Alabama Hills, the Eye of Alabama natural arch

 

Here is a close view of the second most famous feature in the Alabama Hills, the Eye of Alabama. We parked along the road and hiked up to this feature to get a closer image. There are over a hundred natural arches in this area. We visited during the Fall Arch Rally sponsored by the Natural Arch and Bridge Society in November 2024. We were part of a group of about 15 people on this day.

The Paiute name for this area is Payahuunadü, "land of flowing water."

Fuji GFX100S, ISO 100, f8, 1/220 sec., 100 mm (79mm equiv.)

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

Yosemite, Lower Falls Moonbow in June 23-24, 2024, from bridge and "the wall"

Here's an image of Yosemite's moonbow in the lower falls as viewed from the bridge over Yosemite Creek. Moonlight tends to make soft shadows and a less sharp photo. Here's the link to our YouTube video: What is a Moonbow? - https://youtu.be/S_ay06ZPjqA

ISO 3200, f4, 60 seconds

And this is an image of the moonbow in the Lower Falls of Yosemite from straight on. You can even see some of the Upper Falls at the top of the frame, along with some stars. We were up well past 3am getting these moonbow images. There is a predicted time online for viewing it from the bridge, but we found that moving to a different perspective allowed for much more time to view the moonbow. Most of the other photographers there that night had already left after the predicted time ended, but we kept at it and that action paid off.

ISO 3200, f8, 50 seconds

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

 

Fin Dome, up close, in the Kings Canyon Wilderness along the Rae Lakes Loop

 

Here is Fin Dome in the Kings Canyon Wilderness from the east looking west. It makes a very high, noticeable feature along a ridge that is in the middle of the Rae Lakes Loop, which starts in Kings Canyon and loops around passing Mist Falls and passing by the Rae Lakes on the far side of the loop. We spent 4 days backpacking around the 40-or-so-mile loop, but afterward, we wished we had taken another day. We knew that this feature has climbing routes on it and we saw climbers heading for it. It doesn't so much like a fin from this perspective, but further north or south from here, it did.

Canon EOS Rebel xSi, f19, 1/250 sec, ISO 800, 55 mm focal length

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

Bald Eagle perched on a lodgepole pine in Hope Valley, Alpine County, California

 A young bald eagle flew onto a branch of a lodgepole pine tree while we were getting in a little bit of cross-country skiing before the snow melted. This 2022-2023 rainy season was record-breaking, so the ski season extended well into May. The ski was completely overcast and it looked like more precipitation was on its way. We were about to pack up the skis when we saw this big bird coming right toward us before swooping up into the tree. You can tell this eagle is not mature yet because of the brown streaks on the head. As they mature, the feathers covering the head will become all white. 

Hope Valley is the largest valley in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It's located in Alpine County, south of Lake Tahoe after you pass over Luther Pass.

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

Rainbow Fall, Devils Postpile NM, taken at night

 

During a July visit to Devil's Postpile National Monument, Rick visited Rainbow Fall at night to see if he could get moonlit shots of the waterfall. Except for the top quarter, the rest of the fall was in moonshadow. The shadows of the trees along the left wall are from moonlight. You can see stars in the sky. Using a very bright flashlight, he lit the water during a long exposure and got this image.

18mm focal length, ISO 1600, f8, 30 seconds, Canon EOS 70D set on a tripod

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

Crowley Lake Columns east of the Sierra Nevada in California

 

These rock columns are along the eastern shore of Crowley Lake, east of the Sierra Nevada, in California. Geologists believe this feature is the result of a lava flow that had rain or snow fall on it while it was still liquid causing the rock to solidify in a somewhat regular pattern. You can see the tops of the columns standing above the ground level. The dark line on the columns indicates the water level of the lake earlier in the season during the spring runoff. The columns appear to be disk-shaped rocks stacked on top of each other and you can see all the disk-shaped rocks from eroded columns make up the shoreline. Getting here required driving a rough dirt road and hiking a steep slope for 200 yards. Others had to park farther away and walk a mile on the road to get here. You can also boat across the lake from the west side to the east side to get here. This is a panoramic shot taken with a Samsung A52 set at ISO set for Auto, f1.8, 24 mm equivalent focal length. Below is a shot with Rick between columns for size comparison. You can see the upper parts of these columns are still in rock matrix while the water from the lake has eroded away the matrix where he's standing.

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

Mobius Arch moonlit at night with Mount Whitney underneath, and Jupiter

 On our trip to the Alabama Hills, which is east of the Sierra Nevada's highest peak, Mount Whitney, I got this nighttime photo of the world-famous Mobius Arch. Mount Whitney is seen underneath the arch to the far right (it's not the highest-looking peak from this view). Mobius Arch is named for the Mobius strip, a mathematical/topological concept of having a single twist in a strip linked to itself such that it has only one side. The thin portion of the arch must've made someone think it had a twist in it, hence the name. 

