Field Edition

The Firefall

Yosemite Valley • Yosemite National Park

Field Edition. Signed, not numbered.

I'd wanted to see the firefall for years and finally had a week in the valley. The main viewing area closed that afternoon after a rockfall, so we worked further down the valley. Third night in a row of clouds shutting us out. I locked a composition and waited a couple of hours with no view of the western horizon, no way of knowing if the light was going to make it through. The break came and the falls lit for maybe fifteen minutes. I had planned to come back the following night and try again, but a massive snowstorm closed the park.

Latitude

37°44′ N

37°44′ N

Temperature

40 °F / 4 °C

Season

Winter

Elevation

4,000 ft / 1,219 m

Hour

Sunset