Open - Rick Haley New Photographs
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Jeffery Pine - Sentinel Dome, Yosemite NP
The first artistic images of this tree started to show up in the early 1940s. Ansel Adams photographed this teee which was located on a small barely noticeable trail just off of the road to Glacier Point. The two mile hike was well worth the effort even as the tree neared the end of it 400-600 year lifespan. The iconic location on the upper rim of the south side of Yosemite Valley is still known as Sentinal Dome.
Giant Sequoia Root - Mariposa Grove, Yosemite, NP
Giant Sequoia trees are the most massive trees known; they never stop growing, reach 300 feet, and weigh over 600 tons. They are also among the oldest living organisms on earth and can live to be 300 years old. The roots of this giant now lay where they have been for perhaps 100 years or more, polished and still filled with the rocks that were once their anchor in the earth. This digital image is made from a scanned 4X5" film negative that is part of my 1980's Black & White collection.
Mobius Arch Morning Twilight - Alabama Hill, CA
I have been photographing this Arch for many, many years. We had not planned on making this our sunrise subject, only to pass by the Arch at first light as we made our way a scene well away from this location.
I thought I had captured every possible light and weather condition at the Arch, all seasons, even Milky Way shots at night. However, I had never caught the pinkish horizon during the 10 minutes or so of Blue Hour. Of all of my photos of this iconic Arch, this is my favorite.
Fern - Forest Floor Yosemite
As a Landscape Photographer, I spend a reasonable amount of time looking for scenes and subject matter for my photography collections; most often, I'm looking for a grand landscape with a dramatic sky and features that hold the viewers' attention. One day while hiking in Yosemite National Park, I found myself in a heavily wooded forest with no horizon and no Grand Landscapes. During my hike, I came across an ample space on the edge of the woods where the forest floor was blanketed with bright Yellow Green Ferns; I suddenly realized that I was missing a large part of the Valleys whole experience because I wasn't looking down, only to the skyline for subjects. Since that day, more than 45 years later, I still strive to take in the whole experience of ALL of nature that surrounds me, not just the vast and distant horizons.
Yosemite Valley Gateway
A clearing Winter storm had blanketed the Yosemite Valley Floor in a heavy, wet layer of snow clinging to even the most minor tree branches and carpeting the Valley Floor in linen white. The cold and humid air supported a misty layer of fog that rose no more than a couple of feet above the ground. This entrance to the park was made for just such a scene.
Winter Trees - Mono Basin
We descended into the Mono Basin, where Mono Lake had disappeared into a fog that looked like heavy snow had carpeted the entire valley floor. Visibility was no more than a couple of hundred yards at best. The one open road we could find that appeared to head toward the Lake was mainly cleared of deep snow, and just before it ended, it brought us to the scene of this photograph. I made my way through waist-deep snow to capture the image. While I did not notice the cold, I was surprised that the temperature was 18 degrees. On the next trip back to this area, it will be interesting to explore the setting when it is cleared of Winter.
Oak Tree - Snow Storm
This image was captured during a blizzard in Yosemite National Park in late December of 2021. Cindy and I spent the day gathering images with my camera gear set up on a tripod and Cindy holding an umbrella to shield my equipment from the wet heavy snow. I gathered several photos that day which I could never have caught with my wife providing cover to keep my camera alive.
Mt. Diablo - Early Spring
This image can be called Early Spring or Late Winter. The trees are adding foliage and the Mountain still shows some of the record Snow from a record Bay Area snowstorm a couple of weeks before. In the next couple of weeks flowers should start to bloom for what promises to be a great year or spring slower season.
Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes - Death Valley NP
The low early morning sunrise barely cast shadows on the shallow ripples in the sand, which usually set deep in the surface of the Mesquite Flat San Dunes. The warm light showed an almost golden colorcast with only narrow shadows. It was late June, and we had made our way deep into the eastern part of the flats. It wasn't long before the summer sun filled the sky and triple-digit temperatures were not far away. Our hike back to the Jeep was a warm one.
Sand Dune Textures - Death Valley NP
I love the infinite textures that the wind carves on the surface of the sand in the desert; at times, it's hard to figure out the cause of the variety of ripples. This year, 2023, the dunes lacked the deep, sharp peaks that we have always seen before; it was a unique experience to encounter only this once in the forty-odd years I have visited the park.
Blue Shadow Sand Dune - Death Valley NP
At first light, the warm sun on the golden sand of Mesquite Flat San Dunes softly contrasts with blue-cast shadows. As the sun rises, the shadows turn gray and even black as the contrast in the scene changes its intensity with full light..
Super Moonset at Sunrise - Mt Diablo, CA
A Supermoon is rare, but only once or twice a year will the moon set at sunrise just over Mt Diablo in the Northern California Bay Area. Catching both the Moonset in the right place and during a Supermoon phase, WOW, thank you PhotoPills app.
And yes, I forgot to mention the clouds; I think God did that!
Very often these days, with technology like Photoshop, people regularly add a moon to a photograph; I'm okay with photographers that follow that path; I've just never done that and never plan to do so. You can check the info online from this photo if you would like; I promise it's real. The photo was taken on August 2, 2023, at 6:29 am. I was on Deer Valley Road near the Brentwood/Antioch city border. Sunrise was at 6:11 am, Moonset at 7:04 am, and Azmith from my location was 246 degrees. The moon was about 15 degrees above the mountain. The moon appears larger than life due to the use of a telephoto zoom lens at 166mm. The above info (I) button shows the full camera metadata.