Panoramas of Yosemite – Clouds Rest

August 7, 2013

Panoramas of Yosemite – Clouds Rest

TO celebrate my 56th birthday...

... I went on a 56 mile walk thru Yosemite, one of my favorite places in the world.

The high point, literally and metaphorically, was Clouds Rest, whose 9,930' peak looks down on Half Dome and Yosemite Valley itself, at the bottom of a nearly vertical 5000' rock face that is arguably, the biggest cliff face in the world.

I took two cameras, one had 'panorama' mode - the ideal format to appreciate the vast horizontal landscape. Plus, since i was hiking alone, i was inspired to include myself, thus discovering the panoselfie

Then on August 8, 2013, I posted the photo on the web.

It did not go viral.

But it is, as best i can tell ....

if not moving, hit “play” in bottom left corner

... the first panoselfie

ever posted on the web.

August 7, 2013

Clouds Rest summit (on left) and ridge with final approach (on right)

but the

real joy ...

... is to be on top when the light is best; at dawn or dusk.

So that is where i made my camp - at the very top - to enjoy those moments to the fullest. It did mean a dry camp, no water, except what i hauled with me all the way up to nearly 10,000', but what a camp site!

Here it is, in the pre dawn dark. Given the proximity of that 5,000' drop i felt it wise to tie off to some local rocks.

but what a 180-degree panorama really means ...

... check out this image

(as a still above, as a pan-across below)

It is near dawn, the rising sun just on the horizon, far right; and far left is the shadow of Cloud's Rest, cast by the sun herself,

The shadow's darkness rests like a cloak on the shoulder of Half Dome and extends out beyond and over Yosemite Valley floor (where the campers there are still in the dark.)

Think about it! One can see all the way from the sun, the light-source, to the shadow that the light-source casts.

What a sight!

We are seeing, in one photo, both the light and the shadow being cast by the light.

That is something entirely natural and yet, seemingly impossible --- all at once.

One more pre dawn wonder …

… return again to the pre-dawn view from my campsite and see an atmospheric phenomenon, mostly only seen at higher elevations: the shadow of the earth itself.

Look in the sky from far left of the photo to Half Dome. Notice the narrow line of darkness as it subtly increases in size to become a slight band of dark. That, my friends, is the shadow of the earth.

Above that, another wonder, the Girdle of Venus, (aka Belt of Venus by those not quite so intimately acquinted) a marvelous rosy glow caused by sunlight diffused by air in the atmosphere, beautiful in and of itself and also a helpful aid for discerning the darker shadow of earth. Ah, Nature – so artistic – adding the most lovely of touches to the magic and mystery and science of light on this planet.

Reference

source page: https://lunaproductions.com/clouds-rest-panoramas/

not just clouds rest

more panoselfies

okay, hard to resist posting, forgive me, consider it my scrapbook or photo album rather than a web page

all 3 of 'em

sunrise lakes

Three lovely lakes leading up to a lovely meadow. I vowed to swim in them all and sure enough, had the chance to do so before ascending Cloud’s Rest. Mmmmmmmmm

Luna Productions