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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.
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All
images are actual video stills
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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.
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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.
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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.
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