Yosemite
The Seasons
Echoes of Tenaya

 

 
The Seasons opens with quiet, blue, winter shots along the Merced River, dissolving to winter shots of Half Dome from Cook Meadow and El Capitan from the Merced River. Following title shots, the tempo changes to white water and snow at Upper Cascade, to gold reflections of Cathedral Rocks, followed by snowy shots of El Capitan Meadow. Shots of snow melting are followed by a dissolve to reflection shots of Douglas Spotted Eagle at Indian Pond, and steam rising off Liedeg Meadow as coyotes forage for breakfast.

The second segment begins with a shot of Yosemite Valley from Turtleback Rock, dissolving to golden, shimmering Horsetail Falls and reflections of the falls in the Merced River at sunset. Following is Yosemite Falls at sunrise through mist and trees, dissolving to the falls during a late winter sunrise, shot from the base of Upper Yosemite Falls. The segment closes with Douglas Spotted Eagle, photographed silhouetted against a natural rainbow which appears to float in front of Yosemite Falls.

The third segment begins with a view of an approaching storm and Sentinel Rock through silhouetted branches from Cook Meadow. Next are shots of rain and cloud-shrouded Ribbon and Sentinel Falls. The storm clears as steam rises off the Merced River and Liedeg Meadow.


All images are actual video stills
The fourth segment displays various shots of the Merced River at the height of spring runoff. The shots begin in Yosemite Valley where the river appears mild and quiet but is actually moving very swiftly. Midway through the segment, the river begins to move out of the Valley and flow down the Merced Canyon, displaying its frothy white water. The Merced River becomes a backdrop of various textures, sparkling, rushing, foaming, to the flowering dogwood trees and various wildflowers. The segment ends in Cook Meadow with yellow flowers and Cathedral Rock in the background.

The fifth segment begins with Yosemite Falls shot from Cook Meadow, followed by a tighter afternoon shot of the falls, backlit against dark rocks. Following is a wide shot of Lower Yosemite Falls, photographed from the Lower Yosemite Falls Bridge. After dissolving to a very misty shot of the falls, taken from the left side, we see a view of Yosemite Valley, well known as the "tunnel view," then a dissolve to shots of Royal Arches and Half Dome from Glacier Point. Next is a shot of reflecting water in Liedig Meadow, dissolving to shots of Royal Arches Falls, shooting straight up. From Royal Arches we dissolve into a slow zoom-out on windy, seemingly narrow Sentinel Falls. The segment closes with reflections of Yosemite Falls, Cathedral Rocks, and El Capitan.

The sixth segment is a sequence of flowers and reflections in Yosemite Valley, moving at the close of the segment to the flowers on the rim of Glacier Point.

The seventh segment begins with a zoom-out from Yosemite Falls from Glacier Point and Overhanging Rock, dissolving to shots of Mount Dana from the pond at the Tioga entrance, and the Dana fork of the Tuolumne River in Dana Meadows. Following are various shots of the Tuolumne River in Tuolumne Meadows, dissolving to sunrise shots overlooking those Meadows and the Sierras, from Pothole Dome. The sequence ends with reflections of the Sierra at sunset from Tuolumne Meadows.

The eighth sequence opens with a serene shot of a deer at sunset in Tuolumne Meadows, dissolving to Emerick Lake at sunrise, with steam rising off the water, followed by various reflection shots of the lake and meadow. Continuing at Emerick Lake, we dissolve to a lone duck, then to backlit, sparkly water, photographed in the afternoon. Emerick Lake then dissolves into a wide morning shot of Boothe Lake with rocks standing tall in the water, followed by a shot of a large fish, and a duck who seems to know he's on camera. From Boothe Lake, the sequence draws to a close with a series of flowers amid water scenes from the Lyle Fork of the Tuolumne River, shot in Lyle Canyon.

The ninth segment begins with a delicate musical variation, as Vogelsang Lake is photographed at sunset from Vogelsang Pass, dissolving to Vogelsang Peak, with alpen glow reflected in Emerick Lake. A series of reflections of clouds and mountain peaks from Tuolumne Meadows at sunset are followed by shots of Lembert Dome and the Sierras, and of alpen glow at Tuolumne Meadows.

The tenth segment opens in Tuolumne Meadows with surrounding peaks reflected in Tuolumne River. A change in tempo ushers in shots of the Tuolumne River at sunrise as the river begins its descent into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, followed by exuberant Waterwheel Falls, photographed from various perspectives before dawn, at sunrise, and sunset. Included is a succession of flower shots with Waterwheel Falls as the background, dissolving to quiet close-ups of alpine flowers. The segment ends with white and yellow flowers in Cook Meadow, with Cathedral Rocks in the background.

The eleventh segment, ushering in the beginning of Fall, starts with early morning shots of seeds, turnings oak leaves, and the one elm tree in Cook Meadow, with Half Dome in the background. (This specific elm tree is known simply as, "The Tree," because it has been photographed ad infinitum.) After Cook Meadow, the Native drums begin and the scene shifts to the oak trees in El Capitan Meadows and autumn colors reflected in the Merced River. Following a variety of shots of fall trees, the camera tilts from the Merced River to a wide view of Yosemite Valley, photographed from Valley View at sunrise.

After a series of close-ups of fall leaves, the camera tilts up to a shot of one of the giant Sequoias in the Merced Grove, which dissolves to Yosemite Chapel and Sentinel Rock, photographed in late afternoon. From the Chapel, all the fall colors seem to liquefy and flow into to the Merced River. El Capitan, glowing with light from the setting sun, introduces the transition to the winter season, with shots of ghostly seed pods in Cook Meadow, dissolving to the chilly waters of the Merced River. The segment closes with a view of Yosemite Valley from the Wawona tunnel as storm is brewing.

Segment twelve, Winter, begins with storm clouds and Sentinel Rock from Chapel meadow, dissolving to barren trees with backlit clouds. Winter arrives with falling snow, with a background of oaks and shots of deer grazing in El Capitan Meadow. From a close-up shot of deer, we dissolve to blue, moody shots at Indian Pond in Yosemite VaIley. Following is a series of snowy winter shots of the Merced River in Yosemite and the Merced River Gorge, shrouded in a blanket of thick snow, ending with steam rising off the Merced River at sunrise, photographed from Valley View.

Snowy branches of one of the last apple trees in Cook Meadow appears with Yosemite Falls in the background, dissolving to a wintry sunrise from Valley View and early morning shots of El Capitan. "The Tree," in winter, with snowy shots of Yosemite Falls photographed through its branches, dissolves to snow-covered Cathedral Rock, reflected in the Merced River, shot from the bridge near El Capitan. Following is a series of shots through barren trees of a storm clearing against late afternoon light.

Sentinel Rock, shrouded in clouds, dissolves to sunset light on Half Dome reflected in a small pond in Cook Meadow. As the video closes, Douglas Spotted Eagle appears, silhouetted against Half Dome, his form dissolving to a wide shot of Clouds Rest at sunset, which pulls out to the Valley from Wawona Tunnel.