Last year I wrote a trip report for Emily and I’s Firefall experience, but didn’t get around to posting it. I figured I’d share and also throw in some tips for viewing this year’s Firefall!

Firefall is a naturally occurring phenomenon that has stunned Yosemite-goers for generations. In recent years, the spectacle has attracted thousands of onlookers from all around the world and, as with anything caught in the social media web, has seen new regulations surrounding it, this year specifically. Here’s some information!

What is Firefall?

Firefall is actually Horsetail Fall. A small, often overlooked waterfall in the Yosemite Valley. Most years, the fall is no more than a trickle aside from the winter months when heavy rain or snow runoff give the waterfall some life. So, why does it look like lava? Every year around the same time (mid-late February), the sun sets in the perfect spot, illuminating what little water runs from the granite peak. Depending on the flow, wind and conditions, this display can be magnificent or less than memorable.

When does Firefall happen?

Sometimes not at all. Firefall is completely dependent on the forecast. If there are clouds, chances are, you aren’t going to get a show.

The best time to view Firefall 2020 is on February 22, 2020 at 5:20 PM (weather permitting)

Typical viewing dates are between February 14th and February 27th. Start time is around 5:20 PM and lasts for about 15 minutes. My opinion would be to go a day before or after the prime date stated above for a smaller crowd. Weekdays also help with thinning out the people who are at work.

I recommend bringing your chair, some food, warm clothes, blankets, and camera gear and being ready no later than 3 hours prior. This is an extremely popular event, so getting your spot secured early will make for a much more pleasant experience.

Where can you watch Firefall?

In years past, you could watch Firefall from a multitude of places in Yosemite Valley. However, due to the growing crowds and their impact on the fragile environment, there is only one place to view the fall this year, and that’s from the El Capitan Picnic Area. Park at Yosemite Falls parking (just west of Yosemite Valley Lodge) and walk 1.5 miles to the viewing area near El Capitan Picnic Area.

What lens should you use for Firefall?

In 2019, I shot Firefall from Southside Drive. It’s a bit further than the El Capitan picnic area and I used a 70-200mm with a x2 adaptor. I also used my 300mm with the x2 adaptor, but unless you want very cropped shots, I would stick with the 70-400mm range. These recommendations are for a full-frame sensor, cropped sensors I’d suggest backing off a bit more.

Etiquette

1) Finders Keepers - If someone has claimed a spot, that is their spot. Do not set up in front of them, blocking their view, and don’t crowd them. Chances are, they waited a long time for that spot and deserve it.

2) Respect the Land - Do not leave your trash for others to pick up. Don’t trample bushes and break trees just to give yourself a better view.

3) Be Kind - There will be all kinds attending this event. Foreigners, influencers, tourists and locals. Treat everyone with respect and know that your photo is not more important than theirs.

Not everyone understands the etiquette of an event like this, so please be patient to your fellow photographers. For more information on Firefall 2020, visit the National Parks Service website. Feel free to comment any questions about the experience and I’d be happy to help!

2019 Trip Report

February 23rd, 2019

It’s pretty ironic that the ice balancing on my knee right now is a direct result of me balancing on some ice a few days ago. Was it worth it? I’d venture to say it always is.

My journey for this image was a lot shorter than others, and I can only attribute that to luck. I had heard about Yosemite’s “Firefall” many times. My father, who grew up photographing Yosemite, had witnessed the event with my grandfather in the 1980’s. As social media took off, the event only became more and more popular.

Firefall occurs in February over the course of about 2 weeks every year. The setting sun lines up with the jutting granite that surrounds Horsetail Fall and sets the stage for what you see above. However, it’s not as simple as that. Being the end of February, it is still very much winter time, so a clear sunset is not guaranteed. There must be enough snowfall during winter to create enough runoff for the waterfall to flow. The brilliant orange/yellow fog is a result of high winds knocking the loose snow off the top of the falls, so wind plays a factor as well. As you can see, getting the perfect Firefall photo requires quite a bit of planning and a lot of luck.

