Yosemite Village/Sentinel Bridge/Cook's Meadow - Yosemite National Park (Part 19)

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: Facebook, Twitter, 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:

• Yosemite 2013 (Best Photos)
• Yosemite 2013 (All Photos)

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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. Cook's Meadow and the Sentinel Bridge was so beautiful that I decided to reshoot some of the scenery as the sky cleared up a bit. For today, I have a few photos from near Yosemite Village, and photos from Cook's Meadow and the Sentinel Bridge.

Panorama of Indian Rock and Half Dome. I shot this panorama on the side of Northside Drive near Yosemite Village. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 44 44 N 119 34 51 W 

HDR composition of Indian Rock from almost the same spot as the above panorama.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 38 57 01 N 120 59 19 W 

Black and white process of the above image. 

Half Dome and North Dome (left) from almost the same spot as the first panorama. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 44 44 N 119 34 51 W 

I then went back to the Sentinel Bridge to reshoot Half Dome. This is an HDR composition of the Merced River and Half Dome. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 38 44 37 N 120 12 31 W 

Remember that mushroom from a while back? (Blog post here) I decided to go back and do a focus stacked shot of the mushroom to get everything in focus. I still need help identifying the species though. If you know, please comment below. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 37 44 37 N 119 35 22 W 

I saw another photographer do a portrait shot of Half Dome on the Sentinel Bridge so I went back and reshot an HDR composition in vertical format. It turned out pretty well too.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 38 44 43 N 120 12 32 W 

An HDR composition of Half Dome and North Dome (left) from Cook's Meadow from one of my most favorite Half Dome photography spots. As I mentioned in a blog post before, I found (over the course of several trips) at this position, the rule of thirds worked the best when your focal length was between 35-50mm. I shot this photo at 16mm which turned out pretty good too. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 38 56 52 N 120 30 07 W 

The same photo as above that I processed in black and white. 

Another HDR composition of Half Dome and North Dome (left) from my favorite spot in Cook's Meadow at almost the same position. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 38 56 52 N 120 30 08 W 

A small pond in Cook's Meadow. It made a really great reflection. Since the water was pretty calm, I decided to try an HDR composition. It was a success. I think the reflection is pretty cool. What you think? Comment below. :)

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 38 54 08 N 120 29 58 W 

Another HDR reflection shot of Cook's Meadow. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 38 54 12 N 120 29 53 W 

These are all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed them. Next time I will have more photos from Yosemite Falls. I reshot the waterfall because it was too dark last time. 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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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: Facebook, Twitter, 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:

• Yosemite 2013 (Best Photos)
• Yosemite 2013 (All Photos)

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<< Previous Post

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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