This feature is along the Arch Loop Trail, a little over 1.5 miles off of Movie Road, which is off of the Whitney Portal Road heading west out of Lone Pine, California. The trail also passes Lathe Arch, Heart Arch, and Behind the Heart Arch. You can see Heart Arch from the parking area before you even start to hike. Mobius Arch is the largest of these with the largest opening and span. Jupiter is brightest object in the sky.

This photo was taken by moonlight at 30 seconds, ISO 1600, f9.5.

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

Illilouette Fall as seen from Sierra Point in Yosemite National Park

 

This is a view of Illilouette Fall from the Sierra Point viewpoint in Yosemite National Park.  See our YouTube video about Sierra Point and how to get there.  You can also get a similar view of this waterfall from the Mist Trail hiking from the Happy Isles Nature Center to Vernal Falls.

The canyon that this waterfall falls into runs roughly south to north and is a relatively short boulder-strewn gorge before Illilouette Creek flows into the Merced River after that river flows over Nevada and Vernal Falls.  This photo was taken in June 2016 when snowmelt had swollen the creek's flow.

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

Water ouzel (dipper) in Silver Creek, Alpine County, California

 

Over the Labor Day weekend, we went to Alpine County, California, an area where Rick worked in the Toiyabe National Forest on the trail crew. There was a fire south of us in Slinkard Valley, so we couldn't stay overnight, but we did get a chance to look at the east fork Carson River where Silver Creek joins it. We found this water ouzel (dipper) bird that lives along river rapids and eats insects that live in the rapids. I happened to catch this image of the bird with an insect in its mouth. This species of bird walks around in the rapids with no apparent concern for its safety. It can even dip underwater when looking for its food and walk on the river bottom. We've even seen these birds dipping into the Merced River in Yosemite, during the winter. It doesn't get cold because it has so much oil in its feathers, it doesn't get wet. 

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

Comet NeEOWISE and the Big Dipper over Yosemite Valley

Here's a photo showing a slowly fading Comet NEOWISE C/2020 f3 below the Big Dipper. I was in Yosemite on the south rim next to Sentinel Creek with a clear view of the sky. I was hoping to get a view of the comet floating above El Capitan, but the moon was just past new and was setting so there was no light for the landscape. So I turned my attention to getting pictures of the comet with the Big Dipper so it would have recognizable stars around it. It's above two stars in the constellation Leo Minor. It's closest to the earth on this night, but farther from the sun so it's not as brighter as before.

ISO 6400, 30-second exposure, f4, focal length 20mm. This image was cropped to high light the constellation and comet below. 

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

Yosemite Falls with a moonbow in the lower fall, Yosemite Nat'l Park

This image of Yosemite Falls, with the upper and lower fall visible, is lit up by moonlight. You can see stars in the sky above the falls. The rainbow in the mist of the lower falls is caused by moonlight, not sunlight. When we viewed this scene with our own eyes, we couldn't see the colors, but the camera picks them through a long exposure of 30 seconds, ISO 800. We were just at the falls getting moonbow pictures in the lower fall, but as we were leaving, we decided to look back at the whole waterfall and see if the moonbow was visible from this other perspective.

This natural event can happen 2-3 days around the full moon in the spring and early summer in Yosemite Valley, especially when there's enough water flow.

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

Half Dome approach from the east

Here's Bob posing at the western end of the Sub Dome before we start on our way up to the top of Half Dome. You can see the famous cables going up the eastern side of Half Dome that give people a secure way to make it to the top. From this side of Half Dome, you can clearly see the way that granite erodes. The process is called exfoliation, which means that granite slabs flake off and eventually fall down the cliff.

Bob and I backpacked into the Little Yosemite Valley the day before, then finished the trip to the top on this day. Before hiking to the top of Half Dome, you have to climb to the top of the Sub Dome, which is very steep and a little scary. Then you drop down a little bit to a notch between the two domes. That's the spot behind Bob, where a couple of people are walking. Farther along, you reach the base of the cables. Sometimes, the Park Service leaves a basket full of gloves for hikers to use if they didn't bring their own. You can see people about half way up to the top, using the cables to make the ascent.

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

Climbing a Simple Route in Yosemite, plus bobcats

This photo was taken at the end of a climbing session in Yosemite. We were climbing this simple route up to the tree at the top of the picture. We took turns belaying each other. Rick took a photo of Bob from the top of the route. Lots of beginner climbing classes come to this area to get people started. This is also along the trail between Camp 4 and Yosemite Falls.

While here we also had a family of bobcats walk past us. It consisted of a mother and 2 kittens. One of the kittens was lingering behind, so we didn't get a very good picture with all three together.

