Bearizona and a Bit O' Snow

I love going to Bearizona!  And, what better way than with friends?  In a snowstorm!  We got there and hopped on a bus for a tour through the open area.  The bus is THE way to go.  There are no windows so photographic opportunities are much better than when you drive around in a car (with bear and wolf areas requiring closed windows).  In a good snowstorm, however, you can count on wind and snowflakes affecting your efforts.  So, am happy to tell you that Rick was really up to this challenge!  If this blog looks a bit lopsided with his images it is because he managed to get shots that the rest of us just could not get.

At one point on the bus tour the snow was moving sideways in the wind through the bus!  Cameras had snowflakes all over them and lens could not be kept dry!  It was cold!

The bus driver explained that donkeys have a stripe across their shoulders as a sign of blessing because they carried Virgin Mary when other animals refused.

In spring many of the animals are shedding their winter coats.

That white object behind the peacock is a female who is easily ignoring all the display!

Barbara is our 'detail' queen.  Where did she see these lovelies?  I have no idea.

There are lots of babies right now at Bearizona.  These are the baby bears that were just put out for public viewing..

In all my visits to Bearizona, this is the first time I have seen this fox up and active.  A great photo model, he actually stood still some of the time!

We did not stay as long as I would have liked.  We were all cold.  Even the delicious hot chocolate sold at the concession stand could not warm us up.  We will go back.  There is a lot of growth happening at Bearizona.  A new building is going in that will house a larger gift shop, have interactive areas, a restaurant, and a large room for classes.  If you have not visited Bearizona, or been to Williams recently, you might consider adding that to your list of places to go.  Highly recommended.

Yosemite Wrapped Up

We have a memories from Yosemite that will last a lifetime.  Many of you have written to me stating that seeing these images reminded you of childhood vacations, later trips with your own children and even recent trips taken to revisit a favorite.  I can see why these images are so powerful.  For one thing, unlike so many other places, this granite does not move around so it is easy to spot your favorite.  Year to year the water levels in the falls and lakes changes.  These smaller changes in full view of El Capitan seem to be reasonable, even if sad.  Photographically, the place can be a real challenge because there is such a wide dynamic range that we want our cameras to capture in the same way our eyes do.  Our cameras generally cannot do that.  It makes me appreciate the great photos taken by other photographers that represent the very best in Yosemite.  They worked hard for their shots.  Few good shot happen accidentally in Yosemite.  We hope that if you have never been to Yosemite that you will want to go and see for yourself.  Our images, which I would like to think of as good, are simply not the same as seeing it for yourself.

A two rainbow Bridalveil!  To get rainbows like this you need the sun to be at the correct angle behind you.  It lasts for several minutes. This particular fall is moved back and forth across the rocks by wind, appears very transparent against the dark rocks and is sometimes seen actually falling  upwards from the top!  I feel the fall is aptly named.

El Capitan from across the Merced River.  Tom looked a long time for just the right foreground in place.  That is another conundrum in photographing Yosemite, to make a shot special the iconic part has to be framed in an interesting way.  A huge granite rock like El Capitan gets old real quick unless we change the window you see it through.

Mid-morning stroll down Merced River.  Breathe deeply, Carol.  This is heaven!

A story here.  The evening we shot Bridalveil Tom saw a 'green pond' opportunity while walking back to our car.  I was way ahead of him (imagine that).  He lagged behind to get his shots of this pond..  When he got into the car and showed me what delayed him I was jealous.  "You should have called me to share the opportunity.  You are holding out on me!"  In the end, he did not like his shots because they were out of focus.  I insisted on returning to the pond the next day to get my turn at this shot.  But, when we got there the pond was not green.  It was a gorgeous mix of browns.  Like Bridalveil, this pond requires light be reflected in just a certain way.  A late winter storm was already developing so clouds were passing by and when the pond was in shadows of passing clouds in becomes darker, as it was late in the prior evening.  I patiently waited, and waited, and waited . . . finally, one with enough shadows that you can see the green.  But in this image you can also see a bit of brown where the sun streak crosses the water.  I have my shot!

Yosemite is a photographer's happy challenge.  Almost every shot offers up a dynamic range that pleases your senses beyond your imagination.  Your camera cannot easily scan that range. Some of our favorite shots were not the iconic images that make Yosemite the park that it is but the images captured along the way, such as this one, where a little light can make a shot special.

This is an image of Half Dome taken from Sentinal Bridge.  This is the most common spot for taking shots of Half Dome. We were told to check out the spot along the river from Parking Lot A.  We liked it better.  Either place collects photographers at sunset and it is a good idea to stake out your place early. Half Dome stays lit long after the foreground goes dark.  It is not gold every night as we see in photos taken by others.  It can be a dull gray with only a yellow tinge.

We owe a great deal to John Muir.

Tom's take on the rainbow at Bridalveil.  

Male Northern America Robin.  His mate was nearby getting her cold bath in the Merced River.

Female North America Robin.

This image was possible because I was brave (foolish) enough to walk a precarious narrow path along the upper road with tripod and bag!  To get this I used a Big Stopper filter that steps down my exposure by 9 f stops.  Shutter speed was set at 15 seconds.

A good night shot from Parking Lot A of Half Dome. From here an hour plus drive back to Mariposa, dinner at Savoiry's and then another 20 minutes to our room.  It would be after 10 before we opened the door.  Batteries to charge.  Cards to download.  Gear to clean, maybe.  With smiles we realized how blessed we were to have each other for adventures such as this one, to have friends to share it with, to have another day to do it all over again.

We are so glad you have joined us.  We are still processing images (imagine that).  Next week I will pull the very best together and create a gallery.  I will let you know when that is posted.  

More From Yosemite

This morning we woke up to a late winter storm impacting Yosemite.  The upper Tioga Pass was closed.  That was our planned exit on our way to Mono Lake and Bodie State Park!  We had a great trip in spite of a disappointing last day.  Here are some more of our favorites.  We hope you enjoy them.

A meadow looking back at granite.  I think this is looking towards Cathedral Rocks.

Half Dome in mid afternoon.  The clouds were building up and we were hopeful, but they blew away.

Just one of those pretty shots.

View of Cathedral Rocks from the Merced River.

Upper Yosemite Falls from downriver along the Merced.

Half Dome from Cook's Meadow.

Lower Yosemite Falls.

Bridge near Yosemite Falls.

Hmmmm . . . not sure where this was taken.  It looks a bit like El Capitan.

Look west from banks of Merced River.

Half Dome at Sunset from Parking Lot A.

We were looking for a reflecting pond . . . all dried up!  So how about a big downed tree as a foreground object? Above, you saw a longer view from this same meadow that was taken by Tom.

All for tonight.  We have more that have just been downloaded from our cards.  Will post them tomorrow.