38 41 16 N 119 56 35 W  

 An HDR composition shooting up hill photographing the rocks on the side. Sure would suck if an avalanche happened! 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 38 10 35 N 119 50 23 W 


HDR composition of the John Muir Trail. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 38 40 52 N 119 48 33 W  

A photo of Vernal Fall (off in the distance) and the Merced River on the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 43 34 N 119 33 06 W  

 HDR composition from the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge.


An HDR composition facing down the mountain on the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge. 

 An HDR composition of Vernal Fall (off in the distance) and the Merced River on the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge. 

Regular shot of the scenery down the mountain.  

Another photo of Vernal Fall (off in the distance) and the Merced River on the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge. 

These are all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed them. Next time I will have photos of squirrels that I took photos of near the Vernal Fall Foot Bridge. Please don't forget to share my blog posts with your friends! If you would like to get notifications next time I post, you can "Like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Swinging Bridge/Happy Isle Loop - Yosemite National Park (Part 14)

Yosemite National Park is a national park located in California that stretches eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in the central eastern portion of California and covers around 761,268 acres or 3,080.74 km² of land. Yosemite National Park is best known for its waterfalls, deep valleys, grand meadows, giant sequoias, giant wilderness area, and much more. I, personally, love Yosemite National Park. I think it is very beautiful and is a great place for photographs. I also happen to live in the SF Bay Area which isn't very far from it! I try to make at least 1 trip almost every year to the park. I visited the park several month ago and I am here to show you some of the photos I took in the park as well as some photos I took on the way into the park from the SF Bay Area. These photos will be divided over several blog posts. I hope you enjoy the photos! Also, I have route information recorded using a Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver. If you are planning a similar trip to Yosemite National Park and would like to see the route I took, feel free to email me at the email address I provided on my "About the Photographer" page for a copy. I can provide you the route information in Google Earth KMZ, Canon NMEA, and GPX formats. If you would like to get notifications when I do post, you can Like/Follow me on the following fan pages: FacebookTwitter, and Google+.

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. If you are interested, choose one of the links below:
Next Post >>
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Now let's introduce you to the photos for today. The photos for today was from the 3rd day of my trip. I have photos from the Swinging Bridge Picnic Area and photos from my drive and walk toward Happy Aisles/John Muir Trail to go see Vernal Fall.

A photo on the Swinging Bridge facing Eagle Peak with a pretty great view (in my opinon) of the Merced River. Really wanted to dip my feet in the water, but the shoreline was fenced off. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 44 13 N 119 36 00 W

An HDR composition from the same spot.  

I turned around on the bridge and shot a photo of Yosemite Falls and the Merced River.  

 I walked into the meadow and took another photo of Yosemite Falls. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 44 14 N 119 35 58 W


Mallard Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos). Male (left), Female (right). 
While shooting the landscapes, I noticed there were some wildlife around, so I switched over to my telephoto lens for some wildlife shots. 

 American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Sadly, after switching lenses, most of the wildlife (birds) were gone. 


View of Indian Rock from Happy Isle Loop Road.
 After Swinging Bridge, I started driving towards Vernal Fall. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 44 24 N 119 34 17 W

 HDR composition of the Glacier Point viewing area, which is on top of the mountain you see here. 
Driving along Happy Isle Loop Road, you will see a sign saying no visitor vehicles beyond this point, you can turn into a parking lot. That is where I parked before starting my walk towards the John Muir Trail leading to Vernal Fall. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 56 04 N 121 11 55 W


HDR composition of the forest floor with many Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and Red Fir (Abies magnifica). 
I now begin my walk towards the John Muir Trail via the non-car accessible part of Happy Isle Loop Road. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 56 30 N 121 09 46 W

Another HDR composition of the forest floor.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 45 02 N 120 43 18 W 

Photo of the Merced River where Happy Isle Loop road crosses via a bridge. After this photo, I turned onto the John Muir Trail. 
Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 43 58 N 119 33 33 W

These are all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed them. Next time I will have photos from my hike to Vernal Falls on the John Muir Trail. Please don't forget to share my blog posts with your friends! If you would like to get notifications next time I post, you can "Like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

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