This image was made in early November 2023 during an expressive photography workshop in Yosemite Valley. As this was my first visit to Yosemite - a landscape photographer's paradise - I wanted to attempt a variety of images and compositions, from intimate to abstract to wide compositions.

This morning along the Merced River was quiet and still, with a bit of haze as the sun broke over the valley's walls, gently illuminating the pine and oak trees. Looking up the river, I found this scene, which evoked the calmness and peacefulness I felt at the moment.