I spent five hours hiking up switchbacks to get above the sheer face of Yosemite's Sentinel, finally summiting at Glacier Point to photograph this view. Upon arrival, however, my brother pointed to an odd structure in the starlight and blurted out: "Holy crap, is that a drinking fountain?" As we turned to take in the vista, we noticed the snack shop and the parking lot giving easy access to comfortable tourists. I guess we missed out on that particular detail. Nevertheless, I consider this a hard-won photograph.
I finally managed to get the photo that I wanted of this hoodoo. It involved standing on a steep shoulder of rock and using a 14mm lens so I didn't have to hover 20 feet in the air farther back from my position. I love the way the diminutive pine tree clings, twisted, to the side of this hoodoo - living and succeeding where it should probably have failed.
Every time I see this tree, I'm reminded of Douglas Malloch's Poem. This isn't the shot I intended, but the park was closed by the government shutdown during the new moon, so instead I got the moon to back-light this unique Zion National Park hoodoo to see if I could still get some stars to bleed through. I wish I could claim that this is some secret photo spot of mine, but it's right next to the main road. Nevertheless, is still a favorite.
