A Surprise Morning in Yosemite
I am taking an online class from Serge Ramelli. He is a photo editing wizard. I decided to go to Yosemite in mid-November to work on one of his assignments. It was not necessary to go to Yosemite for the assignment, but it was as good a reason as any to go there. It is very inexpensive to go at this time of year.
The assignment was to incorporate foreground interest in a photo. Foreground interest adds depth to a composition. It also makes the viewer feel closer to the image.
I got up early to beat the sunrise and scoped out a few areas. I ended up in Cook’s Meadow around sunrise. There is a well known elm tree there.
There was some low lying fog in the Valley. But, it was pretty far away and did not seem it would fit with a composition of the elm tree.
I was looking for foreground interest for a shot of the elm tree when the sun rose above the far ridge. The sun started streaming through the trees and lit up the fog in front of the elm tree. It sent rays of light across the elm tree.
I did not have my camera with me. I rarely do when I am scoping out shot. I raced back to the car to get my camera, but I was not in time to catch the best of the light across the elm tree. But, the light started to stream in front of the bank of trees to the right of it.
This is the shot I got.
Do you see the tall grass in the foreground? This was the foreground I was thinking of putting in my elm tree shot. When the light streamed through the trees, I rushed to get this in the foreground. Without it, the viewer would be more disconnected from the main event.
I was able to get some tight shots of just the elm tree right after I got my camera. It turned out not having my camera earlier was not a missed opportunity. It could be a nice intimate image, but not nearly as dramatic as this wide shot.
Notice that the elm tree is in front of the mist which adds another layer of depth. This shot has four layers. The first is the foreground grasses. The second is the elm tree. Third is the main subject of the photo with the light streaming through the trees. The last layer is the cliff faces and the sky. This makes the image dynamic and immersive for me.
Originally published at https://travel.hayatascapes.com on November 15, 2020.
