Another successful trip behind me and now the process of culling and editing, the hard drive full, of images begins. I arrived on Friday, beating a pretty substantial storm to the valley. It rained all night and into the morning. At around 9:30am on Saturday the clouds began parting and the mad dash to the tunnel view or valley view overlook began. I was greeted by parting clouds and a layer of fog so beautiful I couldn't believe my eyes. I was able to capture this image.

I return to this place every year. I always go in either January or February for a couple of reasons. The crowds are much smaller and the weather can create the most amazing views of this unbelievably beautiful valley. The summer haze that stretches the entire valley is non-existant and the sun is lower in the sky. This trip felt like a new beginning for me. My skills have grown over the last few years, shooting more than ever in my life. I am more pleased by my results with each new day and love picking up my camera. I attribute some of it to my recent switch to Fuji but not all. I have a fire in my gut to get it done lately. The more effort I put in the better the results. I know that that is a truism and that all good things come from hard work and perseverance. The images I captured this trip are some of my best work to date but I still feel that I am just at the beginning of my journey as a photographer.

El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, Winter

Trees on the shore of the Merced River, Yosemite National Park, Winter

In 1990 my college buddies talked me into a backpacking trip. We hiked from Tuolumne Meadows, through Pate Valley and finishing at White Wolf. We did this trip in seven days. This was my first backpacking trip. I was the ultimate noob! My pack was full of things I had no business bringing. I was totally out of shape and had no idea what I was getting into. On top of all of that I woke up with an abscessed tooth the morning we were supposed to depart. A quick trip to a local Oakhurst dentist allowed me to make it to the trailhead in time. Needless to say the physical part of this journey was not enjoyable. What I did find was that I had discovered the place that brought me closest to, whatever it may be, that created all of this. Yosemite, from that day forward, became my church. What does this have to do with photography you ask? From that date on I have spent many hours photographing both the valley and the backcountry of Yosemite. Both on film and more recently digitally.

This week, on Friday, I depart for another photographic journey to Yosemite. We have been blessed with several feet of snow at higher elevations in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The Yosemite high country is blanketed with the beautiful white stuff. The Valley Floor has seen more than just a dusting over the last few weeks and i'm curious if we are going to be lucky enough to see it this trip. As of this writing two small storms are on track to hit while i'm there. I save a ton of money by staying in the Curry Village tent cabins. While heated with propane heaters several blankets will be necessary.

There is a new twist that has recently happened in the valley. The concessions company that lost the contract for all of the businesses in Yosemite is fighting in court, for compensation, for the naming rights of practically everything in the park. The Ahwhanee, Curry Village, the Wawona as well as the title of the park "Yosemite National Park" has been claimed by this company. With the exception of the later, everything has been renamed temporarily. Only a judge will decide the outcome and I'm sure it will take years before it is resolved. You can read about it here. I don't really care what changes are made, I will continue to call these locations by the only names I have ever known. That I know is true.

My last trip to Yosemite happened in February of 2014 and I was lucky enough to catch a departing storm from the Valley View parking area. It is my favorite image to date of the valley.

There are two additonal images from this trip that I love. One of Upper Yosemite Falls and the other a view from the road that I captured out my car window. You never know when an amazing image is going to happen.

I will be uploading video throughout the weekend as well as images to my Instagram account. This will be the first photographic journey I will take with my Fuji XT1 and i'm excited to see what I can accomplish with this new tool in a place that is close to my heart.

Wineberg Images

Yosemite On My Mind / February 4, 2016 by John Wineberg

Yosemite Drama! Not the Ahwhanee? / January 17, 2016 by John Wineberg