Tunnel View & Valley View (Part 2) - Yosemite National Park

On 5 December 2022, my parents and I took a day trip to Yosemite National Park in California to see snow. On the way, we also stopped for a short while at Red Hills Recreation Area in Tuolumne County, CA. The photos are split into 3 blog posts. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos!

High Resolution Photos: If you want to see high resolution photos of any of the photos you see here, use the following links. If you wish to purchase prints of any of the photos, please contact me here. To view my best Yosemite National Park photos from 2020 to 2022, use this link. To view my best sunset and night photography photos from 2019 to 2022, use this link. To view my best black and white and abstract photos from 2020 to 2022, use this link. To see all of my photos from Yosemite National Park in 2022, use this link.

Parts: Cellphone Photos | Olympus Part 1 | Olympus Part 2

These are part 2 of the photos I took on my Olympus mirrorless camera. The photos are from Valley View Viewpoint and Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park in California.

The first stop on our trip after Cook's Meadow was Valley View Viewpoint on the side of Northside Drive. The approximate GPS coordinates (type into Google) for the Valley View Viewpoint photos are at 37° 43' 02" N 119° 39' 43" W.

A foggy scenery photo of El Capitan, Merced River, granite mountains, snow, clouds, and forest.

A foggy scenery photo of El Capitan, Merced River, granite mountains, snow, clouds, and forest.

A foggy scenery photo of El Capitan, Merced River, granite mountains, snow, clouds, and forest.

A snowy scenery photo of Bridalveil Fall, Merced River, granite mountains, snow, clouds, and forest.

A black and white process of the photo above.

A foggy scenery photo of El Capitan, Merced River, granite mountains, snow, clouds, and forest.

A black and white process of the photo above.

A foggy scenery photo of El Capitan, Merced River, granite mountains, snow, clouds, and forest.

The next stop on our trip after Valley View Viewpoint was Tunnel View. This was our last stop for the trip. The approximate GPS coordinates (type into Google) for the Tunnel View photos are at 37° 42' 56" N 119° 40' 37" W.

A foggy and cloudy sunset scenery photo from Tunnel View.

A black and white process of the photo above.

A foggy and cloudy sunset scenery photo from Tunnel View.

A black and white process of the photo above.

A sunset scenery photo of fog and forest shot at Tunnel View.

A sunset scenery photo of Bridalveil Fall, granite mountains, fog, clouds, and forest shot at Tunnel View.

A black and white process of the photo above.

A long exposure dusk photo of fog and clouds shot at Tunnel View.

A black and white process of the photo above.

An abstract process of the photo above.

A long exposure dusk photo of fog and clouds shot at Tunnel View.

A black and white process of the photo above.

An abstract process of the photo above.

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: Cellphone Photos | Olympus Part 1 | Olympus Part 2

Tunnel View & Southside Drive (Part 3) - Yosemite National Park

On 26 December 2021, I visited Yosemite National Park in California for a day trip. I went right between 2 of the biggest snowstorms of the season so far, and there was only a period of around 9 to 10 hours that were snow free. I knew the scenery inside Yosemite is going to be very beautiful after a snowstorm, so I went to take some photos. I only brought my mirrorless camera this time as the polarizer on my big camera is completely jammed (I found out about this on my trip into Yosemite 10 days prior). I took both photos on my cellphone and my mirrorless camera on this trip. The photos are split into 3 parts. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos.

High Resolution Photos: If you want to see high resolution photos of any of the photos you see here, use the following links. If you wish to purchase prints of any of the photos, please contact me here. To view my best Yosemite National Park photos, use this link. To see all of my photos from this trip, use this link.

As mentioned, I had taken a trip into Yosemite National Park 10 days prior this trip on 16 December 2021. I have lumped the links to the blog posts for both of the trips together.

Parts (16 December 2021): 1 | 2 | Cellphone Photos (Part 1)

Parts (26 December 2021): 3 | 4 | Cellphone Photos (Part 2)

This is part 3 of my photos from Yosemite. The photos for today are photos I took with my mirrorless camera on 26 December 2021. The photos for today are from Southside Drive and Tunnel View. 

A snowy scenery photo of Southside Drive in Yosemite Valley.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 42' 55" N 119° 39' 54" W

A black and white process of the photo above.

A long exposure snowy scenery photo of Bridalveil Falls. Photo shot near Southside Drive in Yosemite Valley. The day time long exposure was achieved using an ND filter.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 42' 56" N 119° 39' 34" W

Photography Tip: Placing an ND filter on your lens cuts the amount of light hitting your camera sensor allowing for long exposures during the day. This method can help you smooth out flowing water, such as with creeks, rivers, waterfalls, and oceans. You will require a tripod or some method of keeping your camera stationary for the duration of the long exposure, and don't forget to turn off image stabilization (if your camera and/or lens has that feature).

