Yosemite with the 40D

[Kawidude]

I picked up a refurbished 40D a few weeks and had an opportunity to test it out in Yosemite over the weekend. It seems to be a great camera so far. I still need to work on white balance a bit, but I had a few chances to play with the AE Lock and some exposure compensation. I wish I would have brought my 10-20mm. My 24-105 wasn't quite wide enough to handle the massive landscape.

Nothing really special here, just typical "tourist" type pics from the regular picture spots. I just think Yosemite is amazing so I thought I'd share a few pics.

El Capitan with Half Dome in the distance. (Bridalveil Falls was off to the right, but it was buried in a shadow at this time of day).

 

[Kawidude]

Bridalveil Falls first, and then a little b&w snow field.

 

[Kawidude]

And finally, a shot of my little snow-bunny (Mrs. Dude). Because Pred would ask for it if I didn't post it! :cool:

 

[Kawidude]

On another note, shooting on the Bridalveil side of the valley was tough in the early morning. Everything on that side of the valley was buried in a heavy shadow. When I attempted to get some of the foreground properly exposed, the sky would blow out completely (see the previous Bridalveil photo).

 

[XRpredator]

And finally, a shot of my little snow-bunny (Mrs. Dude). Because Pred would ask for it if I didn't post it! :cool:

you complete me.

 

[Squid31]

Very nice. I hope to make it there some day.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Nice stuff Kawi. Seeing those makes me want to pack up my gear and start driving west.

 

[rickyd]

Nice pics Mike :cool:

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Kawi - Are you using a polarizer in any of the above shots?

 

[Kawidude]

Nope. It probably would have helped though. We were in the park around 9:30 in the morning. One side of the valley was buried in shadows. The closer-up shot of the waterfall was in a deep shadow, so the sky was blown out. The opposite side of the valley had the morning sun blasting onto it so I stopped down a bit more to control the light (which showed the nice blue sky). I've actually never used a polarizer before but I suppose I should add one to the camera backpack. The circular version can be rotated so you're just getting the effect on the sky, right?

 

[Rich Rohrich]

The circular version can be rotated so you're just getting the effect on the sky, right?

Exactly. It also works really well for making reflections (glass, water, etc) look the way you want, or eliminating them entirely..

The sky rarely gets that blue here in Chicago without help from a polarizer, so I figured I'd ask. :)

 

[Kawidude]

Exactly. It also works really well for making reflections (glass, water, etc) look the way you want, or eliminating them entirely..

The sky rarely gets that blue here in Chicago without help from a polarizer, so I figured I'd ask. :)

Very cool. I think I'll start investigating the polarizer and see if it makes sense for me.

I was actually surprised at the depth of the blue when I got the shots onto the computer. I believe I sharpened them a bit, but didn't make any color adjustments (other than the black and white version).