Yosemite Moonbow

Yosemite if not read or explored about can leave you unfamiliar to many natural wonders. We visited Yosemite in February to capture the Horsetail firefall but unfortunately the waterfall had dried up but it was still a good feeling to see how the sun plays with the sunset color.

More about Yosemite Firefall here,

The April visit was to see a new wonder in itself the Lunar Bow. First noticed by the legendary John Muir himself, yosemite moonbows need plenty of water in the lower yosemite falls, full moon on a clear night only certain days of the year when the moonlight is at a particular angle to the waterfall.

Don't forget to grab a night light to reach the lower falls, we made this mistake and had to spend 15-20 min to make our way to the bridge only to realize the large crowd had taken up all possible tripod space available.

The moonbow is not very colorful to the human eye as its unable to identify color range at night and rather looks like a silver arch over the waterfall. Only camera when set on long exposure capture the true colors of the bow. Due to less water the bow appeared quite low on the bridge and went flat in an hour or so.

I am definitely coming back to click this wonder again, but this time with a clear camera sensor, better skills to focus and better planned shots. No doubt the first timings have their own charm.

Adieu,
Divya