Update-March 29, 2017.

While we were taking this picture in February, 2016 a crew from the PBS series Nature was filming a future documentary about Yosemite.  They talked to several people during the hours we were all waiting for Horsetail Falls to put on it’s show.  The episode aired this past Thursday in the SF Bay area (KQED).  Here is a link to the show from WNET: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/yosemite-full-episode/15156/

It’s a great show.  The Horsetail falls portion starts at about minute 50.  Did I mention I was selected for a few seconds of tape?

I first saw a photograph of Horsetail falls at a local Art and Wine Festival taken by local photographer John Harrison. He was in the booth and I asked him a few questions about the photo.  At the end of our conversation I knew I had to capture this fall for my wall.  So six years ago I grabbed my camera, tripod, and polarizer and headed to Yosemite.  My wife and I figured the worst that could happen was we would get a weekend in our favorite place on the planet.  We were all set up with about 50 of our newest friends at one of the two spots in the park to see the spectacle (Rowell’s View).  We were watching the light fall across El Capitan, turning from silver, to gold, and anticipating it’s orange glow.  We are maybe a minute or two away and a cloud goes in front of the sun.  No colors, just shade on the side of the cliff.

The next year we drove into Yosemite amidst a snow storm. Yosemite was beautiful covered in white.  It got better as overnight it dropped another foot of the white stuff on the valley floor, on cars, all over the roads.  I took some amazing photographs that trip but no Horsetail Falls.  It can’t snow without clouds-the same ones that block out the sun for the firefall.

A couple more years along the way we have been in a drought. One of those years there was a waterfall and sun but it wasn’t really a spectacle, my photos look like a mistake on the negative.  Last year there wasn’t any water.  By the way the same light that makes the water turn gold and orange does wonderful things for Half Dome at the same time of the day.

The first year we went to capture Horsetail Falls we arrived at the location at about 3:30pm, roughly two hours before the waterfall turns orange. At our location we were with about 50 people.  This weekend we drove past the second spot to take the picture on the south side of the valley at 2pm and there were already around 100 people set up waiting for the 5:30pm photo shot.  By the time the waterfall turned gold there were probably about 300 people.  The sun was blocked by a cloud at the last minute and we were all disappointed once again.

When we went back on Saturday, February 20 I estimate there were about 600 people on the same spot. As you can see, Horsetail Falls has become an event.

Enough of the wait already. Now that we have a picture I can tell you there are not words to describe seeing the water turn from silver to seemingly molten gold to bright orange.  It’s hard to describe.  The best I can do is this photograph.