Winter Sunset in the Incomparable Valley

On our first visit to Yosemite in February 1998, Crystal and I were treated to multiple feet of fresh-falling snow, more than either of us had ever seen in our lives up to that point.  (Driving my Saturn through it was...interesting.)  We spent our first full day in Yosemite Valley tromping around in deep powder in sparkling air under a brilliant sky and taking photos with my only camera at the time:  a point-and-shoot, negative-film camera.  A year later, I returned with my second SLR and Fujichrome Velvia, the supersaturated slide film of choice for most landscape photographers.  At Tunnel View, the first full view of Yosemite Valley coming from the south and the viewpoint made famous by Ansel Adams and his "Clearing Winter Storm," I was fortunate enough to catch some extraordinary sunset light as a brief snow shower cleared.  I have a deep personal attachment to this image as a benchmark, possibly a turning point that I could not have realized then. Photo © copyright by Greg Owens.

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