By Jenn Gidman
Images by Kevin Gilligan
For years, Kevin Gilligan daydreamed about a return trip to Yosemite National Park. "I hadn't been there in more than a decade," the Los Angeles photographer says. "So when the chance came to visit the park in April, I was ready to go—not only because I was excited to share it with my family, but because it's hallowed ground of sorts. Ansel Adams had spent so much time there. That's part of the reason I wanted to capture as much as I could of the park in black and white, as an homage to Adams and his work."
Kevin was only there for four days, but he brought along as much of his equipment as he could manage, including his Tamron SP 24-70mm VC, SP 10-24mm wide-angle, SP 150-600mm VC, and 16-300mm VC Macro lens. "I'd rather have a sore back from carrying too much gear than not have everything I need to capture the pictures I want," he says.
Using a wide-angle lens like the Tamron 10-24 was a natural fit for certain portions of the park. Yosemite Falls, one of the world's tallest waterfalls at 2,425 feet, is broken up into three separate cascades, and Kevin was able to capture the beauty of the Lower Falls from about 60 yards away. "I took this photo at 22mm, ISO 250, F/22," he says. "I brought my tripod with me all over the park—you absolutely have to have a tripod there!—and I was able to capture that creamy effect in the water using a 10-second exposure."
From the valley floor, Kevin was able to incorporate a dramatic sky into his next image of Yosemite Falls. "I tried to include some close-up focal points in this photo, with the trees on top and the sides to add a sense of scale," he says. "I took this photo at 18mm, ISO 100, F/22, with a 2-second exposure."
Even though Kevin was visiting Yosemite in the somewhat milder shoulder season, a late snowstorm gave him the chance to capture some wintry scenes he hadn't expected. "The snow was incredible," he says. "My wife was great. She could tell how excited I was about the snow, so she took the kids tobogganing, and I went off with my camera. I hiked for hours by myself, just taking pictures of the snow and the trees and the patterns."
A recent fascination with early photography forms led Kevin to use a sepia tone for some of his images. "I've been paying more attention to daguerreotypes and the wet-plate format lately," he says. "I wanted to get that really interesting detail in the center of this picture you see here, taken with my 24-70, but the wind was blowing so hard that I was never going to be able to get the entire picture in focus. That's why I figured the sepia would work well here. I took this at 33mm, at ISO 640 and F/10, 1/80th of a second."
It was difficult to capture how hard it was actually snowing, so Kevin photographed the snow after it had settled on the tree branches. "The storm happened over a very short period of time—in about an hour or so," he says. "It was just coming down in buckets, but it created these patterns I really love. I took this photo at 31mm at 200 ISO, F/8, at 1/60th of a second."
Kevin wandered onto a winding, snow-covered path about two hours into his hike. " Fresh snow had just fallen, and I was the only person hiking on the trail. It was amazing," he says.
The leading lines of the trail heading into the distance gave Kevin the perspective he was looking for to craft a compelling visual. "I love how this view draws you into the image," he says. "It just makes me want to explore even more. I used the 24-70 here at the 24mm end, with ISO 320 at F/11, 1/60th of a second. But the best part was when I just stopped to listen to that wintry quiet you hear during a snowfall. I grew up on the East Coast, but it's been such a long time since I've heard that. I just closed my eyes and listened."
To showcase the versatility of the new 16-300, Kevin photographed the iconic Half Dome rock formation at the eastern end of the park. "It was midafternoon, after the storm had ended," he says. "From where I was positioned at one of the observation points, I first took a picture at the 16mm end of the focal range, then zoomed in to take another one at 238mm. Both were taken with a 640 ISO at F/14, 1/250th of a second. I was lucky to get some clouds in there, so I didn't have to worry about the light, and they added a bit of visual interest to make my images pop."
The weather required extra batteries ("I ran through them quickly because it was so cold"), and getting proper exposures during the inclement weather was a challenge. "I had to turn around often to look at the histogram, but I’d have to block the blowing snow with my body to be able to get a glimpse of it," Kevin says.
Before he left Yosemite, he also made sure to use his iPhone to document how well his Tamron gear stood up to the elements. "I was getting hammered with snow at some points," he says. "The wind was blowing and I had to keep wiping the snow off my lenses during the heavier parts of the storm. I loved every minute of it—and my 24-70, as well as my other Tamron gear, was a champ."
To see more of Kevin Gilligan's work, go to www.photosbykag.com.