Sentinel Rock and Falls, Yosemite

[sierraman]

Thanks for looking. Anything I could do to this image to this improve it.

[Scott O.]

Not that I can see.  I think the problem is that you have multiple subjects, the meadow and cloud, Sentinel Fall, Sentinel Rock, the rock face, and a bland sky.  Any of these (except the sky!) could be a subject in itself, but together it doesn't work.

[sierraman]

Not that I can see.  I think the problem is that you have multiple subjects, the meadow and cloud, Sentinel Fall, Sentinel Rock, the rock face, and a bland sky.  Any of these (except the sky!) could be a subject in itself, but together it doesn't work.

Thanks for your honest opinion. I agree that maybe there is too much going on in this image.

[PhotoEcosse]

I have just spent 3 days at Yosemite, following on from an anti-clockwise tour that included, amongst others, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks.

To be honest, I found Yosemite difficult for exactly the reasons that have been mentioned above. The other parks were easy in the sense that they had well defined features that, in themselves, offered great photographic opportunities. There is a lot of bland greyness about Yosemite.

If you think about all the "great" Yosemite photographs you have seen (and there are many), they almost always rely upon dramatic sky or weather to give mood to the image. Otherwise it is just a sequence of lumps of grey rock and a few mediocre waterfalls.

I think that to "do" Yosemite well, you would need to live within a few hours' drive of the park so that you could get there whenever the weather forecast promised something extraordinary.

In contrast, if you take Grand Teton NP as an example, you can get out of your bed at 4:30am at this time of year and get early morning shots of the Mormon Row barns, several Schwabachers Landing locations and Oxbow Bend all before breakfast.

[brandtb]

I think you are definitely in the ballpark with this image potentially...some thoughts
1. The following quote from poster is worth taking into consideration (an aside - you might look at the work of the Dutch painter Jacob van Ruisdael - one of the greatest landscape painters who ever lived - and the attention paid to the "skies".  While you might not care for the style - it nonetheless shows someone considering well the "space above the land".

If you think about all the "great" Yosemite photographs you have seen (and there are many), they almost always rely upon dramatic sky or weather to give mood to the image. Otherwise it is just a sequence of lumps of grey rock and a few mediocre waterfalls.
I think that to "do" Yosemite well, you would need to live within a few hours' drive of the park so that you could get there whenever the weather forecast promised something extraordinary.

2.  I generally like your framing of the subject...although don't know exactly what is beyond your frame...but I look at your image and think that is something I would like to revisit quite a bit...waiting for ideal moment(s)...adjusting angles.
3.  An example perhaps to consider is one Ansel Adams took of El Capitan in summer...with billowing clouds in sky. The water and trees below give scale...and there is a nice rim light on edge of the mtn.
4. The diagonal lines across the rock face in your image (don't know where mtn faces the sun exactly) are elements that are potentially powerful ...either highlighted with snow or light e.g.. These lines are worth consideration.
5.  Good luck

[sierraman]

I got to this location later in the morning so the storm clouds had disappeared from the sky so I tried to eliminate as much of the sky as possible.I don't know why but people just pass up taking images on this side of the valley of Sentinel Rock/Falls(I guess because of the "No Parking" signs on that side). Thanks again for looking. 

[JohnTodd]

Prefacing this with the usual disclaimers that I know very little about landcapes...

For me, the bright green of the trees at the bottom of the image distracts from the bluer tonality of the top of the image. I would try cropping just at the bottom of the cloud and see how that looks.

[stpf8]

I think this generally works well.  While there may be several distinctly different elements in the photo, in my mind they come together to make up this scene of what the valley is like.  I like the imposing rocks looming over the softer shades of green below, and the lingering fog is icing on the cake.  I do wish the detail on the rock face were a bit more distinct, and this might be achieved by a bit more brightness or maybe contrast.  My biggest concern, however, is the color of the sky that starts at blue on one side and soon fades to white on the other.  If that is because of clouds, so be it.  If, on the other hand, it's due to a polarizing filter, I would ditch the filter and rely more on post-processing to get the sky you want.  Finally, I might try to get in a bit more green at the bottom, especially so the small trees are shown in their entirety with the bases surrounded by green earth.

