Fujifilm GFX100 Focus Stacking in Tuolumne Grove, Yosemite
Related: Eastern Sierra, focus stacking, Fujifilm, Fujifilm GFX100, Fujifilm medium format, Fujifilm mirrorless, medium format, peak bagging, Sequoiadendron sempervirens, Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite
Tip on visiting any of the groves of Sequoiadendron giganteum in Yosemite: arrive at or before dawn for a cathedral-like experience among trees up to 3500 years old that grow very tall and stay very thick/wide to great height, unlike the coastal redwood Sequoiadendron sempervirens, which tapers-off much more quickly.
Wikipedia: Sequoiadendron giganteum and Wikipedia: Sequoiadendron sempervirens
I arrived later than that on my way home, but I had 20 minutes or so for the experience before the first couple followed on in... after that it’s a babble of human voices which hugely alter the experience. If you’ve been in a cathedral when it’s quiet versus noisy talkative people... same thing.
Human-scale perspective
I wanted to provide some sense of the size of these magnificent trees, a goal best achieved with human perspective, so I shot a selfie of this fallen giant which is huge but far from the largest specimen, with a feeling straight out of the time of the dinosaurs.
A living tree would have been interesting too, but there is a prohibition on treading the ground under the living specimens of the massive and lofty Sequoiadendron giganteum, lest the soil be impacted and cause a deterioration in the health of the trees.
As it turns out, this image gives a better sense of the sheer scale of these trees because the living/standing trees are so tall that a sense of the size is lost (and the camera would have to be tilted excessively and a much shorter focal length used). So in the end I think this image is more demonstrative of the dimensions.
Full resolution image in Fujifilm GF 45mm f/2.8 Focus Stacking Examples.
Fujifilm GFX100 + Fujifilm GF 45mm f/2.8 R WR @ 37mm equiv (45mm)
ENV: Tuolumne Grove, Yosemite, altitude 5800 ft / 1768 m, 70°F / 21°C
RAW: LACA corrected, distortion corrected, vignetting corrected
[low-res image for bot]
Below, the hole cut through this dead Sequoiadendron giganteum is easily large enough for my Mercedes Sprinter to drive through—height and width. With no sense of scale, the massive size of this tree is hard to appreciate. I’d love to park my Sprinter in there and re-make the image but that’s impossible (the tunnel was originally cut for vehicles!).
Full resolution image in Fujifilm GF 23mm f/4 Focus Stacking Examples.
A Mercedes Sprinter could easily drive through the tunnel.
Fujifilm GFX100 + Fujifilm GF 23mm f/4 R LM WR @ 19mm equiv (23mm)
ENV: Yosemite Tuolumne Grove, altitude 5800 ft / 1768 m, 70°F / 21°C
RAW: LACA corrected, distortion corrected, vignetting corrected, USM {8,50,0}, diffraction mitigating sharpening
[low-res image for bot]
