Yesterday David and I began our afternoon at the Butterfly Festival in downtown Mariposa. David had volunteered to help Claudia Welsh man the Sierra Foothill Conservancy booth. I had a great time people watching from inside the booth. Near our booth the children and young at heart were given a slice of orange and a live butterfly to carry with them through the festival. Butterflies were flying everywhere and landing on people. There were lots of little girls in pretty dresses with butterfly wings on their backs. It was fun to watch the people interact with the butterflies.
Claudia and David
After booth duty we left for Yosemite. Last night was the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. We drove around the park photographing until we met up with Claudia and Michael Frye just before dark. Half Dome still has a little snow on top. The meadows and oaks are lush with vibrant greens.
The park was crawling with photographers. We found a good parking place between Cooks Meadow and the Pizza place. The four of us walked to dinner, back to the cars to grab our camera gear, then headed to the parking area near Sentinel Bridge. The moon had just risen and the photographers were shoulder to shoulder along the parking lot edge and path across the meadow. Michael and David stayed at the parking lot while Claudia and I walked along the path and over the boardwalk. I thought it was a little scary to walk behind the photographers on the boardwalk since they could step back from their camera and knock you into the meadow or pond.
I’d never photographed in the dark or a lunar bow. The day before, I had Dave teach me what settings should work with my camera. I shot my G2 in raw, at the widest aperture, the longest exposure possible and generally 400 ISO. I was quite happy with my results. I installed Lightroom on my computer today so working with that software was a first as well.
Yosemite Fall and the bumper to bumper line of cars, parked and moving.
