Parking Lot Vista

Sometimes as photographers, especially at well-known, highly photographed, popular places which attracts millions of tourists, we seek out and hike into the back-country for photos that the normal tourist might not see, just to have something different. We figure this view has been captured in about every imaginable way possible. So we do our best to avoid these photos.

I think this is an easy trap photographers fall into. Sometimes, some of the most unique photos can be had at such the most obvious spots. We can't overlook the obvious, as photographers. I think taking a well photographed spot and putting your own twist on it is a great challenge and sometimes a very hard thing for photographers to accomplish.

This is a photo I took of the infamous Bridalveil Falls, at Yosemite National Park, just recently. Let me correct myself. This is a shot which includes Bridalveil Falls. The subject is actually the vibrant oak tree.

See how just how the light hitting the scene can totally change what the subject in the photo is? This is like my Half-Dome ("In the Spotlight") photo I posted yesterday.

This is early November in Yosemite and the peak of the fall colors. I have again sought after the fall colors. When we pulled into the parking lot to hike towards the falls, I immediately saw this oak tree begging for attention. Now, with the falls in the shade and the oak tree being backlit, making it so vibrant, the attention is squarely on the tree, yet with the falls acting as a reference or secondary subject in the background. If this same shot was front lit and the falls were in the sun, then the focus would be totally on the falls, with the trees only framing the falls, and not a subject on their own.

All of this was taken in the middle of the parking lot for Bridalveil Falls. Of all the spots to capture a beautiful image, sometimes there is no better option than the parking lot. Sometimes, it can be that easy and save your legs a few miles of hiking in prospects of finding hidden gems.