Sentinel Dome and Jeffrey Pine

Posted by Don Smith (California, United States) on 25 August 2008 in Landscape & Rural.

I have been spending a lot of time lately pulling images for a new stock agency. These are images that my primary agency, Getty Images, did not want. At times I shake my head, but who knows what editors are looking for - it can be a never ending mystery. Sometimes we photographers can get emotionally attached to an image when the rest of the world sort of shrugs its collective shoulders. Such may the case for this image. I shot this last spring during a workshop I was co-teaching with my partner Gary Hart. We routinely will take our groups to Yosemite's Sentinel Dome. It's a steep hike to the top of the dome (near 8,200 feet) but it rarely disappoints. The dome allows for a phenomenal 360 degree view of the Park. We had been talking about adding foreground elements to our images and I decided to heed my own advice. I found this Jeffrey Pine growing through a small crack in the granite and simply waited for the sun to set and paint the clouds with the last warm rays of the day. If you are interested in photographing Yosemite, Big Sur, Mendocino, Arizona or the Eastern Sierra, click on the Workshop tab on my website http://www.donsmithphotography.com. Our workshops run 4-5 days with an emphasis on being out in the field shooting. We also offer image/porfolio review and Photoshop sessions during the day.