The evening before I was amazed by the spectacular sight of a sunset at Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park. I stayed out that night taking images of the stars and the landscape under a bright moon. In order to capture the Milky Way, I needed the moon to move below the horizon, and I knew that the best view would be the Milky Way stretched out above the Tunnel View vista toward the East. To capture this scene, I would need to get out before dawn, when the moon would be down and the brightest part of the Milky Way (the section toward the galaxy’s center) would be in the perfect location for the shot. I woke up early and took a few shots in the valley around Sentinel Bridge before driving up to the lookout at Tunnel View. The first few rays of light were coming up in the East, but higher up in the sky it was still dark. I tried to incorporate the landscape in the scene, but it was quite dark and I could not get much detail out of the terrain. Instead, I used the natural light of the rising sun to assist the camera. As the stars dissolved into the brightening sky and the vista became more illuminated by the sunlight, I kept the camera setup on a tripod with the same composition and took some brighter images that showed the land hidden below the sky. I used one of these, along with the earlier shot of the stars, to form the final image. It was quite enjoyable to watch the night turn to day at such an incredible vantage point. There were a few other photographers who I talked with while we were awaiting the sunrise. I don’t know how many places there are where you can meet multiple people in one location who all got up before dawn to stand out in the cold and wait for a sunrise. This was certainly the first place I’ve visited where this was the case, but it is no surprise based on the wonderful view.