385 - Taft Point
Whew! This was an INSANELY epic shoot at Taft Point- I did not expect this Yosemite to be so nuts. Holy shit.
I'm being honest to god when I say my expectations of Yosemite weren't that high. I'd heard about it SO MUCH in my photography career, I always just assumed it was hyped up. No... This place is absolutely bonkers.
From the moment you drive in, you're greeting with just INSANE granite walls that overpower everything. I know I use the word epic loosely, but here it truly means something.
For our first day here, we decided to hit Taft Point, which is an overlook accessed by a short 1.2 mile hike (one-way.) Haha... I forgot to mention this place is a crowd pleaser. Probably 100+ people at the overlook for sunset.
I've been trying to be more positive lately, and the best thing about having lots of people at one location is that you can chat up the other photographers. Make jokes, talk shop, and just have fun. So far I've met a TON of contacts at these places, and it's always a good time. How can you be grumpy at one of the most beautiful places on Earth?
When we first arrived, we snagged a shot of the cliff overlooking what I believe is El Capitan. The light was hitting it's face PERFECTLY, so I had Haley stand up on the ledge and silhouette herself.
Like I said, there were HUNDREDS of people here, but I really only needed Haley on the edge. Check this shot out:
I cropped that shot so she was in the upper corner to really emphasive how high these cliffs were. They are on top of the world- it's DIZZYING to look down.
The air was also smoky from the nearby forest fires, which illuminated everything brilliantly. I'm slowly learning smoky air means nearby soft lighting shots will look best. Anything far away looses so much contrast it's often hard to make it look good unless it's a silhouette shot.
We kept shooting. God this place is nuts. When the sun was finally about to dip, I settled on a compositon of a pine tree in the foreground, which I'm honestly shocked no other photographers were utilizing. It was a perfect foreground gift from mother nature. Check this shot out:
I really played with those cliffs to settle the pine tree right in the middle. One thing I need to work on is playing with branches more. Make them look more 3-D. I realize the image is SLIGHTLY flatter than I'd like, but the rocks do help add to the 3-D factor. I'll take it- with dozens of other photographers around, it was my best bet.
The funniest thing that happened on this shoot was this wedding photographer that was doing engagement shots at the best overlook rock of the place. She wasn't in my way luckily, but she was yelling at countless photographers to move out of the way so she could get her shots. I felt bad for them, so eventually I moved right in her backdrop and set up shop.
She got PISSED. Kept yelling at me to move, but I stood my ground. It's a free country, bitch.
Haha some dude fist bumped me after that. Some people need to learn that the world doesn't revolve around them.
SOLID SHOOT today, though. Got me all amped up for Yosemite this week, which I think is where we're gonna be next couple days. WOO!!
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
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