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Feb 2018 is the best time to capture this amazing event!

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Photo: Michael Frye

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FOLOW: Mr. Michael Frye and Aaron M Photography for Horsetail Fall conditions and information

INFO is from:
1. https://www.michaelfrye.com/2018/01/30/horsetail-fall-conditions-2/

I love to share my knowledge of photography and help others express their photographic vision. Here's what you'll get when you subscribe to my blog:

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2. https://blog.aaronmphotography.com/2017/12/04/horsetail-falls-2018-yosemite-national-park/

Best time to photograph / Capture Horsetail Falls.

Horsetail Fall season will be here soon. The best light occurs from around February 16th through February 23rd. During that time, if conditions are right, the waterfall is backlit by the setting sun, while the cliff behind it is in the shade, creating dramatic color and contrast.

Before February 16th, Horsetail can get beautiful sunset color, but the cliff behind it is still in the sun. After February 23rd, the sunlight gets cut off before it reaches its deepest color. Of course the angle of the sun doesn’t change dramatically between the 15th and the 16th, or between the 23rd and the 24th, so it’s possible to capture good images of Horsetail Fall a few days before or after that window. But that period between the 16th and 23rd is, as far as I can determine, the optimal time. (See this postfor an in-depth discussion about the timing of this event.)

In order to see this natural spectacle, the sky to the west-southwest has to be clear, and there has to be enough water in the fall. But at this point, unfortunately, there is very little water in Horsetail.

Yosemite Valley has received 10.96 inches of rain since October 1st (the beginning of the water year in California). The average for that period is 18.7 inches, so we’re well short of that. What’s more, the few storms that have passed over Yosemite have been warm, with high snow levels. There’s a decent snowpack above 9,000 feet, but not much below that.

Horsetail is a tiny little waterfall, fed by snow melting from about a square-mile area on top of El Capitan, at an elevation of around 7,000 feet. There’s hardly any snow in that drainage right now, and there’s no precipitation in the seven-day forecast.

Of course we could still get a couple of storms between now and the third week of February. Time is running out, but there’s always hope for a last-minute miracle.

— Michael Frye

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FOLLOW: Aaron M Photography

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GPS Coordinates: 37° 43’ 39.84”, -119° 36’ 33.06” (Park at: 37° 43’ 36.74”, -119° 36’ 33.06”)

Photo: Aaron Meyers

What to Bring:

Your camera (obviously), preferably an SLR, but a point-and-shoot with a longer zoom will work too.
A telephoto lens (100-200mm lens is enough. Full Frame cameras may want a 300mm lens).
A sturdy tripod (I used a crappy tripod and had some small shake from the heavy lens).
Cable release/remote control shutter (to avoid camera shake).
Warm clothes (layers, gloves, hat, sweatshirt, jacket, etc).
Flashlight (for after sunset).
Lawn chair (to sit on while you wait for sunset).
Snacks/Food/Water.

Recommended Settings:

Mode: Aperture Priority (you have a tripod to allow for slow shutter speeds and you want to make sure you have a good depth of field).
Aperture: Use the sharpest aperture for your lens (typically around f/8). Once you have a couple good shots you can start to play around with other apertures.
Focal Length: A focal length of about 100-150 should be enough (150-225mm on a full frame dSLR).
ISO: Lowest ”standard” ISO, to ensure the least amount of noise.
White Balance: Auto White-Balance. You’ll probably warm it up in post-processing.
Focus: Manual focus with Live-View (if available). Many photographers had trouble getting clear shots because autofocus couldn’t be obtained or it focused on the mist and not on the rocks. Turn on manual focus and image stabilization (vibration reduction on Nikon), zoom as far in as you can on live view, and manually adjust the focus until it is sharpest then turn-off image stabilization and LiveView.
Shutter: use a remote shutter release. It will decrease the chance of motion blur.
Mirror-Lockup: If you need to, use mirror-lockup to reduce motion blur. I had a crappy tripod and this was needed to get better shots.
Exposure Compensation: Under expose your photo. The falls are really bright and can cause a slightly overexposed photo if shooting in Matrix Metering. I found a darker image with dark granite looked best and you’ll also get a faster shutter speed and thus sharper photo.

Use 14-bit RAW images if you have the option. Don’t shoot in JPEG.

Tips for Shooting Horsetail Falls:

Scope out the locations before hand and choose your favorite spot.
The sunset starts out on the west side of the rocks during early February and progressively moves east (from left to right in the photos). If you want to see the falls all lit up in the early ”Fire Falls” season, go further east. As the sunset moves east you can move east (towards picnic grounds) to get good shots. See Steve Thuman’s shot for an example of going too early in February.
You need to shoot this at an angle to get the falls on fire. The “Fire Falls” effect is created because the granite rocks face east/west and happens to reflect the February sunset. This reflection then backlights the waterfalls. Too much water and it blocks the sunset from hitting the falls. Too far west and you aren’t at an angle to see the sunset reflecting off the rocks onto the water.
Get there early! People started showing up at the picnic grounds by 2pm and at the Southside Dr location by 2:30. Parking is limited and you can get a $300 ticket for parking on the street!
Don’t get stressed if you do not see much water on the falls. The mist will light up beautifully. In fact, from the picnic grounds we couldn’t see any water but they still got a great Fire Falls!
Re-adjust your focus a couple minutes before sunset is supposed to start. The dropping temperatures will change your focus.
A really sturdy tripod is recommended. Add some weight under the center column if you can. Shutter speeds will be less than a 10th of a second and even the slightest movement can ruin your shots.
An L bracket on your tripod can be handy for stabilization when shooting in portrait orientation. Some lenses have a slip ring that can rotate 90º to allow you to do this without an L bracket (for example both Canon/Nikon’s 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses do this).
You do not need a polarizer. The light is soft and the polarizer didn’t do anything to enhance the photo.
Take a couple practice shots before hand so you can figure out your settings and make sure everything is super sharp.
The snow/ice that you’re standing on can be really slippery when the sun sets. There are lot of dried pine-needles on the ground so take a bunch and put it on the ground below you to provide some extra traction.
Be patient! You’ll be sitting outside for a while so make friends with the other photographers, ask em for tips, and just have fun!

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