Next, I arrive at my first stop of the trip, Tunnel View. The approximate GPS location of Tunnel View is 37° 42' 56" N, 119° 40' 37" W. The fog just started to roll into Yosemite Valley. The rest of the photos in this blog post were taken at Tunnel View.

A snowy scenery photo of El Capitan shot at Tunnel View.

A black and white process of the photo above.

A snowy scenery photo of Tunnel View.

A black and white process of the photo above.

A snowy scenery photo of Half Dome shot at Tunnel View.

A black and white process of the photo above.

A snowy scenery photo of Tunnel View.

A black and white process of the photo above.

A long exposure snowy scenery photo of Half Dome shot at Tunnel View.

The day time long exposure was achieved using an ND filter. I was hoping to smooth out some of the fog rolling into Yosemite Valley, but it looks like the long exposure didn't do much in that respect.

A black and white process of the photo above.

A snowy scenery photo of Tunnel View.

A black and white process of the photo above.

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Next time I have photos from Yosemite Valley. Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

As mentioned, I had taken a trip into Yosemite National Park 10 days prior this trip on 16 December 2021. I have lumped the links to the blog posts for both of the trips together.

Parts (16 December 2021): 1 | 2 | Cellphone Photos (Part 1)

Parts (26 December 2021): 3 | 4 | Cellphone Photos (Part 2)

Tunnel View & Big Oak Flat Road (Part 1) - Yosemite National Park

On 16 December 2021, I visited Yosemite National Park in California for a day trip after being motivated by this Tweet on Twitter. I still can't see too well due to visual snow syndrome, but after seeing the scenery inside Yosemite from that Tweet, I felt very motivated to go try my best and take some photos of the snow. After all, I've been a photographer for over a decade now and an opportunity like this is hard to pass up no matter how bad my vision is. I think snow like this is pretty rare in Yosemite Valley. I actually haven't taken my Canon EOS 5D Mark III out for photos for a long time now because of my vision problems (it's a heavy camera to lug around). This has been the first photo shoot with my big camera since July 2019. I'm just happy I was able to get some photos of the snow. I took both photos on my cellphone and my DSLR on this trip. The photos are split into 3 parts. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos.

High Resolution Photos: If you want to see high resolution photos of any of the photos you see here, use the following links. If you wish to purchase prints of any of the photos, please contact me here. To view my best Yosemite National Park photos, use this link. To see all of my photos from this trip, use this link.

I took another trip into Yosemite National Park 10 days after this trip on 26 December 2021. I have lumped the links to the blog posts for both of the trips together.

Parts (16 December 2021): 1 | 2 | Cellphone Photos (Part 1)

Parts (26 December 2021): 3 | 4 | Cellphone Photos (Part 2)

This is part 1 of my photos from Yosemite. The photos for today are photos I took with my DSLR on 16 December 2021. I have photos from Big Oak Flat Road (State Route 120), which was the road my family took driving into Yosemite. My first stop was Tunnel View, so I have photos from there as well.

Message from the Photographer: I actually had these photos processed a while back, but when it came time to sort them and do the final check over (to make sure everything is perfect), I fell ill. I've been sick for approximately 2 weeks now, but I seem to be recovering this past few days. I don't know what it is, but the symptoms matched up with the virus that's been spreading like crazy since the end of 2019. I tested negative for that with an at home test kit. I'm just happy to be feeling better.

A scenery photo of Big Oak Flat Road. There was a lot of snow on the ground. In fact, it didn't completely stop snowing even as my family drove towards Tunnel View.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 45' 51" N 119° 50' 56" W

A scenery photo of Big Oak Flat Road covered in snow. I suspect this is why the park rangers are super strict on chain control. Read more about chain control requirements at the end of this blog post.

Photo shot near the same position as above.

A scenery photo of snow and clouds shot near Big Oak Flat Trail Head.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 45' 51" N 119° 44' 11" W

A scenery photo of snow and clouds shot near Big Oak Flat Road.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 42' 56" N 119° 43' 38" W

Next, I arrive at my first stop of the trip, Tunnel View. The approximate GPS location of Tunnel View is 37° 42' 56" N, 119° 40' 37" W. The fog just started to roll into Yosemite Valley. The rest of the photos in this blog post were taken at Tunnel View.

A scenery photo of fog rolling into Yosemite Valley shot at Tunnel View.

I know this isn't the best spot to take photos of Tunnel View, but there were too many photographers at Tunnel View that day. You can see what I'm talking about if you view my cellphone photos.

A scenery photo of fog rolling into Yosemite Valley shot at Tunnel View.

