This dramatic black-and-white infrared photograph captures the awe-inspiring grandeur of Cathedral Rocks rising above the Merced River in Yosemite National Park. Shot with an infrared-converted camera, the towering pines shimmer with an ethereal glow, while the river below reflects the light in soft, silvery patterns. The sky—streaked with wild, swirling cirrus clouds—adds a celestial energy that seems to radiate from the heart of the valley.
The use of infrared transforms this iconic landscape into something both familiar and otherworldly. The foliage blazes with an icy brilliance, while the granite cliffs loom dark and textural, etched with time. There’s a surreal silence to the scene, as if nature itself has been paused in a moment of timeless reverence. Cathedral Illumination is not just a photograph—it’s a visual hymn to the spirit of Yosemite, seen through a spectrum that reveals what the eye alone cannot.
