Horsetail Falls- Yosemite

shniks

So I came to Yosemite to photograph the Horsetail Falls. The sky was overcast and I thought that I would not get the picture that I wanted. Miraculously, the sky cleared just before sunset and I got a few shots. Am posting a couple that I PP'd. It was fascinating to see the light change thus. Until 5:10 pm or so, the light was flat and uninteresting. I almost thought of leaving. But within 5 minutes, the sun's rays hit the exact spot on the falls and lit it up beautifully. It was sheer magic.











Cheers,

Silverado

That's a pretty cool shot
Looks like lava flowing down the rock face to me. Very diffiuclt scene to meter I imagine?

All things Alpine

very cool shot... almost looks like the pictures of the falls they used to create by shoving hot coals over the walls of the valley.

Alpha_Plus

WOW!! Stunning light. Any chance of this happening in Summer? Or is the sun coming from the wrong direction?

CWSkopec

Alpha_Plus wrote:

WOW!! Stunning light. Any chance of this happening in Summer? Or is the sun coming from the wrong direction?

From everything I've read about Horsetail Falls (and so far it's just reading, haven't seen it myself yet) this only happens for a week or two this time of year and that's it. Durring other times, the sun is either blocked by the other cliffs or it lights up the entire rock face and not just the water. It might also be theoretically possible for another week or so durring the summer as the sun sets in the same spot again, but Horsetail is such a small waterfall it's often dry that time of year (wasn't visible when I was there in early September)

Nikhil, simply stunning shots!
I keep scrolling down to look at them while I write. A couple wall hangers for sure!!

I'm not going to be able to make the trip anytime soon, but it's on the bucket list, so for future reference, how long a lens were you shooting?

shniks

Hi Chris,


It was an AMAZING experience. As i mentioned in my OP, it was cloudy and overcast, with the sun barely shining through. All of us (photographers) waiting since 2 pm, were getting disheartened, thinking we won't see the phenomenon. Moreso, this only happens for around 2 weeks in Feb and most of the time it's raining or overcast. Add to it the fact that the forecast from the weekend onwards was supposed to be overcast and snow for the next couple of weeks. So that evening was the last day to photograph the falls. It was so crazy- before 5:10 or so the light was diffused and we all thought that nothing was going to happen. And then, it just changed before our eyes. The light turned this rich orange/ red and surrounded the falls on either side. As the minutes progressed, the light beam width got narrower and narrower until it was just focused on the falls. I have NEVER seen anything like this. It was pure magic. I have to go back again next year, just to see it with my eyes again.

These shots have been quickly processed on my laptop sitting in Yosemite. I couldn't wait to share. I will process them properly once I get home.

For the close up I used a 200mm with a 2X TC on an FX camera, for an effective focal length of 400mm. I am not happy with the quality of the TC and think I will pony up the dough for a proper lens. If you photograph from the Southside Drive (where I was), you would need 400mm and up to get the close-up like I did. If you photograph from the El Capitan Picnic area, you can get by with between 200mm to 400mm, depending on whether you want a close up or the entire fall.


Cheers,

CWSkopec

shniks wrote:

Hi Chris,


It was an AMAZING experience. As i mentioned in my OP, it was cloudy and overcast, with the sun barely shining through. All of us (photographers) waiting since 2 pm, were getting disheartened, thinking we won't see the phenomenon. Moreso, this only happens for around 2 weeks in Feb and most of the time it's raining or overcast. Add to it the fact that the forecast from the weekend onwards was supposed to be overcast and snow for the next couple of weeks. So that evening was the last day to photograph the falls. It was so crazy- before 5:10 or so the light was diffused and we all thought that nothing was going to happen. And then, it just changed before our eyes. The light turned this rich orange/ red and surrounded the falls on either side. As the minutes progressed, the light beam width got narrower and narrower until it was just focused on the falls. I have NEVER seen anything like this. It was pure magic. I have to go back again next year, just to see it with my eyes again.

These shots have been quickly processed on my laptop sitting in Yosemite. I couldn't wait to share. I will process them properly once I get home.

For the close up I used a 200mm with a 2X TC on an FX camera, for an effective focal length of 400mm. I am not happy with the quality of the TC and think I will pony up the dough for a proper lens. If you photograph from the Southside Drive (where I was), you would need 400mm and up to get the close-up like I did. If you photograph from the El Capitan Picnic area, you can get by with between 200mm to 400mm, depending on whether you want a close up or the entire fall.


Cheers,

Thanks for the info, Nikhil! I'll have to try to reserve some time next year to make it up there for this! It looks and sounds to good to put off any longer!

shniks

Alpha_Plus wrote:

WOW!! Stunning light. Any chance of this happening in Summer? Or is the sun coming from the wrong direction?

Thanks Karl. The same lighting occurs in the fall, but at that time, these falls are dry. Hence you will not see anything.


Cheers,

coscorrosa

Very cool, I've seen a lot of shots of this place and would love to witness it in person.

chrismoore

very nice. I only went to Yosemite once, and very briefly (just enough time to catch a sunset before continuing on to San Francisco. The light did the same for me, I thought it was awash with the clouds and overcast sky, then some light shone through the last minute. Your first photo immediately reminded me of Galen Rowell's famous photo of the falls (link here- go to page 2: "Last light on horseshoe falls"). Great capture!