After looking over the forecast, Emily and I decided we would head to Yosemite on a Thursday and try to get to Yosemite in time to shoot Firefall that night. Conditions were supposed to be better on Friday, but we figured having an extra night in the park couldn’t hurt.

Thursday Night

After a small traffic jam, we flashed our National Park Pass and drove to a spot I had read about. It was supposed to be one of the best viewpoints to see the event. As we pulled up, we quickly realized all the parking spaces were full. Huge lit-up signs were everywhere threatening tickets for stopping/parking in the wrong areas and we heard an occasional “WHOOP” from a police car. Not the Yosemite experience I expected.

We continued to the next pull out, and the next, and the next…until, finally, we found a place big enough to fit Rex the Van. We had spent a decent amount of time getting to this new parking spot, and we now had to get our gear, turn around and walk back the way we came through the frozen snow. It took us a good 45 minutes to trudge back to the spot I had read about, but the views along the way were worth stopping for.

When we arrived, a flat opening in the trees was crowded with what had to be 30+ people. Every one of them with a tripod and a lens long enough to capture the spectacle that was about to unfold. There was a tense atmosphere as I began looking for a spot. I stepped in front of someone on my way to the other side of the group and he quickly told me I’d be in his way if I stayed where I was. I assured him I wasn’t just gonna set up right in front of him.

Shoutout to double-peace-sign-guy in the back

Unfortunately, crowds like this are becoming more and more unavoidable. Don’t get me wrong, I love people, but a lot of times, nature is where I go to escape crowds and recharge. Emily and I were able to find a spot tucked away by the river that provided a great, if not better, vantage point than the overcrowded peanut gallery. We had to slide over a snowy log and get our shoes a little wet, but it was worth it for some elbow room.

Not the best tripod setup but it got the job done!

You can see the main group of people to the left of me behind the bushes.

Once we had our spot, I framed the mountainside and we waited. The hike from the van took a little longer than expected, so we didn’t have to wait long before the light show started.

As the sun dropped lower and lower, the mystical glow shifted hues from light yellow to a dark orange. As if the scene wasn’t beautiful enough, a raven left it’s perch on a tree and flew right in front of the falls. I held down the shutter and was luckily on a pretty fast shutter speed. I caught his entire flight across the flowing waterfall. It was absolutely incredible and a once in a lifetime experience.

I was able to capture the ravens journey on high-speed burst mode

Love the flowing mist and the subtle swaying of the trees

My favorite still from the crow’s flight. Can you spot him?

As the sun continued to set, clouds and mountain ridges would partially block the sun, so the glow would disappear only to emerge a few minutes later followed by the cheers of hundreds of excited onlookers.

The last act of this incredible performance brought out the dark reds and oranges that so keenly resemble flowing lava. Although it sounds cliche, it was truly a breathtaking spectacle. Something rare and truly special unfolded in front of us and we were so thankful to have witnessed it.

The sun slowly disappeared and the firefall with it. After an applause from the crowd and a few “encores”, we packed up and started making our way back. The cold came quickly and by the time we reached the van, it was already 7 degrees Fahrenheit. Since Rex has had a spotty past with cold weather, I nervously turned the key, but was relieved to hear her engine roar to life.

A composite I created using an image I took on the walk back and an image of the moon I took.

Due to the temperatures, we had decided early on to get a cheap hotel instead of camping in Rex. Rex was still unfinished and worked a lot better as a refrigerator than it did a camper van. And in 7 degree weather, we’d surely wake up as Otter Pops. Arriving at our hotel, we were greeted with a huge sign that read “NO WIFI”. We checked our phones and had no phone service, which is most likely why the room was so cheap. We didn’t mind though. Emily had pre-made some breakfast burritos that we heated up in the lobby microwave. I also found a Strawberry Arnold Palmer flavor I had never tried before and was immediately addicted. We went back to our room, ate dinner, watched Deadpool on cable and spent some time editing and backing up my photos.

I have an irrational fear that whenever I take a good picture, my memory card will spontaneously combust and I will lose everything, so I try and back up my photos ASAP. Hasn’t happened yet, but I’m sure it will on the day I forget to back it up.

