My wife, Gabi and I spent last week in California to visit San Francisco and to photograph the stunning landscapes of the Yosemite National Park. This national park was established in 1890, the same year as the Sequoia National Park, the other wonder of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The most spectacular part of the Yosemite National Park is the Yosemite Valley which was formed by glaciers during the ice ages. The flat floor of the valley holds forests and meadows surrounded by high granite summits such as El Capitan and Half Dome. From the cliffs numerous waterfalls cascade down to the valley. One of the best known is the Yosemite Falls which is the tallest waterfall in North America, with a total drop of 2425 feet (739 m).

During our two-day visit we explored many parts of the valley. Since it was our first time in the Yosemite, I usually shot classic scenes. What I really wanted to photograph, even though it has been photographed million times before, is the Valley from Tunnel View Point at sunset showing El Capitan on the left and Half Dome in the far distance. I managed to take this image on my first day and I am very satisfied with the result, however the real wonder happened just a bit later. After the sun went down, the sky turned such a gorgeous purple color, that I’ve never seen in my life. I quickly put my long lens on my camera and took a close photo of Half Dome which photo is a contender for my favorite image from Yosemite. Later I created one more image from this viewpoint, a night photo of the Valley with stars above the summits. There is a small light source on the middle of the El Capitan that probably comes from climbers who spent the night on the wall. On the next day I focused the other parts of the Yosemite Valley, the forests and waters on the ground and some other rock formations. After spending two days in the Yosemite National Park I have to admit that the Valley is probably the most beautiful region on Earth and one of the most inspiring places for landscape photography.

The gear I used on my trip: Canon EOS 7D camera, Canon 17-40mm F/4 and Canon 70-200mm F/4 lenses, Tiffen polarizer and Tiffen neutral density 0.9 filters, Manfrotto tripod