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Yosemite National Park
Area,
Camera
Tioga Pass, , Olmstead Point, Tenaya Lake, Walking along the
Merced river trails and take magnificent
shots across to El Capitan, toward Yosemite Falls, and the Three Brothers, big leaf
maple, or the famous Elm tree in Cook's meadow, The meadows near Yosemite Village and Curry village great for spring wild flowers
or when there is fog/mist, Afternoon head west from Yosemite Village on Northside drive to the pullout on the left for a
classic view of Bridal Veil falls from across the Merced River. The last major pullout before leaving the valley towards El Portal is
"Valley View" or "Gateway to the Valley classic shot great for sunset,
in afternoon, a short walk up to Bridal Veil falls and the creek that runs off from the falls.
The Pohono Trail is also a great
trail for photography.
From the Bridal Veil parking lot, turn left and head up highway 41 for a couple of miles to the classic "Tunnel View."
Great in afternoon around 3:oo, you can catch rainbows from the base of Bridal Veil falls from Tunnel View. "Happy
Isles." a short walk up to a beautiful area of oak trees, moss and the headwaters of the Merced river. Here the "mist trail"
begins, but it's a fairly rigorous uphill hike to Vernal and Nevada falls.
Elizabeth Lake in the morning is magic. It's about two miles each way, but a very easy hike from the
Tuolumne Meadows campground.
Sentinel Dome is a great sunset destination about half way up the
road to Glacier on the left. It is a one-mile hike each way to the top, but it gives
you a 360 degree view that includes, Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, and Half Dome.
Bring a flashlight. If you don't want to
do the hike, Glacier Point is also a good sunset destination.
Half Dome from Stoneman meadow across from the Curry Village Public parking area and the
Ahwahnee Meadow also the classic reflection at the Sentinel bridge. SuperIntendent' s meadow
just west of Yosemite Village across from the new Yosemite Falls viewing area. This meadow has the
the infamous elm tree in the middle of the meadow which composes very nicely with Half Dome.
Also in the meadow will be water and reflections.
Horsetail fall in Febuary
White Wolf left side of the road as you begin the climb toward Tuolumne Meadows. It has great views
framed by gnarled trees.
Tuolomne Meadows is a great shot photographing the river and meadows with Cathedral Peak in the
background. Walk out to the left side of the road into the meadow about 1 mile, constantly looking
all around for great scenic.
Tioga Lake, just outside the East Gate, on the right side. There are some nice rock formations in
the water to work with. Try the east end of Tioga Lake at sunrise. Tioga Lake from the west side is
where Ansel Adams took his famous photo.
Tunnel View off of Hwy 41 just before you enter the valley is a nice spot of Half Dome in the
distance with El Capitan on the left. Cooks Meadow in the valley is a beautiful spot. Glacier
Point is also great. Early morning in Cooks Meadow usually has some low fog in the valley and deer
is common at that time. Sentinel Bridge has some nice reflections of Half Dome.
Classic shot called "Valley View "or "Gates of the Valley". It is on North side Drive just before the
merge with Southside Drive on the way to the 120/140 split out of the valley. Park maps will show
you the way, and the small parking lot is well marked. From North side Drive, it will be on your
left.
Mist Trail to Vernal
Gateway to the Valley, Superintendents meadow, Cathedral beach, Yosemite Meadow, the meadow near
the Ahwahnee. Bridal Veil falls,
Lower Yosemite Falls, Horsetail
Falls.
Lake Tahoe area
Donner Pass, Squaw Valley and Carson Pass are the three main hotspots, Paige Meadow, south of
Tahoe City, Sagehen Creek Trail north of Truckee.
Emerald Bay State Park on the south western shore of Lake Tahoe has paddlewheel steamboats steaming
into Emerald Bay that make great photos.
Eagle Falls, try photographing from the edge of Eagle Falls into the lake. The falls are located
just a few yards east off the Inspiration Point Vista area on the north side of CA State Route 89,
at the state park.
Fallen leaf lake
Sand Harbor in Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park located on the northeast shore on NV State Route 28,
south of Incline Village.
Bonsai Rock formation - From Incline Village head south on Hwy 28 and just after you pass Sand Harbor you will climb
a hill. At the top of the first hill, park in the dirt pullout on the
right. Over the side, you will see a rock formation set in the
turquoise waters.
Ponderosa Ranch in Incline Village is where "Bonanza" was filmed. There are tons of "western town"
scenes to photograph there.
