Yosemite’s Sky Islands

Yosemite’s Sky Islands!!!

The video is a fine example of the high plateaus in the Sierra Nevada. It’s also a great source to identify what wildflowers we are shooting way up in the high country!!

If you haven’t experienced one of the high plateaus, you can find them with a topo map or by using Google Earth to place your viewpoint on top of some of the highest peaks to look down on the plateaus. Look for easy access places such as the Saddlebag Lake area and near the west entrance of Yosemite.

You won’t find anything growing higher then a sky pilot!

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Waiting Out the Fog

It seems that the further you travel on the coast in California the more likely you are to get bogged in by the fog. If you’ve ever driven the California Coast you may have noticed when the road climbs a large hill you may rise above the fog and descend back into it as it drops in elevation. At the time the second photograph was taken I had remembered the view a few thousand feet above the fog earlier that day, there were large gaps in the marine layer and if you looked closely you could barely make out the watery ocean surface in some of the gaps.

While we stood on that ocean cliff in the King Mountain Range I knew it was not likely to open up completely but maybe the light from above could seep down through the gaps in the marine layer. I was with Christina and knew she was waiting patiently for me to finish up so we could cook dinner so I almost left before the light changed. You never know!

Have you ever experienced a close call when you almost left a scene that looked grim but lead to dramatic light?

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