Terra Galleria Photography

Posts Tagged ‘yosemite national park’

Three USPS Waterfall Stamps by QT Luong

I am honored that three of my images have been selected by the U.S. Postal Service to be part of the new commemorative stamp series “Waterfalls”, released today, June 13, 2023. The new postage series (on sale here) which pays homage to the variety and beauty of American waterfalls, is released by the U.S. Postal […]

Snow in Yosemite Valley

Today marks the official start of the spring, while the weekend saw the re-opening of Yosemite National Park. The park had been closed since February 25, the second longest closure in memory – floods in 1997 closed the park for over two months. The closure of this winter was caused by unusually deep snow. On […]

Big Wall Climbing in Yosemite

Back to the beginning of the year 1993, I knew almost nothing about the U.S. national parks. However, I knew that Yosemite was home to a 3,000 feet high cliff called El Capitan, the tallest in North America. Although El Capitan was my reason for moving to California, finding a partner for the climb proved […]

Yosemite’s Horsetail Fall Firefall at Last

In mid to late Feburary, Horsetail Fall on El Capitan is backlit by the setting sun, creating the unique natural phenomenon known as the “natural firefall”. Nowadays, the Yosemite firefall is widely known to the public, and even makes media headlines each year. The National Park Service has to close the inner lanes of the […]

Love at First Sight in Yosemite

After I finished school in France, I wanted to spend a couple years in the U.S. At that time, I was an avid mountaineer and climber. I didn’t know much about the geography of the country, but one of the few places I kept hearing about from other climbers was Yosemite – because of its […]

Yosemite’s Meadow Fire Photos and Video

Sierra Nevada forest fires are part of the cycle of nature. Lightning started one such fire weeks ago within the designated wilderness of the Yosemite National Park, in Little Yosemite Valley between Half Dome and Mount Starr King. On Sunday afternoon (Sept 7, 2014), fanned by high winds, it exploded all of a sudden, belching […]

150 Years of Photography in Yosemite

June 30th, 2014 marked the 150th anniversary of the Yosemite Grant Act, the 1864 bill signed by Abraham Lincoln – in the midst of the Civil War, which set aside in perpetuity the world’s first parkland for public use. True, Hot Springs Reservation was set in 1832, but it was with the purpose of protecting […]

Yosemite Unseen VI: Mount Conness Loop

In this post, I am sharing my favorite high-country hike in Yosemite. On that rugged, but short Yosemite backcountry loop, you’ll reach the Sierra Crest, high above timberline, only a few hours after leaving your car, and enjoy a few days of solitude from there. You will roam cross-country – which is surprisingly easy here […]

Photographing Moonbows in Yosemite

A moonbow is a rainbow produced by moonlight, rather than direct sunlight. While observing a rainbow in the sky requires rare and unpredictable combination of conditions, it isn’t too difficult to predict the appearance of spray moonbows, which occur in the mist of waterfalls. Yosemite moonbows have been known for some time. John Muir described […]

Yosemite Unseen V: Mount Hoffman

Mount Hoffman (10,845 feet, 3,305 meters) is right in the center of Yosemite. For a (relatively) easy to access viewpoint which gives you spectacular bird-eye’s views of the Yosemite backcountry in all directions, it is hard to top this hike. If you do only one high-country summit hike in Yosemite, I would suggest this one. […]