 

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

Robinson Twins Exploring Millerton Cave

In these two combined images, Rick and Bob are exploring Millerton Cave, located in eastern Fresno County, California. It's perhaps one of the best examples of a talus cave (also called corrasional cave) in the world. Rick is in the left image hoping to locate a small waterfall inside the cave. Bob is in the right image recording video of the inside of the cave while Rick provides the lighting. We've been to this cave several times but have yet to explore all of it. It's estimated to be 1/2 mile (.8 km) in length. It's located on public land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management called the San Joaquin River Gorge. It's also upstream of the Millerton Lake State Park. For those exploring it, there are some bolts already drilled into the granite at some of the natural entrances.

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

Upper Yosemite Falls from the trail

In Yosemite National Park, you can see the tallest waterfall in America. Yosemite Falls, has an upper section, a middle cascading section, then a lower fall. There's a trail that leads to the top of the falls so you can look down on the entire falls behind a guard rail. This image was taken from along that trail showing just the upper falls. We've been to the top of the falls and have posted a video about that day trip to our YouTube channel, Robinson Twins Natural Adventures.

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

Grizzly Creek in Kings Canyon, 3 merged images

On the way to Kings Canyon National Park through the National Forest part of the Kings Canyon, we stopped off Highway 180 to look at Grizzly Creek Falls. You can hear it and see parts of it from the road, but the closer look is clearly better. From the trail I took, I had to cross the creek to get this full top-to-bottom view of the fall. It's on the north side of the Kings River and has a small parking area travelers can use to park their cars clear of the main road. It's only about another mile (1.6 km) to the boundary of Kings Canyon NP approaching the Cedar Grove area.

This image is the result of merging 3 separate images together. I took photos of the upper, middle, and lower part of the fall in order to get more detail and because I couldn't the entire waterfall in one shot since I was so close.

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

Cascade Creek flowing over granite boulders below the Fall, Yosemite NP

Cascade Creek flows through Yosemite National Park crossing under the road that enters the park from El Portal. Before the bridge, a small parking area provides access to the creek and a view of the Cascade Creek waterfall. The section of the creek in this image is below the fall as the water flows over granite boulders in the creek bed.

Because the creek was in full sun, I was able to use a fast shutter speed (1/1500 sec) even with the ISO at 100. I was perched on a granite boulder almost directly in front of the flow. The pattern in the water streaming over the boulder caught my attention. I could see it even without the benefit of high speed photography, so I wanted to capture it.

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

Yosemite firefall with avalanche, El Capitan and Horsetail Falls

Yosemite has become famous for what's called the firefall effect.  In mid to late February the setting sun's last rays of light turn red and shine on the eastern flank of El Capitan right on a spot where an ephemeral waterfall is flowing, provided there's enough runoff from its small 40-acre watershed.  Of course, the effect also requires a clear horizon in the West.

This image, taken on February 16, 2019, shows the spot on El Capitan where the setting sun's reddening light shines during this time of year.  Although the Horsetail Falls' watershed had lots of snow in it, the weather had been cold enough that not a lot of it was melting off and flowing into the waterfall.  Some water was flowing in the fall, but there were also some spots where snow and ice was stuck on this cliff and would occasionally break off and avalanche.  In the vertical stripe of red above, the separate dash of red on the right near the bottom is actually an avalanche catching the setting sun's burning light.

We didn't catch this image with our still cameras.  This is actually a still frame from the video we shot of the firefall.  We didn't see this avalanche when it happened, but we saw it on our video clips after we left.  From our spot on the south side of the Merced River, we could hear an occasional avalanche, but by the time we heard them, they were done with, since the sound took so long to reach us.

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

Half Dome with a cloudy scarf

Got this image on a winter trip last February to Yosemite Valley. The clouds formed small puffs of cotton around Half Dome and slowly drifted around it. This cloud moved into just the right spot as the sun was getting lower in the sky, that its shadow went all the way across the face of Half Dome. Another nice feature was the snow on top of Half Dome and on the ridge west of Half Dome, too.

The ISO was set for 100, shutter speed at 1/250 sec, and the f/stop was 5.6. This was taken right about 5 PM so it was getting close to sunset for the third week in February. Taken from the Sentinel Bridge in Yosemite Valley.

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

Mount Spencer lit by the sun through a break in the clouds, Kings Canyon NP

In early July, 2018, we backpacked in to Evolution Valley in Kings Canyon National Park. From there, we day-hiked to Evolution Lake and had lunch before heading back to our campsite. While at the lake, we were rained on for a while, but also saw breaks in the clouds. When we looked up from eating lunch, we saw the sun light break through the clouds and light up the mountain to the south of Evolution Lake, Mount Spencer. We also noticed the clouds curling over the top of the mountain. After taking a few shots, the rain came down more heavily and we headed back to camp.

This section of the trail through northern Kings Canyon National Park has both the Pacific Crest Trail and the John Muir Trail combined.

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