D800 goes backpacking in Yosemite

Just got back from my Yosemite backpacking trip over the weekend. We spent 3 days out in the high country. I've been to the valley a few time but this was my first time up here backpacking and I have to say the trip was surreal! Such an incredible place that I'm already planning a return trip! =)

For the gears, as much as I wanted to save weight, there was no way I would have left the D800 at home. My "backpacking" setup consist of the 24-120/4, 20/2.8 AIS, Benro CF tripod and one polarizing filter. Total weight with everything else came out to be 32lb! =( It was the lightest I could get it. Oh well, enough with this. Here are the pictures.

All shot RAW, processed on LR4. CC are welcome.

Thanks!

Shaun

01 Tenaya Lake at early morning



02 Another view of Tenaya Lake



03 On top of Clouds Rest looking into the Valley at sunset



04 Clouds Rest peak to the left, Half Dome on the right during sunrise



05 On top of Clouds Rest looking back during sunrise



06 Tenaya Lake from the south side



07 Same Lake, different view



08 One of the unnamed lakes in the high country. Elevation is at 10,000ft+

Thank you for lugging your equipment up into the high country and sharing it with us. I would love to see more.

Great capture !

Hi Shaun,

Really wonderful pictures!

I live an hour and a half from Yosemite and get up there frequently. But I don't have any pictures that I like as much as yours!

Aside from your obvious photographic talents, some of these shots attest to the nice Dynamic Range (DR) of the D800.

I've never been on top of Clouds Rest. What a great view!

Best Regards,

RB

http://www.dpreview.com/members/2305099006/challenges
http://www.pbase.com/rbfresno/profile

WOW, beautiful shots. Nice to know the 24-120 f/4 can perform so well.

Did you have a guide or were there trails and cabins that you stayed in along the way? I think my wife and I would love a trip like this.

--
Allen
I yam what I yam and that's all that I am. Popeye

looks like you had a good time and some nice weather. Very nice job. You did the D800 proud.
--
http://www.pbase.com/dc9mm

Thank you everyone for the kind words. I have a lot more pictures that still requires PP.

I came from 2.5 years of shooting with the D700 in which I absolutely loved but the D800 is just in another league. The DR of this camera is just amazing. I could never achieve the level of details/colors in the highlight and shadows with my D700 without extra filters and/or image stacking. The amount of headroom in these RAW files are a blessing to work with.

As for diffraction, I'm sure it shows up in test labs but in my personal experience, I've shot a few images up to f/22 and the IQ is still incredible. I'm planning on having a few of these image printed as well.

I will definitely keep everyone posted once more images are done.

I almost forgot, I believe someone was asking about my trip? We did not have any tour guide. It was mine and my buddy first time backpacking up here. We did our research through online Yosemite forums and made phone calls for additional questions. We had a NatGeo map and compass. Our destination were Tenaya Lake, Clouds Rest, Gaylor Peak/Lakes and its surrounding unnamed lakes. Just about 26miles total hike. Let me know if anyone have any more questions.

Thanks again!

Shaun

ARB1 said:

Did you have a guide or were there trails and cabins that you stayed in along the way? I think my wife and I would love a trip like this.

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The Yosemite concessionaire operates 5 High Sierra Camps that provide tents, beds, showers and meals. Optionally you can ride their horses. The camps are on well-marked trails between 6 and 10 miles apart and the require climbs of up to 3200 feet. The highest camp, Vogelsang, is at 10,180' elevation. The High Sierra Camps are both expensive and popular - reservations for the short summer season are chosen from a lottery held in February.

• Sunrise camp (2009): http://pixseal.com/2009/2009yosemite/index-07.htm
• Glen Aulin camp (2004): http://pixseal.com/2004/2004yosemite/index.htm
• May Lake and Sunrise camps (2003): http://pixseal.com/2003/2003yosemite/index.htm
• Vogelsang and Merced Lake camps (2001, sorry - shot with film): http://pixseal.com/2001/yosemite2001/regionpics.html
• Sequoia N.P. also has a High Sierra Camp: http://pixseal.com/2002/sequoia2002/bearpaw.htm

--
-Dave
http://pixseal.com

I love the beautiful, and breathtaking photographs! Well done, and thank you so much for posting.

