2nd Outdoor Photographer Photo Contest Finalist
/I would like to once again thank everyone at Outdoor Photographer for choosing my “Yosemite Half Dome” image named “Mirrored Tranquility” as a finalist in their 2021 Great Outdoors photo contest. It’s an honor to be a finalist two years in a row and join 30 other wonderful Photographers this year from Bolivia, Italy, Iceland and around North America.
The caption for “Mirrored Tranquility” as shown in the photo booklet reads:
“Visiting California’s Yosemite National Park in February has its advantages. There’s limited people in the Valley and the Sierra Nevada Mountains hasn’t yet shed it’s ice and snow. Unique photo opportunities can be created due to more accessible locations and low water levels. This image was captured near the Ahwahnee meadow, along the bank of the Merced River, when the evening sun painted the face of Half Dome for just a few minutes. The brilliant blaze orange light disappeared as fast as it came. I had just witnessed Nature’s true beauty.”
“The sun’s coloring of Half Dome is only a part of the strength of this image. The clarity of evergreen needles against the darkening clear blue sky, stillness of the Merced River, and the all present Mirrored Tranquility of the scene is its strength. This simple beauty reminds me of a quote from Architect Heinrich Tessenow; “The Simplest is not always the best, but the best is always simple”. As an example, many may not realize the top of Half Dome is almost 5,000 feet above the water of the Merced River below it. This image reveals the strength of Nature’s tranquility without showing its true scale.”