Sierra Boat Company in Carnelian Bay, many old shiny brown expensive wooden motorboats at the docks
located at the north shore on CA State Route 28. There are tons of marinas all around the Lake Tahoe
shoreline if you like photographing nice boats.
Stateline east shore, There is a ski lift that you can take up onto the mountain that will give you
a beautiful panoramic photo of Lake Tahoe.
Winnemucca Lake Trail
Susie Lake for sunrise
Kings Canyon National Park, there are numerous day hikes that you can take including a day hike to
Mist Falls from Roads End. Also from Roads end you can hike down Bubbs Creek to numerous scenic
landscapes or backpack into the 60 Lakes Basin, Mineral King
Kings Canyon Overlook
Sequoia National Parks is mostly good during the day because of all of the tall trees. Get photos
with the light coming down through the tree canopy.
Bodie State Park is one of the great places to go to photograph
old building. This is a large ghost
town with many building. The
state park is only open during the day. The hours in the summer are
from 8 am – 7 pm and in the winter 9 am – 6 pm. The nearest town to stay at is Lee Vining.
There are special Photographers' Days to get in before sunrise on the 3rd Saturday of each month
starting in May and ending in October. During these sessions photographers are allowed to enter the
park 30 minutes before sunrise and stay until 30 minutes after sunset. There is a limit of 50 people
per day. Cost is $30 and Reservations are required. You can get many still life photos through
windows and open doors throughout the ghost town.
Mono Lake is great for sunrise at South Tufa, south of Lee Vining on Highway 120, east of Highway 395
about a half mile hike on the board walks from the parking lot to the shore,
also near the Old marina just north of the visitor's center.
Also County Park, Black Point areas and Navy Beach. A good panorama view of Mono Lake
from the north can be shot from Cottonwood Canyon Road. Mono Lake Visitor Center north of Lee Vining and the overlook by the Mobil Mini-Mart on Highway 120 heading west up to Tioga Pass
Sage Hen Meadows, to get there from Lee Vining, take Highway 120 east (past the entrance to Mono
Lakes South Tufa. Follow the road until about mile marker 29, where you’ll see the turnoff to Sage
hen Meadows. Follow this road for about four miles until you reach a Sage hen Meadows sign. Don’t go
to Sage hen Meadows! Follow the road another 1.9 miles or so and it will take you right through an
aspen grove. There is also a dirt road that leads off to the left that takes you even farther up a
hill. You have a panoramic shot of Mono Lake from that location.
Laws Railroad Museum in Bishop. Old trains, train station, and rusted equipment. The area around
Bishop is great in the fall when the cottonwoods turn bright yellow. Also Galen Rowell's gallery is
in Bishop.
June Lake Loop road you can take some terrific reflections, especially at Grant Lake. Also try June
Lake and Silver Lake on the north/west side of the June Lake Loop.
Devil's Postpile columnar basalt rock formations.
Rainbow Falls
Reds Meadow near Mammoth
Mammoth Lakes
Bristlecone Pines include the grove of the Methusaleh tree, the oldest known living thing.
Convict Lake
Lundy Canyon many beaver ponds for
reflections.
20 Lakes Basin near Saddlebag Lake.
Greenstone Lake has North Peak reflected at dawn.
Mono Craters
McGee Creek
Hot Creek
Eureka Dunes
Fossil Falls
Darwin Falls
Pinnacles National Natural Monument
Alabama Hills in Lone Pine. Best shot at sunrise with the sun behind you, the field of boulders all
spread out before you with Mt. Whitney and the eastern Sierra rising above you. Take Whitney Portal
Road at the only stoplight in Lone Pine. To get to the arch where you take the picture of Mt.
Whitney through it, take Movie Road. The key is to take Movie Road (a wide mostly flat dirt road)
almost to the end. There is a kind of Y split near the end. Stay to the right, and you will see a
wide area to park. Look for a rock formation called "the nipple". It's easy to spot when you are in
the right spot. You'll have to walk down a short but steep gully, and continue to walk toward the
nipple. Although the arch is large, it can be hidden among the other rock formations. When you are
about 1/2 way between your car, and the nipple you will be close. The GPS coordinates
are: n36 36'49.0" w118 07'33.0". Sunrise is best. Some of the roads that branch off to the south of
Movie Road also are worth exploring;. Tuttle Creek Rd. is paved, Movie Rd. is not. The second arch
is alongside Whitney Portal Road . One can actually see the arch from the trail and you don't need to
be in the wash. The simplest thing to do is to follow along the fence until it ends. In another 50
yards or so past the end of the fencing, you should see the small arch on top of the hill to the
right. Keep that in you sight as you navigate through brushes to get there. One minor tip – climb up
the ravine in between the two hills leading to the arch – it's easier that way. Once there, you'd
need to be tall to climb the fins to frame Mt Whitney in your picture, or climb it carefully. GPS
coordinates are 36 36.825N 118 07.529W. There are also many movies that were filmed here ask
locally if you're interested in finding the exact movie sets. Arch is at GPS UTM 11 399337E 4052396N (or 4052602)
Manzanar Site of one of the internment camps for Japanese during WW II.
