Yosemite Falls and the Lost Arrow, Yosemite National Park

From this view along the Four Mile Trail, you can see almost all of Yosemite Falls, the Lost Arrow (to the right of the falls), the Merced River below, and parts of the trail that leads to the top of the falls. You can see that trail by basically starting at the middle of the left edge of the frame, following the line of trees that leads from the ledge up to the rounded top of granite to the left of the falls on the granite ridge.

ISO 100, f8, 1/180, 37mm focal length, taken during February, 2014.

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

Half Dome at sunset in Yosemite Valley

Sunset at Yosemite Valley with the magnificent Half Dome as the main subject. There's North Dome at the left in this view. We've posted a photo of Half Dome as seen from the top of North Dome in an earlier section of our blog. We've been to the top of Half Dome three times, and Rick has been to the top of North Dome twice. One thing about the angle that Half Dome's face has in relation to the sun is that it is very often in shadow in the morning and isn't fully lit until the afternoon. There are now people hiking to the top of Half Dome at all hours of the day. We've met people started their hike to the top of Half Dome late at night because they wanted to witness the sunrise from the top the next morning.

Camera settings were 1/125 sec. f/5.6, ISO 100, 32 mm focal length.

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

Robinson Twins "twin selfie" in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, with Lower Falls

In our August, 2015 trip, we camped at Canyon Village in Yellowstone National Park. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is famous for the two waterfalls you can view from the rim of the canyon. The Lower Falls in the distance is about 300 feet high. A trail leads to the top of the falls. In this view, farther downstream, you can see much of the canyon walls, the Yellowstone River down below, some thermal features steaming from the walls, ospreys seeking fish, and the falls creating a mist.

This picture was taken with the Canon PowerShot SX530 HS at the end of a selfie stick. Rick, on the left, tried to angle the lens so that you couldn't tell that he was holding the selfie stick that easily. The previous evening, we showered at the Canyon Village's facilities and Rick bought new Yellowstone t-shirts for himself and Bob, which we were both wearing this day. Taken at ISO 100, f/8, 1/200 sec. at the widest lens angle.

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

Robinson Twins "twin selfie" at the Lewis River in southern Yellowstone, with Lewis Falls in the distance.

We entered Yellowstone from the south in August, 2015 and stopped at the Lewis River, where a bridge crosses over. In the distance, the highest waterfall on the river is Lewis Falls, south of Lewis Lake, from which the river drains. Lots of people stop here as essentially the first really scenic pull out along the road when coming in from the south. At least, it's the first waterfall you'll encounter when entering from the south end of the park.

Rick held his Canon PowerShot SX530 at the end of a selfie stick to take this picture. This camera is light enough that the selfie stick can hold it. This trip was the first time we decided to try getting what we call "twin selfies" with any camera. The picture was taken at ISO 200, f/8, 1/640 sec.

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

Yellowstone's Mammoth Hot Springs with hot water spilling over the edge of the terrace

View of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park from the trail with hot water flowing from underground and spilling over the edge of a terrace that's constantly building up from the minerals, calcium carbonate, the water deposits. Steam rises from the water as it emerges from underground. The minerals form where the stream of water drips down, leaving an "icicle" of minerals. A couple of the chunks of mineral having broken off in the past and you can see the "icicles" point upward near the left-center of the screen. Another chunk is lying on its side with orange bacterial growth at the center.

This feature is in a state constant, gradual change and can engulf trees, and even parts of the terrace that are older, or the flow can shift and leave a section of the terrace dry and subject to erosion. This picture was taken with an ISO of 100, f/8, and 1/800 sec. The shutter speed helped to capture the drops of water spilling over the edge of the upper terrace.

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

Death Valley coyote looking around

Coyotes are very adaptable animals. You'll find them in the high mountains and low deserts. This one was right along the road in Death Valley National Park. It seems that after he looked at us for a while, thinking we might throw some food out for him, he started to consider his options and was looking to move on.

This photo also shows the effects of a camera lens's depth of field, where the more distant part of the scene is out of focus. Even the back and hind legs of the coyote are out of focus, but the face is in focus, which is the main thing you want to get right when you're taking wildlife photos, particularly the eye or eyes.

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

Manly Beacon at the upper end of Golden Canyon, Death Valley National Park, March 2016

This feature in Death Valley National Park is called Manly Beacon. An early explorer in this area was a man named Horace Manly, after whom this feature is named. It's often confused with a feature called Zabriskie Point, which is actually a hilltop from which you can view Manly Beacon, but people think they're looking "at" Zabriskie Point from that hilltop when they're actually looking "from" that hilltop.

