On my recent visit to California, I returned to Yosemite National Park, a place I had not seen in over 10 years. My visit this time occurred during the recent Rim Fire which threatened the park and was contained by the heroic efforts of hundreds of firefighters. The smoke from the fire drifted into the Yosemite valley and provided some very different photographic opportunities. The image above shows the early morning sunlight cutting through the hanging smoke above the valley floor.

The smoke filtered the afternoon sun and cast a very warm light on the trees for several hours. The photograph of the tress below was taken during these “magic hours”.

Near the end of my visit to Yosemite, most of the smoke had cleared out and I had the chance to photograph the famous Cathedral Rocks reflecting off of the Merced River.