Stanislaus River at Sourgrass, lot of rapids to photograph downstream from the bridge. Also white
water rafters will be going down for so action pictures. To get there take Route 4 to Dorrington
past Calaveras Big Trees SP then turn right (south) onto Boards Crossing Road. Follow Boards Crossing
Road down to the river.
Carson pass
Hope Valley blue lake road great for wildflowers.
Red Lake.
McGee Creek for the wildflowers below the Baldwin cirque. Great in the morning.
Rock Creek good in the afternoon.
Bishop Creek Canyon is close to the town of Bishop. Once in Bishop stay on US-395 and the take a
right at West Line Rd (CA-168), this road will lead you into the Canyon.
Also great for wild flowers like Wild Iris in mid April.
Convict Lake
Dunderberg Meadow, there are two ways into Dunderberg Meadows: the first, about four miles of dirt
road from the Virginia Lakes Road, about 1.5 miles from the parking lot, this is a little
rougher.
The second, is about 7.5 miles of dirt road, and is about two miles north of the junction of US 395
and SR 270 that goes to Bodie
Upper Summers Meadow.
Western Divide Highway, Peppermint Creek, Needlerock Road , To get to this area, take Highway 99 to
the Highway 190 (Porterville) exit and follow the directions to Porterville. Stay on the road and
it eventually turns into the Western Divide Highway. Good for fall colors and spring wild flowers.
Kern Plateau to get there take Sherman Pass Road to the Corral Meadow (dirt) Rd. There is an unnamed
meadow (Boy Scout Meadow to locals) along Sherman Pass Road. Good for fall colors and spring wild
flowers.
Nine-mile canyon Road and Walker Pass (Hwy 178) good for wildflowers.
Twins Lakes Road from Bridgeport, North of Bishop gives you Matterhorn Peak and the Sawtooth Ridge in the background,
makes a great postcard.
Fall Colors
Bishop area good around the first of October, peak is 2nd week. Try Lundy Canyon, Sage Hen Meadows,
McGee Creek, Rock Creek good in the afternoon, Lake Sabrina, Aspendell, North Lake, Round Valley,
Bishop Creek Canyon take a right at West Line Rd (CA-168) to the canyon, Convict Lake, Rush Creek
with Carson Peak in the background, Grant Lake with reflections at the outlet of Rush Creek, Conway
Summit, Virginia Creek, Dunderberg Meadow, Mammoth, June Lake, Virginia Lakes Road, Parker Mountain,
Sherwin Creek Road, The hills above Hilton Creek, the Aspen Grove behind Cardinal , North Lake road,
South Fork Bishop Creek starting at the Table Mountain Group Camp, Rock Creek Lake, Hope Valley is
along Hwy 88, close to where the turn off to Tahoe is. On SR 88/89, just east of where SR 89 branches
north to Luther Pass. Sorenson's Resort is at the east end of Hope Valley.
Monitor Pass aalso be good.
Autumn in Yosemite Valley arrives later; peak fall color is usually in early November,
The Tuolumne Grove third or fourth week of October.
Pinnacles National Monument in Monterey County.
Lassen National Park
Glacier Lodge and the trails to Palisade Glacier as well as Whitney Portal and the trail to Lone
Pine Lake
Cisco Grove I80 along the Yuba River makes a wonderful foreground.
Summers Meadow, The Upper Summers Meadow Road (National Forest road 144) branches off Green Creek
Road about a mile from US 395; the turnoff is signed.
Green Creek, The Green Creek Road (National Forest road 142) is off US 395, about 4.5 miles south of
Bridgeport. At about 3.5 miles from US 395, the Green Creek Road makes a sharp right; the sign
indicating Green Creek has vanished, but the sign indicating 142 remains.
Monitor Pass
If you know of any Photography Locations you have visited or pictures that you would
like to share SUBMIT them. Thank You for your help in making
our Photo Locations Guide database grow.
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