Half Dome from the Central Valley
Wednesday on the Yosemite Blog they had a post about seeing Half Dome from Patterson CA in the Central Valley. The post included this picture from the Patterson Irrigator web site. It was taken from Patterson and Half Dome appears to be in the middle of the picture.
I was very skeptical as were a few other readers. Personally I though it was an optical illusion made by the light and shadows on a mountain that wasn’t Half Dome. I also thought that it may be a hoax.
Now let’s jump forward to today, where a picture pops up in my contacts on Flickr and what do you know, it’s Half Dome taken from Patterson.
This was taken by Tony Immoos. After reading the same article on the Yosemite Blog, Tony decided to do some investigating. And he found out that yes, you can see Half Dome from the Central Valley. You can read Tony’s full explanation, along with instructions on how to get to this place, on his Flickr photostream by clicking the picture above.
Wow, that’s really hard to believe. I wonder if there’s been some Photoshopping going on? I have seen a photo showing Half Dome taken years ago from either Mt. Diablo or Mt. Hamilton (can’t remember which, now) – in the Bay area. But those are peaks over 3000-feet high. I really have to wonder if this is the real deal. I will admit that looking at a map it looks like you theoretically could line up this shot – it just looks too perfect, too clear and Half Dome looks awfully big compared to what it scales down to on the map. Color me skeptical.
I’m not really skeptical anymore, I think it’s real. There are a number of people commenting on the Yosemite Blog and on Flickr that they have seen this.
If you compare the two photos, (Remember, they were taken by different people on different days.) you can see that Half Dome sits in the same place, in both images, as compared to the peaks in the background.
Also, if you go into Google Earth, search for Hall Rd, Denair CA (Where he took this image) and then track east-north-east you see that there is a gap through the lower hills that leads you right to Half Dome. Half Dome is 8836 feet in elevation. None of the hills in front of it are that high. The highest on that line are 5000 feet.
The size of Half Dome in the first image made me very skeptical at first. Like Karl, I felt Half Dome looked way to big. And in Tony’s image it seems even bigger. I’ve thought about it though and I think it looks so big because the face of Half Dome is the dominate feature in the landscape, your eye is immediately drawn to it. Then you add in atmospheric conditions possibly distorting it’s size and the fact that he used a 500mm lens from 65 miles away. The long lens length compresses the depth of field in the image making it appear that Half Dome is sitting right behind the foothills. Those lower foothills make Half Dome appear much bigger. (I’ve used this technique when shooting peaks. By placing small trees at the bottom of the composition it makes the peak seem even larger in the photo.)
There are a couple other folks on Flikr who say they are heading out to take the picture, so we’ll see what they find.
It won’t be tomorrow, but I will definitely head out to see if I can find this place. Tony’s shot is so clear considering the distance. Imagine, being able to see such a prominent feature of Yosemite from the Central Valley!
I have been to Patterson many times as a child, since I had relatives there but can’t remember ever seeing anything like this but then as a child you don’t pay attention to the scenery. hmmmmmmm not sure.
This is pretty interesting. I’m heading up to the bay area in March, I may have to make a slight detour =)
I looked at google’s street view for Hall Road, and looking east you only see the farm crops. So I imagine this view is only good in winter, or if you have a truck with a boom on it =)
That is really amazing! You should be able to see it clearly with 7×50 binoculars. I’ll pass it on to my nephew in Santa Cruz.
I am really surprised at this. Not the picture, but that people are surprised that half dome is so clear from the central valley. I grew up in Turlock, and we saw this view quite often. I used to go to my grandparents farm in Denair and head up to the second story window to look at Yosemite. No big deal to me. My grandfather used to tell me about how the Sierra Nevada Mountains were visable every day even in the summer back in the early 1900′s. That was back when elk roamed free in the central valley.
On the same subject, if you have ever been to Mt. Hamilton (near San Jose)observatory, they have an amazing photo of the entire Sierra Nevada mountains on an extremely clear day.
Also, another old timer from Reno would tell me about hiking to the top of Mt. Rose near Reno, and see the dome on the state capital in Sacramento. Is this still possible?
I am going to add my “wows!!” to this. It is an astounding and beautiful site indeed. What majesty and how evident it truly is if we but look for it. Thanks again, Steve. Lisa
Tony Immoos has posted some more images of Half Dome from the Central Valley on his Flickr Photostream.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trimmoos/
Maybe these will make believers out of the non-believers.
I live in Modesto, Ca and travel in the Central Valley daily. This is real and you do have to be in the right place at the right time and know where to look. The weather plays a big part in being able to see this view. It is obscured by clouds or haze most of the time. It is only a few days in a year that conditions are right to see it this clearly.