Photo Of The Day: A Morning Walk To Mirror Lake
Yosemite Valley

Photo Of The Day: A Morning Walk To Mirror Lake

Rock reflection in Mirror Lake in Yosemite Valley

It is often forgotten by me that there are many paved options for walking to points of interest in Yosemite. Mirror Lake has the option to take a trail or to walk the paved road. S. and I walked the paved route most of the way from Curry Village to Mirror Lake, hopping onto the trail for the last quarter of a mile or so, for a much quieter, less crowded, walk through the trees and boulders. Either way, paved or trail, it’s a fairly easy walk to the lake.

The water levels at the lake are down about two or three feet – maybe more – and maybe that is to be expected because it is late in the year, before rains or snow. This made for rocks being exposed and the reflections of the surrounding peaks were incomplete, extending from the water into the mud of the extended shore.

It seemed that everyone was arriving at the same time.

There was a chill in the air, as the sun did not reach into the canyon. My eye was immediately attracted to a few spots around the lake. The rock pictured in the above photograph was close to the entrance on the far side from where I stood. I knew that the spot behind it would be over run in a few moments by a herd of people walking in its direction.

The moment I went to capture this image, a young couple jumped onto the rock and sat down. I did snap the photo of them, but then I wandered around capturing images elsewhere while waiting for them to leave. Going back to the spot, the couple had left, but now there was another photographer camped out with a tripod. I patiently stood there for a while, waiting for him to capture his image and to leave – but he didn’t. I even became part of a panorama image that he captured with his phone. He saw me waiting there for a long time with my camera, but he didn’t move … I took his photo too.

But I never captured the image that I wanted to get here.

Instead, I got the image above.

Which I think I was lucky to get. At the time I was disappointed, but now that I’ve processed the images, I rather like it – the mossy greens in the trees and the reflection, the subtle quiet details in the forest, and the rock being more of the subject than I first intended.

Below are the images I snapped while waiting. My intention for the final image was for it to be like the first one with the couple on the rock, without the couple. The second image was taken to bypass the people who were lollygagging just on either side of the crop, and I grabbed this one just before they walked into the frame. The third, it was an “oh well” image.

But in the end, I like the one that chose itself as the final image.

Kimberly Kradel

Artist, Writer, Photographer. Publisher of ARTIST-AT-LARGE.

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. Beautiful! I can understand why it’s named Mirror Lake, the reflection is stunning!! Thx for sharing 💕

    1. I’ll send out a link to the rest of the images when I get them up. The lake really is known for its reflections of the surrounding peaks!

  2. If you haven’t clicked on the photos, you are missing out on the sheer beauty.

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