We are three weeks from the official start of spring in the northern hemisphere, and, depending upon where you live, the signs are either just starting or well on their way.  Photographically speaking, one of the great pilgrimage sites to mark this special time is the Yosemite Valley and more specifically the horsetail falls.  Every February is marked by these falls becoming lit with fire by the setting sun, and crowds of photographers flock to the valley to witness and record the event. 

There are many wonderful examples of photographs of this event, but let me suggest Andrew Kee’s website, which not only has a wonderful picture taken by Andrew, but also provides best times and dates for devotees.  So next year you can check this site and will not have the excuse of “I didn’t know when.”

When is clear. The astronomical alignment peaked this year on February 20 and 21.  This is, of course, one week after St. Valentine’s Day, which was created by the early Christian church to supersede the great Roman fertility holiday, the Wolf holiday, known as the Festival of the Lupercal+.  It all seems fitting, as no place has engendered more beauty photographs than the Yosemite Valley.

+Some may recall Mark Antony’s eulogy to Julius Caesar in Shakespeare’s play by that name:

“You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?“