Best of Calf 10-11-25

Описание: Leaving in the crisp October morning, with dark, ominous skies, I was hopeful for a vibrant, colorful sunrise at Tunnel View Point. The morning skies lit up for a moment, but faded fast, and a dull, boring veil of clouds trenched the valley. I had to look for different compositions to make the magic of the moment.

Heading back into the valley, we pulled over from the southern road to what I call The Beach. A trail stomped down by other people took us to the Merced River shores. In this stretch, the river transforms into a photographer’s dream, with its low, slow-moving water creating a near-perfect mirror for the granite giants above. With that site, the next thought is composition, looking for foreground, and hopefully, the mirror doesn’t fade away. Capturing El Capitan and the Three Peaks or Brothers, our group tummies are growling, and a sip of coffee would be good as I look for food for our next stop.

Paul, our group leader, informs us that we are stopping at Degnan’s, the oldest restaurant in the valley, founded by Irish immigrants in the 1880s. I pick from a morning menu and load up on extras for the date. While sipping my coffee, I contemplated the morning's events and today's agenda with our fellow photographers.

We had some free time, and since we were leaving tomorrow, I had time to tidy up before heading out for sunset at Glacier Point. I was excited about that, as this was a place I hadn’t been before and seen so many iconic pictures of Half Dome and the Valley. I could understand why we left so early, as the last 20 miles or so are a switchback road that crawls up the mountain, and then we come to a halt, entering the parking lot with hundreds of cars, buses, vans, and motorcycles waiting or hoping to get a parking spot.

Even with all that waiting, the site was breathtaking, and I knew I would capture something special. I moved around a little before settling in on a corner spot that gave me support and no obstructed view or dangerous balancing on a rock. I was in heaven looking at God’s mighty works of glory. Half Dome lit up to a fiery glow as the evening sun closed the day.