Half Dome Under The Stars (Yosemite N.P.)

Half Dome was one of my favorite places in the world when I was a young adult (and it’s still one of my favorites places to visit and photograph). And what’s funny is that I was in love with the massive piece of granite before I ever laid my eyes on it. The reason was because of Ansel Adams and all is beautiful photography of the iconic granite face. When I first got into photography as teenager, I was fascinated about the man and read tons about him and all his hard work he did to make sure Half Dome and Yosemite Valley were protected … giving myself, the people of the world and generations to come, the opportunity to see these amazing natural landscapes with our own eyes.
During this particular photograph, I got to spend most of my night enjoying its amazing energy, as the full-moon shined bright over my right shoulder, which is what is illuminate the valley floor and rock cliffs above. Most people don’t realized how much light the full moon produces, especially on a clear night … My settings for this 30-second exposure were ISO 800 at f/4 … those settings still game me the stars and brightness within the sky, while maintaining the proper exposure of the valley floor (with the moon being my only light).