Photographing the ‘Real’ Yosemite Firefall

Posted on 15 January 2008

A photograph by Galen Rowell (“Last Light on Horsetail Falls” – #AA0008 at this link) made the image of this ephemeral winter waterfall into an iconic Yosemite image. Although I have spent a lot of time in Yosemite I have to admit that I’ve missed this event entirely.

I may try to rectify that this year. Edie (a.k.a. “AmbitiousWench – one of the most prolific online photographers I know of) has posted a series of pieces at her The Little Red Tent blog sharing almost everything you might want to know about photographing this scene. She should know – from what I can tell she must actually live in the Valley. That sounds quite cool – as long as you can get away from the crowds during the summer and as long as a tree doesn’t fall on your car.

By the way, when I first visited the Valley with my family as a child I witnessed the old Glacier Point firefall quite a few times. While I completely understand the reasons that it was discontinued, it was truly a marvel for me as a child.