[sierraman]

The sky looks like I used a polarizing filter but it's just a high thin cloud over Sentinel Rock. I will try to tone down the bottom of the image so it won't be so distracting. 

[Ed B]

I'd get rid of the color altogether, bump the contrast up a bit and try to open the shadows in the cliff and no cropping is necessary.

[sierraman]

I'd get rid of the color altogether, bump the contrast up a bit and try to open the shadows in the cliff and no cropping is necessary.

Here is a B&W version.

[brandtb]

I think there are possiblities in B/W...when I first saw your image...I immediately thought of Adam's image of El Capitan (mentioned earlier) from "Four Seasons"...as a possible "touchstone" when considering how to capture and process "your subject/view".  I still think there still is an issue with the "blank sky"...I like the fact that the clouds in this particular El Capitan image balance in a way... the weight of the mountain...which is what I was alluding to earlier.

http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/four_seasons_in_yosemite/images/el_capitan.jpg

[Ed B]

Here is a B&W version.

Hmmm........the cliff face is a little flat, maybe dodge the highlights in it and burn down the upper left sky?

[sierraman]

Better/Worse?

[Ed B]

I'm looking at it on my phone so it's hard to get a good look but it does look better to me.

[dreed]

...
I think that to "do" Yosemite well, you would need to live within a few hours' drive of the park so that you could get there whenever the weather forecast promised something extraordinary.
...

Yes and no.

The problem is what does a weather forecast mean in terms of local conditions?  That in itself is hard to predict as the forecast regions are quite large whereas you'll be in one specific place and getting from one place to another takes a lot of time once you're there. On one occasion, I arrived at Sentinel Rock on the night of the full moon during June with what were ordinary looking skies but as it got closer to sunset, the wind and clouds turned those clouds in the distance into a summer storm. Last year, on the evening of the first day that the Tioga Road was open, the high and light cloud lit up various shades of pink, purple and orange as the sun set - standing at Olmstead Point was a treat just to see all of the colours reflecting off of the snow. In neither case did the weather forecast indicate anything like that would happen.

The problem with Yosemite is that for many people that only visit it once, they get caught up in the tourist experience because it is a wonderful place to visit. You really need to spend three or four days there, just in the valley, so that the "wow factor" of the valley itself wears off and you begin to think and look beyond the preliminary layer. Once you get past that, the next challenge is "where do I go?" because it offers a great number of locations from which you can shoot captivating pictures.

[dreed]

I think the problem is that you have multiple subjects

This is the key issue. Ask yourself, what is the photograph about?

[Mjollnir]

Yes and no.

The problem is what does a weather forecast mean in terms of local conditions?  That in itself is hard to predict as the forecast regions are quite large whereas you'll be in one specific place and getting from one place to another takes a lot of time once you're there. On one occasion, I arrived at Sentinel Rock on the night of the full moon during June with what were ordinary looking skies but as it got closer to sunset, the wind and clouds turned those clouds in the distance into a summer storm. Last year, on the evening of the first day that the Tioga Road was open, the high and light cloud lit up various shades of pink, purple and orange as the sun set - standing at Olmstead Point was a treat just to see all of the colours reflecting off of the snow. In neither case did the weather forecast indicate anything like that would happen.

The problem with Yosemite is that for many people that only visit it once, they get caught up in the tourist experience because it is a wonderful place to visit. You really need to spend three or four days there, just in the valley, so that the "wow factor" of the valley itself wears off and you begin to think and look beyond the preliminary layer. Once you get past that, the next challenge is "where do I go?" because it offers a great number of locations from which you can shoot captivating pictures.

^^^  This.

I live about 5 hours from Yosemite, and am there at least 8 times a year, usually for three days or so.  I've been going there since I was 2, I'm now 45, but only started shooting it about 4 years ago.

The thing about Yosemite is you have to get out of the car.  You have to leave either North or South Side drives.  I've tried, since becoming a photographer, to shoot this utterly iconic place in the most non-iconic manner possible, and have found that offers, by far, the most rewards, and it just keeps on giving.