Vernal Falls No 59

Vernal Falls No 59
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Exhausted, after a 12 hour hike to the top of Half Dome, I came across the perfect setting for Vernal Falls. Just past sunset, a bit of bounced evening light with enough warm tones to lit the red hues. It was one of those light conditions where Aperture priority and Matrix metering comes just right due to the even EV values across the scene. Even the thin streak of water was not overexposed.

It took just a glance to know that I will have to unpack the camera and tripod and set up for 15 to 20 minutes of POV hunting and shooting.

Due to this last treat, I had to walk the last hour of the hike in the dark. Luckily, as always, I was prepared with my trusty Petzl head lamp.

Half Dome No 31

Half Dome No 31
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Half Dome after sunset in Yosemite National Park.

Zion No 18

Zion No 18
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Tall yellow glowing aspens in full autumn regalia

Half Dome No 14

Half Dome No 14
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

After 4 hours of uphill hike, this is the view just before the final push to the summit of Half Dome. I started this hike at 7 am and reached the top about 1pm. This is the south view of the dome.

Zion No 71

Zion No 71
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

More fall colors from Zion National Park in Utah.

Mono No 66

Mono No 66
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Mono Lake, a must stop in the Easter Sierras of California.

Yosemite No 27

Yosemite No 27
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

End of summer in the heart of the Yosemite Valley. Clear and crisp open skies and warm golden light.

Hives No 20

Hives No 20
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Some nice images coming from our first weeks in the desert.

Yosemite No 82

Yosemite No 82
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Yosemite Valley under the silver light of mid afternoon.

Zion No 20

Zion No 20
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

We interrupt the Yosemite stream to showcase the fleeting beauty of the fall colors at Zion National Park. Enjoy!

Half Dome No 05

Half Dome No 05
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

This is one of the first Half Dome images on the 2010 Landscape Tour at Yosemite. The last time I visited this place was in 2004. At that time, my focus was of the fall colors. This time around, I came with a more open agenda. Little did I know that throughout my 3 week photo study, Half Dome would become the visual gravitational center of attention, concluding with a one day dash to the top of this iconic piece of granite.

Florence No 53

Florence No 53
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

I arrived to this area with the preconceived idea of what I was looking for: Sand Dunes, smooth undulating lines, textures ready for abstract compositions. Instead, I was captivated by the tall waving grasses growing on top of the dunes, dancing against the blue Oregonian late summer sky.

Can you feel the wind blowing?

Canon Beach No 68

Canon Beach No 68
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi

Well...here we are again, this time doing what has been the northern star of this trip: Landscape & Nature Photography. 5AM at Cannon Beach Oregon, the full moon crowning one of the iconic haystack rocks at this famous beach.

Levity has been accomplished...

A big part of this trip was the hope that through the “magic” of a journey, I will let go of the seriousness and gravity that have plumbed my life and have left less room for joy and wonderment.

Alas, “hope” and “magic” are rarely your best bets for achieving anything. So, as the weeks, months, and miles rolled by, not only no change took place, but at times, it seemed that my stern approach to deal with the logistics of traveling worsen the heaviness...

Thus, leaving only humor to lessen the load. And beauty, yes, I need to give lots of credit to the stunning beauty of the places that we have visited.

At some point, I thought that it was a nice “hope”, but maybe it was too late to change.
And then, some days ago a couple of things went wrong with the trailer. But this time, somehow, I was not upset nor did I changed the whole leg schedule to fix them. Calmly I evaluated the malfunctions and how they affected (or not) the trip and continued to enjoy the visit to the place, Yosemite in this case.

Maybe the biggest changes need to be preceded by surrender...the only way to start clean?
Just the night before this happened I was reading the following passage in a book:

All the natural movements of the soul are controlled by laws analogous to those of physical gravity. Grace is the only exception. Grace fills empty spaces, but it can only enter where there is a void to receive it, and it is grace itself which makes that void. The imagination is constantly at work filling up all the fissures through which grace can pass.

-Simone Weil

So somehow now, life is lighter and the worries....well, less worrisome.
Maybe my imagination decided to give something else a chance.

Still, the trip and journey are on...
We completed the part of the journey where we planned to visit all the places that we have not visited before in the USA and Canada.
Now, we are re-visiting some of our favorite places, this time at a slower pace, living the places.

So far we have re-visited Olympic National Park, the Washington and Oregon coasts, San Francisco and Yosemite National Park.

Not sure if I will keep up this blog...now it seems too much on top of the other two about photography...who knows maybe some RV tips from time to time, some of the vignettes that I have not finished...

And if not, I will leave you with this line:

“Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone...”
-JCMC