Upper end of Yosemite Valley from the Four Mile Trail, July 22, 2020

 

Here's a photo taken in Yosemite National Park showing Tenaya Canyon to the left and the Merced River Canyon to the right with Half Dome in the center. On the right, you can see Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall. Rick took this photo from the Four Mile Trail during what he calls his "Overnight Day Trip." He was able to get to Yosemite from Fresno by taking the YARTS bus. He didn't have the chance to get a day-use permit or an overnight permit, but you can still get into Yosemite if you arrive on the YARTS bus. The Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point is actually about 4 and a half miles long. The view opens up to the east after 3 to 4 miles up what is a relentlessly uphill climb. This was Rick's first time on this trail despite all the times he's been to Yosemite over the years (more than 180 visits). He expects to hike this trail again soon. He accidentally got his shadow in the picture at the lower right. It was after 6 pm and the sun was getting low enough in the sky to make that happen.

This image is the result of two images being merged together. Each image was taken with a Motorola z4 smartphone, merged, and then processed for brightness and contrast in Digikam on a Linux computer. 

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Comet NEOWISE over Old Sacramento, California

It might be hard to make out in the first photo, but Comet NEOWISE is in the right upper center of this image between the building and the flag pole on the bow of the riverboat. This image is from Old Sacramento State Historic Park in Sacramento, California. The riverboat in the foreground is the Delta King, which acts as a floating hotel and is permanently moored at its dock. The building in this image is on the other side of the Sacramento River in West Sacramento.

Bob took these photos on the evening of July 17, 2020.  In the first photo the lights on the riverboat were so bright that it produced a sharp contrast with the night sky where the comet was.  To reduce the contrast he used a graduated neutral density filter to tone down the riverboat lights.

The second photo is a zoom-in showing the comet and its position relative to the building in the first photo.