Half Dome from Sentinel Dome, Yosemite National Park

Our evening of shooting on Sentinel Dome was one where the light became so spectacular one never really knew where to point the camera. Between shooting the colorful clouds to the northwest and the Jeffrey Pine on the dome, it was actually easy to miss this. I only managed this quick exposure of half dome while waiting for my chance to get an unobstructed view in another direction.

I'm very glad I did, however. What I found most notable was something I hadn't even noticed at the time - that the colorful clouds seemed to be casting their color more noticeably on the face of Half Dome than on any other features in the scene. It's subtle, but I feel like it made the light in this scene somewhat unique among Sentinel Dome shots.

In processing I focused mostly on removing some of the blue cast to the bottom of the frame that comes with being essentially shadows. I didn't try to completely neutralize that color either, just tame it and try to ensure that the foreground trees were realistically green. Otherwise, it was nature's scene and we were just there to observe it.

I can't endorse Sentinel Dome enough for a sunset in Yosemite, nor can I endorse a trip to Yosemite enough! So do yourself a favor and Go To Yosemite as soon as you can.

Nikon D90 | Nikon 35mm f/2.0 | f/8 | 1/3s | ISO200 | Tripod

See more related images in my Yosemite National Park Gallery.

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