Hikin' Mike

Hey Nikhil, it was nice to meet you yesterday. Looks like you chose the better location that evening. Great capture!!

shniks

Hikin' Mike wrote:

Hey Nikhil, it was nice to meet you yesterday. Looks like you chose the better location that evening. Great capture!!

Hi Mike,


It was so great to meet Edie and you at the falls. When I saw your card again, I thought that your website sounded familar and then it struck me. I had referred to your site often last year before I hiked up to Upper Yosemite Falls. And of course had promptly got lost. I drove back after shooting to ask Edie and yourself to dinner at Curry Village, but you guys had left. Bummer. Hopefully I get to see you again. If you are ever in LA, buzz me and we can meet up. Maybe hike up to the observatory?


Cheers,

Hikin' Mike

shniks wrote:

Hi Mike,


It was so great to meet Edie and you at the falls. When I saw your card again, I thought that your website sounded familar and then it struck me. I had referred to your site often last year before I hiked up to Upper Yosemite Falls. And of course had promptly got lost. I drove back after shooting to ask Edie and yourself to dinner at Curry Village, but you guys had left. Bummer. Hopefully I get to see you again. If you are ever in LA, buzz me and we can meet up. Maybe hike up to the observatory?


Cheers,

...did you see me walking? I walk very slowly!

Thanks for the dinner invite though. We both left around 6pm. I stopped at 'Valley View' to take one more picture and I went home. I was asleep by 10.

dlplumer

Very cool capture. I can certainly appreciate your excitement Nikhil. Congratulations on seeing this through to fruition. I am looking forward to seeing your fully PP'd shots.

Dan

thapamd

God...that's a beautiful place. You did an amazing job capturing it.

bryanj87

Fantastic shots. That light is gorgeous and it does make the water look like lava, or liquid light.

ridgemac

Really Beautiful
I went to Yosemite last May and got some spring picts, but these winter picts are really amazing.
Thanks for sharing.

ridgemac

Better than Spring Photos!
These are really outstanding picts of these falls. I went in the spring and did not get to experience this kind of light. Thank you for sharing!

dseidman

That's pretty cool that you caught this event. Nice images.

Thwack

Nice shots! I like the closeup with wide light as well as the one when the light got really narrow.

I've been hoping to get out there, but scheduled my visit for this coming week…d'oh! Weather looks terrible. Maybe next year.

shniks

Thwack wrote:

Nice shots! I like the closeup with wide light as well as the one when the light got really narrow.

I've been hoping to get out there, but scheduled my visit for this coming week…d'oh! Weather looks terrible. Maybe next year. <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/ne_nau.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >

If you can go today, you should. The weather is great the entire day today and you will definitely see the phenomenon this evening. I checked Yosemite webcams and the hourly reports and it's sunny all the way. Here is the most current view of the valley.


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<o:p>Cheers,</o:p>

Thwack

shniks wrote:

If you can go today, you should. The weather is great the entire day today and you will definitely see the phenomenon this evening. I checked Yosemite webcams and the hourly reports and it's sunny all the way.

I can't get there before probably Wednesday afternoon. I'm hoping for a chance Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (depending on weather, etc).

shniks

Thwack wrote:

I can't get there before probably Wednesday afternoon. I'm hoping for a chance Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (depending on weather, etc).

Yeah I would just keep a lookout on weather.com- but track the hourly forecast (detailed ones). Sometimes in the daily forecast it might say cloudy, but if you click on the hourly one, it will show that the clouds clear in the afternoon. Have fun!


Cheers,

Thwack

shniks wrote:

Yeah I would just keep a lookout on weather.com- but track the hourly forecast (detailed ones). Sometimes in the daily forecast it might say cloudy, but if you click on the hourly one, it will show that the clouds clear in the afternoon. Have fun!


Cheers,

The severe weather notices for Yosemite just keep getting extended. Might be an "interesting" drive out there tomorrow...

shniks

Thwack wrote:

The severe weather notices for Yosemite just keep getting extended. Might be an "interesting" drive out there tomorrow...

It just might be worth the trip. As in my case, the sun might just peer out of the clouds at the right time. Good luck and have fun. Let us know how it went.


Cheers,

schmoo

You caught this magical event!! So jealous and you did an absolutely amazing job. It's just unbelievable how water turns to lava like this. Fantastic captures.

Thwack

shniks wrote:

It just might be worth the trip. As in my case, the sun might just peer out of the clouds at the right time. Good luck and have fun. Let us know how it went.


Cheers,

I was there Thursday from about 1:00 pm until darkness (and hunger) sent me packing. Last minute clouds moving in from the west killed my chances of the lava effect. But, I did capture a different light show at that waterfall while waiting for evening light. I posted my capture here: http://digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?p=1336081#post1336081

Maybe next year I'll get the desired effect…

limited60

I've seen this shot in photography magazines.
Simply stunning.