Yosemite After Halloween - a photo on Flickriver

            A "spooky" tree along the Merced River in early November.  It might not be able to hang onto that bank more than another spring or two.

There were controlled burns in the Valley, as well as some campfires and morning ground fog, so the air often picked up a little sunlight, rendering a painting-like quality to many of the scenes.  

I recently upgraded my Adobe Lightroom to version 6 to get access to multi-image panoramas.. The upgrade isn't widely publicized, but if you contact Adobe they'll direct you to a link where you can buy it.  If I had upgraded to Lightroom CC I would have also gotten a "dehaze" filter.  

With wildfires increasing in number and severity as the planet warms, and with air quality declining globally as the united States now receiving as much as 30% of its smog from Asia, and with domestic air quality declining further as politicians undermine domestic pollution standards, I may need the dehaze filter to simulate healthier conditions.  But for the moment I choose to embrace conditions as they are, embracing what was there.  If the light isn't good, I might not take a shot.  But nature and our natural lands are spectacular even with some unsightly haze, and if air quality is declining, people deserve to see and know it.  And while interesting light often produces great photos, slightly particle-laden air can better reveal light rays from a rising sun or moon.

None of this is to say that air pollution is good... it's one of the leading causes of death in the world.  But purely from an aesthetic standpoint, haze doesn't ruin images.  The existence of a dehaze filter doesn't mean that you have to use it.  Whether produced by a desert dust storm or smokestack or tailpipe, look for atmospheric effects and use them to your advantage.

Taken on: November 2, 2017

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Camera: Canon EOS 6D, f/8.0, 1/40 sec, 61mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 6D
Lens:	EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.025 sec (1/40)
Focal Length:	61mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	-1/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto bracket
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.0 (Windows)
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