Lower Yosemite Falls & Tunnel View

The next morning, we skipped sunrise and got into the park a little later. I had seen a church I wanted to photograph, but by the time we got there, the light was no good. I decided to try anyway, which was the wrong decision. Not only because of the bad light, but as I returned to the parking lot, I slipped on black ice and jammed my knee into the hard frozen concrete. I tried to not make a big deal of it to Emily, but it messed me up pretty bad and the rest of the trip was spent favoring my good leg and walking a bit slower than I would have wanted, but it didn’t keep us from checking destinations off our list!

We stopped at a place I’d never been before, but is a pretty big staple in Yosemite (it even has it in the name), Lower Yosemite Falls. The view from the walkway was nice but not very unique. Emily and I decided to follow a trail that went off to the left of the river which would take us closer to the falls and hopefully present a better shot for me. The icy mist from the falls stung our face as a gust of wind blew across the river. As we worked our way towards a spot at the edge of the icy river, Emily’s leg broke through the ice and her feet and leg was soaked up to her knee. I jumped back and helped her remove her shoe and ringed out her sock, but the damage was done. Her foot was freezing and we had to get back to the van to warm it up. I went down to snap one picture before we left. I didn’t go quite as far out as Emily had when she had fallen through. After a few shots, SPLOOSH, my leg fell through. I took that as a sign that it was time to get out of there.

We waddled back to the van, warmed our feet and changed our socks. I couldn’t imagine being in a wilderness situation where something like that happened and you had to make a fire in the snow. My mind often goes to the early settlers and Native Americans and how tough they had to be. I enjoy putting myself into situations that require endurance, but living in the wilderness like that is next level.

After lunch, we drove around some more and did some light hiking, but my leg was bugging me pretty bad from it’s date with the ice, so we decided to play it cool until sunset.

For sunset, I was a bit torn on where we should go. After doing the rounds, the parking spaces were already completely full of Firefall attendees. I had initially wanted to shoot the event twice from 2 different angles, but due to us waiting too long and my bum leg, we didn’t have much of a chance. Emily insisted we go to Tunnel View for sunset and, despite wanting another Firefall experience, I agreed it’d be best.

During our time at tunnel-view, we met a fellow photographer by the name of Jeff Mitchum. He owns a gallery in Las Vegas and had many funny and unbelievable stories about his trips to Yosemite over the years. He had even been friends with Ansel Adams. Emily and I enjoyed talking to him and his children very much and, when it was time to head home, we wished we had more time to spend in conversation.

I thought the photo’s I took of El Cap looked familiar and then I remembered my old Mac OS El Capitan background. I’d practically taken the same photo! We let the last of the sun dip below the horizon, bid farewell and returned to our hotel for the night.

Bridal Veil Falls

The next day, we didn’t have a ton of time to spend in the park, but we wanted to see one more waterfall. We chose to hike the short but extremely icy trail up to Bridal Veil Falls. Despite the conditions, the hike was extremely crowded, and we had to literally jump out of the way as panicking tourists slid uncontrollably down the trail towards us. The main viewpoint was a bit bland, so Emily and I hiked through some thick snow around the side and up on a bluff to get a better shot.

While we trudged through the snow, I looked up to see a peculiar looking rainbow, and I took a photo. As it turns out, I had captured one of the rarest prismatic phenomenons, a “Twinned Rainbow”. Two water sources must combine in a precise fashion to produce this “Y” shaped rainbow. As if we hadn’t captured enough rare water-related phenomenon! Satisfied with our detour and my photos, we headed back to the van.

We wanted some downtime before we headed back to work for the week, so we headed home a little early. This was one of the more memorable trips Emily and I have gone on and definitely a very fruitful one in terms of my photography. Despite the traffic jam, we made it back to LA safely, got some Ricky’s Tacos and started planning our next adventure!

Me and my photo friend I met at our hotel

Our matching Yosemite hats we picked dup from a gas station.

This guy went to merge on the freeway, saw the traffic, said “NOPE” and put it in reverse.

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Yosemite Firefall 2020 Info & 2019 Trip Report