↑ For a few minutes at sunset every February at Yosemite, when the angle is just right, Horsetail Fall glows bright against the shadowy blue walls of the cliffside.

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How Nick Smith Captured Stunning Firefall Photos at Yosemite

↑ For a few minutes at sunset every February at Yosemite, when the angle is just right, Horsetail Fall glows bright against the shadowy blue walls of the cliffside.

Words and Images by Nick Smith | March 2025

Every visit to Yosemite since my first, I’ve looked up at the waterfalls and yearned to be closer. I’ve always had a drive to not only observe nature but to interact with it, to feel it. And, of course, to photograph it.

When I travel there with my camera, I want to be chilled to the bone by wind and water, to feel at home in the quiet ambience of an old-growth forest, to feel fear and peace and love. In other words, I want to meld with the environment.

It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve rappelled over the edge of El Capitan in Yosemite. Every time you cross the threshold from horizontal land to dangling thousands of feet in the air, there’s a bit of tension. Slowly though, when the rope stops stretching from your weight and you start easing your way downward, the tension melts away into excitement.

Light Show

Every year in February, something amazing happens at my favorite spot. Shortly before sunset, the light hits Horsetail Fall and the wall behind it, creating a fiery spectacle that looks like lava flowing. People visit Yosemite National Park from across the country to witness and photograph this natural light show, which is known as firefall.

Targeting my destination wasn’t easy. The spot where I figured the view would be best was roughly 90 feet below the rim and maybe 20 to 30 feet from the waterfall itself at a point in the rock where it steepened even more dramatically.

At 5:20 p.m., I began my descent and when I arrived at that destination, I wasn’t disappointed. A scene that I’ve envisioned since 2016, but was never sure I’d see, came to life before me in a magical display. Horsetail Fall was illuminated by the pink sunset, framed by the nose of El Capitan.

Capturing Firefall

After a couple of jubilant minutes enjoying the view, I tied a knot beneath my belay device so I could go hands free on the rope and pulled out my camera. Firefall lasts roughly 20 minutes on a good day and I was in place a bit early. I shot off a couple of test shots to set my exposure and frame my vision. I wanted to be prepared for the ultimate moments when the sun narrowed down on the falls.

Striated clouds on the horizon meant that the sunlight would disappear for a few minutes at a time and then reappear. At every opportunity, I hit the shutter to capture the little bit of gold that nature was sharing with the world. At 5:46 p.m., after a few minutes of darkness, the sun dipped below the lowest cloud into the open sky and the world turned blood orange.

I shot the below video of Horsetail Fall while on rappel from the top of El Capitan.

It was a visceral moment of connection with nature and exactly the kind of experience that I live for: the thousands of feet of exposure on the side of a rock wall, the spray from the waterfall, wind all around me, and the culmination of years of dreaming of vibrant colors on the waterfall. I couldn’t help but scream with joy.