Photographing Yosemite: Digital Field Guide

25.3. How Can I Get the Best Shot?

To find good views of Unicorn Peak, you must get out of the car and walk along the Tuolumne River or out in the middle of Tuolumne Meadows. Try to find good foreground elements to use in your images to add some depth to the image.

25.3.1. Equipment

You want to carry your tripod, wide-angle and telephoto lenses, and polarizing filter when trying to capture Unicorn Peak. Choosing the correct exposure mode and ISO settings will guarantee a great image.

The best location from which to photograph Unicorn Peak: (A) in the Tuolumne Meadows region of the park. Other photo ops: (3) Cathedral Peak, (5) Dog Lake, (12) Lembert Dome, (24) Tuolumne Meadows.

25.3.1.1. Lenses

You can capture Unicorn Peak two ways. You can either photograph the broad scene of the mountain, placing it in context with the meadows and surrounding peaks by using your wide-angle lenses in the 24-50mm range, or you can zoom in and isolate the unique shape of the peak's horn with a longer lens in the 100-400mm range. The 100mm lens allows you to show the peak and its surrounding slopes (see figure 25.1), while the 400mm enables you to fill the frame with only the horn itself (see figure 25.2).

Figure 25.1. Unicorn Peak at sunrise on an autumn morning. Taken at ISO 100, f/10, at 1/100 second with a 100-400mm zoom lens at 100mm.

Figure 25.2. The horn-shaped peak of Unicorn Peak ...