Christmas Wonder

12月20日来滑雪,今年天公不作美,虽然10月就开始下雪,但整个12月却一片雪花都没有,让人欲哭无泪。如果只是没有雪也就罢了,21号还下了一天大雨。

22号早晨开车去Nevada,在Mt. Rose滑了一天。Base海拔高就是好,虽然也没有多少trail开,但好歹滑了一天粉雪。

12月23日-26日三天,降雪总量达到了夸张的84寸!

Half Dome under Milky Way

上个月拍了张Half Dome在银河下的照片。

这个拍摄计划了一年多,要考虑好几个条件:

月亮问题: 月亮太亮的话银河就拍不清楚,所以要选新月,或者月亮很早就落下的时候。

银河位置: 我用Plan It Pro这个软件算银河在天空中的位置,它还能模拟地形,帮我提前看构图效果。综合月相和银河位置,我算出6月24-26日凌晨2点左右是最好的时机。

许可证: 想在Mt. Watkins拍摄需要wilderness permit才能在那过夜。我选了May Lake-Snow Creek这个入口,因为除了背包装备,还要带三脚架相机,而且路上没水源,水也得自己背。

镜头: 根据构图需要18-24mm焦距,光圈越大越好,最后选了20mm f/1.8。

6月25日出发,先在Big Oak Flat拿许可证,在Valley的背包客营地住一晚,26日下午爬到Mt. Watkins。那天风很大,山顶都是岩石,找不到土地扎帐篷桩,只能用石头一个个压住帐篷角。

晚上7点架好相机,拍了几张日落,然后把相机留在三脚架上,回帐篷睡觉。

凌晨1点50分起来拍摄,试了几种ISO和曝光时间组合,最后用ISO 800、25秒曝光效果最好,噪点也能接受。后期把蓝调时刻的照片和银河照片叠加,让前景更有层次和色彩。​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Backpacking the River Trail Through Ansel Adams Wilderness

Returned from an incredible 40-mile backpacking journey through one of California’s most pristine wilderness areas – the Ansel Adams Wilderness! Named after the legendary landscape photographer, this 231,000-acre wilderness spans across the Inyo and Sierra National Forests in the heart of the Sierra Nevada mountains, offering some of the most spectacular high-alpine scenery in California.

Pre-Trip Planning and Preparation

Permits and Logistics

Planning this trip required significant advance preparation. Wilderness permits for Ansel Adams Wilderness are extremely competitive and must be reserved up to six months in advance through Recreation.gov. Daily entry quotas are strictly enforced to protect this fragile ecosystem, so flexibility with dates is crucial.

My original plan hit an immediate snag: the ESTA (Eastern Sierra Transit Authority) shuttle service hadn’t started running for the season yet in June, and road construction had closed sections of Reds Meadow Road between the entrance and Agnew Meadows stable on Monday to Friday. This meant I had to completely reroute my approach, starting from Minaret Vista instead of our planned Agnew Meadows trailhead.

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