Kings Canyon National Park thumbnails only

A group of three enormous Giant Sequoias are situated near this very large rock in Grant Grove, Kings Canyon National Park. I framed this picture so that most of the snow on the rock would not intersect the bottom border and so that green branches would frame the sides.

Majestic Giant Sequoias stand in Grant Grove, Kings Canyon National Park.
 
Need lodging convenient to Grant Grove? Try the John Muir lodge. Though the rooms are only OK, the lodge's lobby is very nice.

Composing with huge trees is ever the challenge at Kings Canyon National Park. In this example, I framed an entire Giant Sequoia between the trunks for closer-positioned sequoias. I also positioned the camera so that the sun is partially blocked by one of the sequoias - resulting in an added sparkle to the frame.

This pair of Giant Sequoias are located by the Grant Grove parking lot. Most Giant Sequoia trees have no branches until far up the trunk. This leaves primarily giant branchless trunks at level framing heights.

The big trees are the big attraction to Kings Canyon National Park, but don't miss Kings Canyon. A long, narrow, winding road leads to the bottom of the canyon with great views the entire way. The weather was poor during my time here, but I wanted you to know about the opportunities down here.

Finding pleasing compositions of entire Giant Sequoia trees is challenging. Grabbing an ultra-wide angle lens and moving in is relatively easy, but the resulting perspective distortion produces a giant base of the trunk with tiny branches at the top. Here I was able to use a fallen sequoia for my base and, with enough clearing to back up, could fit the entire trees into a 24mm frame.

Sun hits the back edge of a Giant Sequoia tree on this snowy morning in Kings Canyon National Park.

Snow is not what most of us would expect to be dealing with on May 29th in the northern hemisphere, but high in the Eastern Sierras, anything goes.
 
Fortunately, I had done my homework. I had complete waterproof winter outerwear along - and an umbrella to shoot under. My vehicle was a 4x4 SUV - and still permitted into the park.
 
The unprepared were walking around in sandals, shorts and t-shirts on this 28 degree F morning. And freezing.
 
So, to borrow a good motto from the Boy Scouts, "Be prepared!"
 
In the end, I was happy with the snow as it added a new dimension to my photos.

Snow dusts the bottom of these massive Giant Sequoia Tree trunk bases in Grant Grove, Kings Canyon National Park.

Always look at the backlit option - especially when shooting snow. In this case, the sun was rapidly melting the snow clinging to the trees.

My favorite shots of the Giant Sequoia trees in Kings Canyon National Park usually involved layers of trunks and greens - or greens and whites as was the case after the snow.

As you enter the foothills of Kings Canyon National Park (heading toward Fresno), you find a small, rounded hill with rounded trees on top. On this day, the grass was golden, the tree were dark green and the white clouds on the blue sky somewhat mirrored the shapes on the ground.