I moved around and found a better spot to capture photos of Tunnel View and the fog.

A scenery photo of fog rolling into Yosemite Valley shot at Tunnel View.

An HDR composition of fog rolling into Yosemite Valley shot at Tunnel View.

HDR compositions of fog rolling into Yosemite Valley shot at Tunnel View.

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Next time I have photos of snow from Yosemite Valley. Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

I took another trip to Yosemite National Park 10 days after this trip on 26 December 2021. I have lumped the links to the blog posts for both of the trips together.

Parts (16 December 2021): 1 | 2 | Cellphone Photos (Part 1)

Parts (26 December 2021): 3 | 4 | Cellphone Photos (Part 2)

Note about winter travel in Yosemite: On the day my parents and I went to Yosemite, we took State Route 120, R2 level chain control was in place, and it was still snowing a little bit. The park police at Big Oak Flat Entrance was super strict on tire chains, even asking you to show it to them before you can proceed past the Big Oak Flat Information Station. It doesn't matter if you have snow tires and AWD. The only benefit of vehicles with snow tires and AWD is that you only have to carry the chains, you don't have to put them on immediately (unless the conditions get really bad). All other vehicles not having snow tires, or are not AWD are required to have tire chains installed. Don't think you can just lie your way through, the park police won't let you do that. The park police will check you at the Big Oak Flat Information Station on State Route 120 (right past the entrance station). If you go while it's snowing and chain control is in place, make sure you are carrying tire chains. If you don't have tire chains, you'll have to buy them from the guy selling tire chains at the entrance to the park. It will cost you a lot more, and you can figure out how my parents and I found out.

Tunnel View & Cook's Meadow (Cellphone - Part 1) - Yosemite National Park

On 16 December 2021, I visited Yosemite National Park in California for a day trip after being motivated by this Tweet on Twitter. I still can't see too well due to visual snow syndrome, but after seeing the scenery inside Yosemite from that Tweet, I felt very motivated to go try my best and take some photos of the snow. After all, I've been a photographer for over a decade now and an opportunity like this is hard to pass up no matter how bad my vision is. I think snow like this is pretty rare in Yosemite Valley. I actually haven't taken my Canon EOS 5D Mark III out for photos for a long time now because of my vision problems (it's a heavy camera to lug around). This has been the first photo shoot with my big camera since July 2019. I'm just happy I was able to get some photos of the snow. I took both photos on my cellphone and my DSLR on this trip. The photos are split into 3 parts. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos.

I took another trip into Yosemite National Park 10 days after this trip on 26 December 2021. I have lumped the links to the blog posts for both of the trips together.

Parts (16 December 2021): 1 | 2 | Cellphone Photos (Part 1)

Parts (26 December 2021): 3 | 4 | Cellphone Photos (Part 2)

This is part 1 of the cellphone photos I took at Yosemite. The photos for today are photos I took with my cellphone on 16 December 2021. My mom also helped take a few photos of me with my camera setup. You can see from my cellphone photos that I am not the only one who knew the scenery will be very nice after a snowstorm. There were a ton of photographers at Tunnel View.

Two photos of other photographers who were also taking photos at Tunnel View after the snowstorm.

Scenery from Tunnel View after the snowstorm. The fog was slowly creeping into Yosemite Valley.

My mom helped take a few photos of me with my camera setup at Tunnel View.

A photo of other photographers who were also taking photos at Tunnel View after the snowstorm.

A photo of a tree and fog shot at Cook's Meadow in Yosemite Valley.

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

I took another trip to Yosemite National Park 10 days after this trip on 26 December 2021. I have lumped the links to the blog posts for both of the trips together.

Parts (16 December 2021): 1 | 2 | Cellphone Photos (Part 1)

Parts (26 December 2021): 3 | 4 | Cellphone Photos (Part 2)

Note about winter travel in Yosemite: On the day my parents and I went to Yosemite, we took State Route 120, R2 level chain control was in place, and it was still snowing a little bit. The park police at Big Oak Flat Entrance was super strict on tire chains, even asking you to show it to them before you can proceed past the Big Oak Flat Information Station. It doesn't matter if you have snow tires and AWD. The only benefit of vehicles with snow tires and AWD is that you only have to carry the chains, you don't have to put them on immediately (unless the conditions get really bad). All other vehicles not having snow tires, or are not AWD are required to have tire chains installed. Don't think you can just lie your way through, the park police won't let you do that. The park police will check you at the Big Oak Flat Information Station on State Route 120 (right past the entrance station). If you go while it's snowing and chain control is in place, make sure you are carrying tire chains. If you don't have tire chains, you'll have to buy them from the guy selling tire chains at the entrance to the park. It will cost you a lot more, and you can figure out how my parents and I found out.