Spring flows in Tenaya Creek, Yosemite National Park

Tenaya Creek, laden with heavy spring rain and snow melt, rushes over a cascade near Mirror Lake

I recently spent some time digging through my archives from a May 2011 trip to Yosemite National Park. I had processed some of my favorites right after the trip, but it was fun to delve a little deeper for images I had initially overlooked. It's so easy to get caught up in the dramatic rock faces, that I had passed over some of the more intimate scenes I stopped to photograph along the way. I found a few "new" images that I'm excited about, including this one, but what stood out to me the most during this exercise was the incredible beauty of Yosemite National Park. We only spent a couple of days in the valley on that trip, but there are so many stunning scenes. It is a photographic regret of mine that we didn't spend more time in that incredible place while living in California -- but it's nice to have a list of good reasons to go back and visit!

View more landscape photography from Yosemite National Park

Upper Yosemite Fall in the Snow, Yosemite National Park

This week I'm getting a fast reminder of what it means to be cold. After spending six years in the mild climate of coastal northern California, my blood had definitely thinned, and I was used to wearing the same layers of clothing more or less year round. Winter has finally reached Massachusetts this week though, and as I write this with the warm morning sunlight pouring through my windows, weather.com reports that my local temperature is 12°F! Yikes!

This shot of Upper Yosemite Fall is perhaps the coldest image I have in my files, since it at least includes a dusting of snow. Granted, this snowfall is from a late-season squall in mid-May, and temps in the valley were in the 40s, but still -- it looks kind of cold, right?

View more of my landscape images from Yosemite National Park.

Dogwood blossoms, Yosemite National Park

During our May trip to Yosemite, the mountain dogwoods (Cornus nuttallii) were blooming all over the valley floor. It's amazing how much a tree full of these gorgeous flowers can brighten up a trail. As if the park isn't beautiful enough on its own, the addition of these flowers all along the river was stunning.



More wild flower blossoms in my Flowers & Plants Gallery.

Bridalveil Fall after late spring snow, Yosemite National Park

Returning back to some images from our mid-May trip to Yosemite National Park that included a late season snowfall for our last day there. This is Bridalveil Fall, as seen from across the river. The fall was flowing beautifully during our visit. In fact, we got quite wet on the short hike to its base, and you can see the cloud of mist rising above the trees in this image. For some perspective, Bridalveil Fall has a height of 620 feet.

More images from this trip are in my Yosemite Gallery.

Yosemite Falls in Fog, Yosemite National Park

Yosemite Falls is a beautiful waterfall, and when all of the individual falls are considered together, it's considered the 5th tallest waterfall in the world. In these images, the Upper and Lower Falls are visible, as seen from across the valley floor. With the high water flows this spring, there are some nice seasonal pools forming on the valley floor, which can make for great reflections as well. These images are both HDR blends of 3 exposures.



See more in my Yosemite National Park Gallery.

El Capitan and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park

Two iconic rock faces in Yosemite National Park -- El Capitan on the left and Half Dome on the right. Our only views of an unobstructed Half Dome came on our drive into the park on the first day, and after this, it remained covered in clouds.

See more in my Yosemite Landscapes Gallery.

Tunnel View during spring storm, Yosemite National Park

A classic view of Yosemite National Park from Tunnel View. The weather during this quick trip was fantastic with a mix of sun, rain, and late season snow, and this shot was taken just as a hailstorm opened up above us and moved across the valley. For those curious about the technical aspects of this image, it's an HDR blend of 4 exposures.

View more of my landscape images.