Went to Yosemite for my birthday a few weeks ago. My 2 year old son had never been there before and loved it. That alone made the trip worth it. Luckily I did find some time to shoot some photos due to having an understanding wife.
This is a real pretty classic view. Sweet reflection. Great your youngster loved it. Another up and coming nature lover! 
Thanks Harley! Maybe my son will become a NPN member someday.
This works for me Richard. The trees and the reflection look great. I’d like to see a little more detail in the shadows on the left, if possible. You did a nice job taming the light on Yosemite Falls buttress. Looks like a real nice Valley afternoon.
-P
Thanks Preston. I’ll look at the shadow and see if there is anything there.
Great Image Richard, the color in the valley this year has been pretty good, went to Yosemite four times in the past few weeks. I love the reflection and the light on Yosemite Falls. The only thing I might change is to crop a bit on the right side so the image starts with the first colorful tree.
Richard, you did very well with your processing of exposure/contrast in a very difficult dynamic range situation. The level of detail you have maintained in the shadows is very good while retaining contrast, thus avoiding at flat HDR look. I also like the level of saturation in the yellows and greens, nicely done. My only nitpick is that the top of the mountains (and their reflections) feel a bit tight to the edge of the frame, i wish there was just a little bit more breathing room there. But that is a nit, overall I’m really enjoying this image.
Gorgeous, Richard. Masterful processing to avoid any HDRish look on what must have been an extreme dynamic range. The composition is well constructed… maybe a bit tight but not a killer issue.
Richard,
Indeed a Classic view - even without the main character, Yosemite Falls. I think you did well to tame the highlights. I think composition wise, this works beautifully with the reflection. The only minor suggestion would be to boost the darker trees on the left. To me, they’re a bit heavy in the comp; perhaps even a bit of a crop off the left, but that may throw off the overall balance.
This view point would be killer after a nice snow fall in the valley! (Can’t wait!)
So glad you got to experience with your son. I’m sure many years to follow.
Lon
Thanks guys. These are all great suggestions. At the time when I shot this I wasn’t sure if I would be able to capture any sort of detail in the sky so my compositions mostly aimed to minimize the sky. Seeing how this turned out in post I do regret not shooting some versions with more room to breathe on top. Great idea on the snowfall Lon. I’ll have to try that. This was the first time I’ve been to this particular viewpoint but it has a lot of potential.
