Six Frames from Yosemite Valley
These six frames come from a Christmas trip: a few days in the middle of winter, made for exactly this — to see Yosemite Valley under snow and photograph it.
We stayed in Yosemite West, just outside the valley. Coming in from that side you go through the Wawona Tunnel, and the valley is simply there on the other side — El Capitan on the left, Bridalveil Fall on the right, Half Dome far back. It's the first view of the valley you get, every single time. Everyone stops. We did too.
Tunnel View
The classic, and I won't pretend otherwise. From this ledge you can name half the valley in one breath: El Capitan, Half Dome, Sentinel Rock, Cathedral Rocks, Bridalveil Fall. This was an early morning, the sun still working its way across the valley floor, Half Dome holding the light, snow on the high country behind it.
Valley View
Down at river level the valley changes character. The Merced runs shallow here, studded with rocks and tufts of green and gold grass, and it runs slow enough to hold El Capitan's reflection — Bridalveil Fall a thin white line across the valley.
El Capitan and Half Dome
Snow lines the summit rims — El Capitan filling the frame, Half Dome white in the distance — and the two most photographed rocks in California look new again. Fresh snow does that here every time.
Framed El Capitan in Winter
Two pine trunks stand either side of El Capitan, snow on the valley floor between them, and the wall turns into a portrait. The valley will frame itself if you let it.
Stoneman Bridge with Half Dome Looming
Stoneman Bridge went up in 1933, and its stone arch has been photographed for nearly a century. Half Dome looms over the trees beyond it. This is one of the valley's quieter corners — snow on the banks, the river moving slow under the arch.
Cathedral Rocks in the Merced River
The river goes dead still below Cathedral Rocks and doubles the whole scene — snow on the granite, Bridalveil Fall small in the distance, cloud hanging at the base of the rocks. The light is blue and cold, and there's nobody around. Winter in the valley at its quietest.
Each of these is available as an archival print, framed or unframed. If one of them holds the valley the way you remember it, the prints are below.
Tunnel View
Valley View
El Capitan and Half Dome
Framed El Capitan in Winter
Stoneman Bridge with Half Dome Looming
Cathedral Rocks in the Merced River