Blue Hour at Tenaya Lake
Early evening at Tenaya Lake in September with the Milky Way just becoming visible. Smoke from the King Fire had drifted into the valley during the afternoon and affected the images at the Lake, even at over 8,000 feet.
Blue Hour-Light Up Lake Tenaya
A little further into blue hour, the Milky Way is much more visible. Lights from automobile traffic are usually a bane of the night photographer's existence, but created an interesting effect here.
Milky Way Explodes Over Tenaya Lake
This image captures the Milky Way literally appearing to explode over Tenaya Lake. The effect of smoke from the King Fire is visible, but not pronounced.
Milky Way Over Tenaya Lake
Another view, very similar to the last photo, but perhaps a bit more subtle.
Milky Way Over Lake Tenaya with Far Shore Illuminated
This is another shot of the Milky Way over Tenaya Lake, where light from a car traveling the other way light painted the far shore. It turned out to be a very subtle effect in this image.
Milky Way Reflecting on Tenaya Lake
One of my favorites in this series. The wind had calmed down, making the lake smooth and reflecting the Milky Way.
More Milky Way Reflections on Tenaya Lake
Tis is very similar to the prior photo, with a little less processing. Some may like it better, although I prefer the former.
Milky Way With Water Color Effects
This photo was processed in Lightroom in a different manner, and the processing really brings out the diffusion of the light from the King Fire. It looks a bit like a water color to me, and is not ideal from a purely photographic point of view. However, it's different and some people like it.
Half Dome on a Smoky Night
This was taken at Glacier Point, with its iconic view of Half Dome, after midnight on a night when smoke from the King Fire had drifted into the valley. The view was a bit surreal, with smoke in the valley, but Half Dome clearly visible, and the stars shining bright above. The photos have proven very difficult to process. This is one with some processing that produced an interesting short star trails effect. Some say it looks like Morse Code in the heavens!