| The Retired Photographer

Poppies of the Merced River Basin

This is a very special time of year along Hwy 140 leading into Yosemite Valley. We have had adequate rainfall this year to bring out the poppies and redbud along the Merced river highlighting a spectacular drive up the canyon. Although people have said this is a good year for poppies, I understand 2009 was a spectacular year for poppies.

This image shows the poppies across the Merced river, from Hwy 140, growing all the way to the top of the hill. The area across the river, about my level, is the old train track that carried tourist to Yosemite Valley from Merced, California which is about 81 miles of travel. What a fun train ride up the canyon back then this time of year.

Again, this is a great time to visit Yosemite Valley traveling up Hwy 140 to see the poppies and enjoy Yosemite’s waterfalls before the water dries up earlier this year than normal.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright Ben Gundy and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Ben Gundy.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f4L at 32mm

ISO 200, 1/125 sec at f/11

admin :: Apr.28.2012 :: General, Yosemite :: No Comments »

Redbud, Poppies, and the Slate Creek Bridge

I heard the poppies were in full bloom, in the Merced River Basin just outside Yosemite, from my friend G Dan Mitchell. I was up and over to my photography buddy Graham’s house at 4am in the morning and off we went. We had breakfast in Merced around 5:45am and then arrived at the poppies around 8am. There is one thing I forgot to figure in and that was that the poppies don’t open until the sun is on them and it is warm enough. So, off to Yosemite we went as the valley floor was only twenty minutes away. It was an eerie feeling as there was no one in the valley. You could get almost any parking area you wanted to yourself, no one biking, a few people walking, and no shuttle buses but it might be to early in the season for them. Most of the people we did see were on a nature walk with a park naturalist. There was adequate water flowing over Yosemite Falls but you could tell that it was going to be in short supply this year. If you want to see Yosemite Falls best to go now…

We arrived back at the Merced River Basin around 11am and found that the poppies were indeed open. At El Portal there is a road heading north off of Hwy 140, Incline Road, that had the best poppies and wildflowers, you can get up close and personal to them. There are also pullouts on Hwy 140 you can use to photograph the poppies on the other side of the river going up the side of the mountain. Splendid views of the poppies all up and down the Merced River Basin highway.

The Redbud is also blooming adding to the beauty of the basin. A little hard to get a good pictorial photograph of the Redbud but is a good contrast with the poppies. The image here is a good representation of the Redbud and poppies you will find a long the highway. A little tidbit of information, the Slate Creek Bridge was completed in 1926.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright Ben Gundy and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Ben Gundy.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f4L at 50mm

ISO 200, 1/80 sec at f/16

admin :: Apr.21.2012 :: General, Yosemite :: No Comments »

The Bees Have Returned On Easter Sunday

If you remember my older July 2011 post “Bees A Swarming“, that particular colony was off to a new location. Unfortunately, the bees that remained soon disappeared leaving no trace that a colony was even there. This particular swarm arrived on Easter Sunday 2012 early in the afternoon. There were a few bees around three days prior to the swarm arriving, so I guess my location seems suitable again. Hopefully this colony will stick around for a while.

That dark line in the center of the mass is the entrance to the outside bin to remove the ash from the fireplace. Since we do not use the fireplace anymore the bees get to use the ash bin as their hive. Yes, we have sampled some of the honey in the past and it is delicious.

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright Ben Gundy and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Ben Gundy.

Canon G12 with fill flash