The main objective of shooting sunset at Olmsted Point in the Yosemite high country was to photograph the back side of Half Dome.  As luck would have it it kind of worked out and kind of didn't.  Long before the sun entered its golden hour time clouds descended on the monolith.  But we kept shooting away because the patterns of the clouds across the crest of Half Dome were endlessly fascinating.  By the time the sun painted the gray granite in the golden colors of sunset the clouds had descended so far that only the base of the dome was visible.

It wasn't until I returned from the workshop and started working with these images in Lightroom that I saw the potential of this particular image.  Even though I was using a telephoto zoom, the original image had a horizontal orientation and was much wider.  It was only when I started playing with the cropping that I saw the power in this vertical, very tight composition.

In the post processing I simulated the effect of a warming filter by adjusting the color temperature.  There was actually quite a bit of work to do to get all the elements balanced and working together.  The foreground proved to be a bit of a problem and the shadows on Half Dome had a blue cast that needed to be handled.

In the end what emerged was a photograph with very much the look and feel of an American romantic painting, perhaps even the Hudson River Group.  I love the power and drama in the final result.  The angles and geometric shapes all work together with the tonalities and colors to give the image depth and a strong upward momentum.  And the storm clouds add to the drama.  It turned out to be a great afternoon.