Hole in the Sky, Yosemite

Posted by Gary Hart (California, United States) on 16 April 2009 in Landscape & Rural and Portfolio.

Just what the world needs, another Tunnel View shot....

This image is from last week's workshop. Because of Tunnel View's proximity to the route into Yosemite Valley, I usually stop there on my way into and out of the park, especially when there's stormy weather--these detours are usually just to survey the valley and I rarely get out my camera there anymore. But last week was an exception, as a series of storms moved through, giving us a variety of beautiful and unique conditions.

Following a night of rain, the moisture-laden air on the valley floor condensed into fog in the morning chill. Above the valley another layer of clouds ebbed and flowed, creating a dynamic that danced around the granite walls, changing with each minute. Overlaying all this was a gauzy layer of high clouds.

We shot for over an hour, and just as we had about exhausted the possibilities, a warm glow began expanding behind Sentinel Dome. Soon the radiance of the rising sun, subtle at first, had increased in intensity until it seemed to burn a hole in the sky. But the sun's disk, obscured by the clouds, never appeared. Instead the filtered light bathed the entire scene in this even, golden light.

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