Just inside the south entrance to Yosemite National Park is the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. As we have seen before, photographing trees - especially massively large ones - can be quite challenging, but you just can't pass up an opportunity to shoot such incredibly impressive organisms.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 10mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye (borrowed), 1/40 sec at f/5.6. ISO 800. Raw processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Normally, I try to eliminate random other people from my photos, but in this case, it helps to serve as a point of reference to show just how huge these trees are.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 10mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye (borrowed), 1/20 sec at f/5.6. ISO 800. Raw processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

In both of the above shots, I used a friend's fisheye lens to help me get the entire tree in the shot - here in the second shot, Anya provided a lovely model to provide the point of reference. The natural distortion of the fisheye lens certainly creates a distinct view, and to some extent, it actually hides the immensity of the trees.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM AF at 10mm, 1/60 sec at f/5.6. ISO 800. Raw processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

We even got a shot with the two of us... and yes, if you're wondering - sequoias make me feel short.

- Bill

PS: As an additional trivia note, Sequoia is one of the shortest English words that contains all five vowels!