This is really a fantastic shot! The low and warm sunlight gives this shot a very mystic note. You could interpret tons of stuff into the motive starting with the dark sky, the rain in the back, the sunlight and the dark valley.

It's amazing that you achieved this amount of detail and sharpness with a lens this wide open. Usually, a f/1.4 shout is much more on the blurry side. Again, the 5D MII shows its full potential. (I'm still waiting for the D800) Great shot!

Thanks for the comment. A few clarifications. The shot is made with a 5D classic; I don't think 5D MKII would have done better in this case. This is a stitched panorama with the lens stopped down probably around F/5.6
It has been heavily cropped for the one-screen version so I recommend this wallpaper especially if you have two screens.

Feel free to check out more of my work from my flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/84512959@N00/

Consumate. .

Honestly. A cut above. .

Very impressive shot of Half Dome!!! Just as impressive is the fact that you were up there at sunrise, pretty amazing. That's one of the great hikes in Yosemite that not too many people do.

-Brent

A sunset shot to go with it :-) Other than that it couldn't get much better. Thanks again for posting such a great shot!!!

Brent

This is the first image I've just said, "Wow..." to in a long time. Breathtaking view, nice and sharp all around. Very nice work. Keep it up!

This seems like a valley carved by glaciers if i am not wrong. Pretty cool geology there. Good photo.

I don't normally comment, but this image is way too cool to pass up. Awesome work capturing a breathtaking moment. Beautiful!

i love the way the light just seems to paint everything

You were right. The dual monitor version looks even better! Thanks! Keep up the good work.

I'm sporting the dual-monitor version right now and it looks incredible. It's truly one of the most spectacular images I've ever seen posted here, so thank you for sharing it with us!

The only small quibble I have is the dust spots visible in the light strip of sky, between the furthest mountain line and the heavy clouds. They're in every frame used in the pano, so they become a repeating blemish on an otherwise perfect photograph.

Awesome!
it is amazing, I watched your other pictures at Flickr and they are all absolutely great
Wow!

Excellent shot of the mountains, lots of detail. The shadows from the clouds is really cool.

Looks a little washed out for me. I bumped up the contrast just a little and the left side of the image didnt look so gray.

I have to agree with everyone else this shot is just breathtaking! I've been to Yosemite twice and I've never seen the valley from this angle. I'm usually down in the valley watching people rock climb half dome (the peak in the foreground) and I'm always thinking to myself how crazy they are. They are often seen sleeping in small tents suspended in the air when they take more than one day to do their climb. The detail is so clear and it captures the size of this monumental place. I love it and that bit of sunlight is just icing on the cake. Thanks v1rtuOso keep up the good work! =)

a simply lovely image, love the vantage point. congratulations!

If anyone is interested I did a little re-edit as I found the blue cast and saturation to be a little much. Sorry, when the picture was uploaded it was resized to be smaller than I'd like. Let me know if you want me to send you a larger copy!

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo312/lucasmpinelli/edited.jpg

That's an interesting edit. However, I must emphasize that saturation and the color cast are both very faithful to the original and actual scene itself.

To add, since it was already such an "unbelievable" scene, I did not want to strain the viewer's suspension of disbelief even further. As such, I erred on the side of conservatism in post processing. Therefore, the final product remains very close to the original in contrast, colors, and the overall impression.

You gave us the reward without having to do the hike... how cool is that??? I have often wondered what the view was like from that vantage spot, but have never made the trek. The details you achieved in this composition are tremendous. Bravo! This is a fantastic image!

The blue cast is a natural element is caused by air particles and it is completely natural. You achieved a "you are there" feeling by not doing the over-saturating thing that so many photographers need to unlearn. You score extra points from me for your post processing. This image is on and will continue to reside on my desktop for quite some time. It's downright inspirational.

I Totally agree with Matt Granz. I have lived on the Hwy 120 entrance to Yosemite Nat'l Park for over 30 yrs and have always wondered what the view from The Clouds Rest would look like ... thank you so much for your effort to get there and for sharing this absolutely stunning photo. I loaded it on one of the computers at my office and very few people can walk past it without stopping to admire it.