The Valley of Fire

In late February every year there is a chance that it will be possible to see the fabled natural phenomenon, known as "Firefall". For 2 weeks a year, a mystifying and surrealistic waterfall resembling flowing lava, pours over the lip of the Dawn Wall and plummets over 2,100 feet towards the bottom of Yosemite Valley. I spent a total of 8 days running through the valley and observing different locations in order to learn precisely how I wanted to capture this natural phenomenon with my camera and lens. Not only capture in a sense of simply freezing the light within my camera, but rather to do so in a way that left me continually awestruck and just as breathless each time I revisited it. It is was, at its heart, an exploration for me into how deeply an image can tie together reality, imagination, and memory.

Camera: Panasonic S1R Lens: Canon EF 70-200 f/4L IS II USM Exposure: 1/15s @ f/16 Process: Lightroom -> Topaz Denoise -> Photoshop Size: 8368 x 5584