I had a vision of capturing the sunrise at Yosemite’s Tunnel View, with the fog filling up the valley, sometime in the last 10 years or so. I have held that vision every time that I went there. But after countless sunrise and sunset visits to the park, I had never encountered the conditions I wanted. This year, I timed my visit for peak foliage during the end of October, when the rain typically begins. I checked the weather forecast every day and saw there would be rain on one of the days that I was visiting. I kept my hopes up. My excitement of finally getting it this time had kept me alert every day before the trip began.
I woke up at 5 a.m. that morning. Pulling into the parking lot, I already saw the fog in the valley. My heart was racing; something that I had held in my mind for so long finally came true! I quickly set up my tripod and began snapping photos, capturing every moment as much as I could. However, I began to notice my battery was toward the last gauge and blinking red. Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue because I always carry a backup battery. But for this trip, my backup battery was completely empty, and I didn’t realize it until the day before.
Additionally, what made it even worse was that I didn’t bring my charger! This could be detrimental, and I couldn’t let this precious moment pass by without batteries! So I carefully conserved my only battery, not doing long exposures nor live screen viewing. At last, I nailed it with all the elements that I wanted in the frame! Usually in late autumn, Bridal Veil Falls would already be dry or down to a trickle. This morning, it was still running with less water, but still visible.
The fog made such a difference to the foreground. It added depth and created more layers of the elements in the scene. Its movement created beautiful patterns and shapes which enhanced the main subjects. My dream shot of Tunnel View finally came to fruition! Perseverance will usually pay off if I allow the time and have patience for it.