Is it my netbook monitor, but other people's looked OK. I'm bored at a baseball game. The colors seem very off to me. Saturation on the blue side, and the exposure does not look right.

Here's another unnamed lake from the hike to Clouds Rest

35mm f/18 1/4sec ISO50



And for the pixel peppers

I've been a long time backpacker but I've alway just taken my point and shoot. How did you ever get down to 35 lbs? Was someone else carrying the food!!!? There's lots of great trips out of the Bishop area if you haven't been there...check it out. Evolution Valley, Lake Sabrina, Bishop Pass, etc.

Good backpacking!

n/t

Breathtaking scenery and stunning photos except the 2nd last and 3rd last have a bit of a strange look to them, a slightly weird colour.

Other than that, they are still wonderful compositions and great scenic photos, well worth the lugging around of the huge weight!
--
Lance B
http://www.pbase.com/lance_b

shaunly said:

I came from 2.5 years of shooting with the D700 in which I absolutely loved but the D800 is just in another league.

Click to expand...

shaunly said:

The DR of this camera is just amazing

Click to expand...

Agree!

Beyond your obvious technical and artistic talents, one of the first things I thought when I saw your photos was, "Wow, the DR (Dynamic Range) is pretty amazing."

I don't have the D800, but I have noticed that I'm feeling less of a need to drag images through Photomatix to employ HDR or "pseudo"-HDR, with the D4 compared to the D3.

Looking forward to more great images from you!

Best Regards,

RB

http://www.dpreview.com/members/2305099006/challenges
http://www.pbase.com/rbfresno/profile

Just being honest, I am sorry for not being impressed with the pictures. I dont see the reason to log a d800 and 32lb in total for these quality pictures. Actually I dont see anything in these pictures that a d70 cant match or exceeds (yes, a d70).
Is it only me?

Thanks for being honest. I guess I wasn't clear, but 32lb was the total weight which included camera gears, shelter, clothes, food, water and all the other misc backpacking items.

As for the pictures, could you please provide examples of the D70 that shows the DR of this caliber without the need of various GND filters and/or stacking HDR technique. I don't consider myself a great photographer and so any info that would help me improve is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Best

Shaun

Also keep in mind that these pictures are low resolution and highly compressed for web viewing. I don't think people would appreciate it if I uploaded 100+mb 14-bit Tiff files.

I would love to repeat your hike, but would have a pretty difficult time at my age. As far as your pics go, I find them to be a little over saturated for my taste. I think this one would work best as a black and white IMHO. However I think it is the best pic of the bunch as is. I would probably like it a little better cropped down from the top Just above the distant hills to lessen the brightness.





Cropped version



I lessened the saturation and brightened up the hillside and sky a little followed with a little sharpening as the trees appear a little fuzzy on this one and personally like it better.





I will happily remove these if you disapprove. I am looking forward to more from your trip. Dave
--
Visit my gallery at http://www.poperotzy.smugmug.com

View of Yosemite Valley, Bridalveil fall 4 frame vertical pano taken from the tunnel parking lot.

David Nall said:

I would love to repeat your hike, but would have a pretty difficult time at my age. As far as your pics go, I find them to be a little over saturated for my taste. I think this one would work best as a black and white IMHO. However I think it is the best pic of the bunch as is. I would probably like it a little better cropped down from the top Just above the distant hills to lessen the brightness.
Cropped version

I lessened the saturation and brightened up the hillside and sky a little followed with a little sharpening as the trees appear a little fuzzy on this one and personally like it better.

I will happily remove these if you disapprove. I am looking forward to more from your trip. Dave

Click to expand...

Not a problem Dave, I don't mind. I actually still prefer the color version of the sunset valley. I love the late evening color the sun casted. As for the Tenaya lake, after looking it over, I agree that it is slightly underexpose but I don't prefer the over sharpen look.

Thanks for the effort.

Shaun

Here's another one =)
20/2.8 AIS f/16 1/50sec ISO200