The trail we were on for this photo eventually leads to the south side of this huge feature where you traverse across a steep slope to reach the upper end of Golden Canyon. The last few times we've hiked this trail, we've had the impression that the Beacon is a very imposing feature up close and it should be more famous as an iconic figure of Death Valley.

This photo was taken with a camcorder that can also take 20 megapixel still images. The settings were f/4, 1/180 sec, the ISO is not recorded.

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

Acorn woodpecker in an oak tree during winter.

An acorn woodpecker stands on a branch of an oak tree in February at Phoenix Park in Sacramento County, California. This area is north of the American River beyond the bluffs. The park has baseball fields but also is home to a rare habitat, vernal pools. Vernal pools form during the winter and as they dry, several plant and animal species go through their entire life cycle to take advantage of the presence of water. For the rest of the year, the ground is dry. Acorn woodpeckers are the only woodpeckers that nest in colonies and feed on acorns.

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

The Tunnel View of Yosemite Valley

This is the famous Tunnel View of Yosemite Valley.  El Capitan, the largest granite monolith in the world, is to the left, Bridal Veil Falls and the Cathedral Rocks are on the right, and Half Dome is tucked into the back with Clouds Rest, 1,000 feet higher, beyond.  Visitors can get this view by driving up to the Wawona Tunnel and turning off at the viewpoint, or, if coming in from the south, driving through the tunnel and turning off immediately after it ends. The tunnel is about a mile long and you're expected to turn on your car's headlights while you're inside it. Don't be surprised if someone else in the tunnel starts honking their car's horn. Some drivers like to hear the echo of their horn.

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

Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Falls in Yosemite viewed from the north side of the Merced River

In Yosemite National Park, there are many very tall waterfalls. Bridalveil Falls is actually one of the shorter ones in Yosemite Valley. When you drive into Yosemite Valley from the south, though, it's the first one you can visit. It flows between the Cathedral Rocks to the east and the Leaning Tower to the west. Farther upstream, the Glacier Point Road crosses over Bridalveil Creek and there is a campground nearby. Bridalveil Falls gets its name because the valley gets windy, especially in the afternoon, causing the falling water to drift right and left so it comes down more like a sheet or a "veil" instead of one cohesive flow of water. The water then flows into the Merced River.

Image taken at ISO 400, 1/200 sec, f/7.1, 21 mm focal length (approximately 30 mm equivalent).

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

Grand Teton cloud eruption!

On the horizon is the towering peak of Grand Teton, as viewed from the west looking east while still in Idaho. This caught Rick's attention because of the way the clouds appeared to be coming out of the peak, as though it was a volcano spewing ash. It reminded him of pictures of volcanic eruptions, so he pulled over to the shoulder of the road to get pictures of the peak and the clouds. There is another string of cloud reaching toward the ground to the right in this image, as well. This also helps to show that the west slope of the Teton Range is gradual and leads up to the peaks, unlike the eastern, more famous side of the range that is known for not having foothills at all.

The camera is a Canon Rebel EOS xSi at f/8, 1/180 sec, ISO 200, focal length 55mm (about 86mm equivalent).

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

Telephone Arch in Telephone Canyon, Death Valley National Park

In one of Death Valley's many canyons is a natural arch. This canyon requires some driving on a dirt road to get to its mouth, then you can hike about 1/3 of a mile to see the arch. The canyon itself once had a telephone line and a road running through it, but time has obliterated most signs of them. This line gave the canyon its name of Telephone Canyon.  To us, this arch, appropriately enough, looks like an old style telephone.

The feature runs roughly north-south, so the western face is lit up during the afternoon, when this image was taken. The opening is roughly 15 feet tall (about 4.5 meters). There is a spring uphill of the arch but it appears to have dried up. The image was taken with ISO 50, 1/200 sec., f8, 6mm (35 mm equivalent).

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

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park wind-caused rippling pattern

Death Valley National Park has 5 different sand dunes within its borders, including California's largest in Eureka Valley. The easiest dunes to reach are the Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes because they're right next to the main road through the park. These dunes were made famous by the 1970's TV series called Kung Fu, with David Carradine.

We got up early in the morning to get to the dunes before the crowds starting traipsing across it so that we could get undisturbed ripples in the sand. The wind blowing across the sand causes some grains to collide with other grains and knocking into the next crest.

Image taken at ISO 50, 1/40 sec., f8, 8mm (48 mm equivalent).

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