Yosemite National Park, California. Having woken up early to catch the sunrise at Tunnel View, where we giggled through the cold while shooting pics, the brothers and I were on the way back to the lodge when we spotted an irresistible vista point somewhere in the valley. We excitedly got out and promptly clicked away, shivering. No wonder, the temp, we learned as we got back in the van a mere few minutes later, was zero snot-freezing degrees Celsius!El Capitan, purported to be the largest exposed granite monolith on earth, stood before us grand and imposing against a moderately blue sky (I used a polarizer, if you must know). What can I say, the heart soared but the bones creaked. The will to endure the cold was strong but alas, the fingers got numb. I crouched low, little worm that El Capitan made me feel, and took this with my humble G2. (For larger, view here.)
And speaking of capitans, the first Alatriste trailer is out! (Yeah, this is the sort of random freewheeling train of thought you'll have to suffer through from time to time, hee). El Capitan Alatriste, Spanish ex-soldier and hired mercenary circa 17th-century Spain, is Arturo Perez Reverte's (Club Dumas, The Fencing Master) most popular creation. Directed by Agustin Diaz Yanes, the movie is an almost entirely Spanish production. Almost, because the lead is not a Spanish actor, but Viggo Mortensen (why else would I be talking about this, ehehe). Viggo is fluent in Spanish (among several other languages), but he has had to learn to speak 17th-century Castilian for this movie. Swashbuckling epic, folks, my kind of movie, yayy!!!For more information on the Alatriste series, go here. The English translation of the first installment was recently released, check it out here.
5 comments:
ehehehehehehehe.
you crack me up so much... you would do anything to make a dignified post on Capitans, eh?
well, mission accomplished.
and the 2 capitans are indeed very beautiful, aren't they? *wink*
oh, yes, and of course it was the contessa speaking.... these capitans, and especially the 2d one maybe, had me all muddled.
Donna!
indeed, the valley floor has that effect on humans: the massive scale of rising granite monoliths just grabs you and point out man's place in nature. :-)
about the weather, i commend you for getting up in the cold early morning to catch the early light.
i hope you were rewarded with good photos and enjoyed your stay. now that you've seen yosemite in the winter, i highly recommend that you check it out in spring when you get the chance.
cheers,
-kyo-
el capitan is very captivating, you really captured it's beauty. I would love to come with you when you visit it next time :)
- lovely
p.s
nice blog
kyo, it was still late autumn, we still saw some colors. i have this funny image in my head of me going around the valley in winter - i'd be this huge bundle of garments (ginawin ako eh!), with camera equipment strangling me so badly it'd be a wonder if i ever get anything done, he he. i remember how slowly my fingers worked at zero degrees, colder pa kaya? bbrrrrr...
lovely, i'd be ready to leave tomorrow if i could ;-)
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