Travel Tips

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Boulders Atop Sentinal Dome

I love experimenting in black and white. Some pictures look great in color and some need to be in black and white. This is one of the latter. As a color picture, this shot was pretty bland but when I turned it black and white, it came alive. The Seirra Nevada crest in the background, lichen covered rocks in the foreground, and the mingling shadows all help create and otherworldly effect. This was taken on the slope of Sentinal Dome by laying down on the ground and clicking away!

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Rushing Stream

Hiking in Yosemite can bring a surprise around every turn. I tried to return from a hike to the top of Nevada Falls once by way of the John Muir Trail only to find it was closed due to rockslide danger. All was not lost though. A creek filled with snowmelt was working it's way down the rock slopes of the valley's cliffs. The creek took over it's area of the trail but something about it made for a magical picture. This is one of those pictures that you just have to be in the right place at the right time. Most people would just walk on by, but I saw a photo waiting to happen!

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Liberty Cap and Nevada Falls

This is a very famous picture. I'm sure you can find a postcard of it in all the gift shops in Yosemite, but it's about the only way to get a full close up picture of Nevada Falls and her towering guardian, Liberty Cap. This picture along with the one of Vernal Falls in the Must See Activities section were taken from the trail leading to and from Clark Point. This trail isn't as heavily travelled as the Mist Trail or the John Muir trail (which it passes between) but it offers in my opinion the best view of both of these falls!

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Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias

A hike through the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias is one of the best hikes you can take in Yosemite! The lower grove is easily accessed as it starts right at the parking lot. Access to the upper grove requires one to hike a bit uphill but that upper grove offer so much more! Solitude can be found easily. The trails are more narrow and cut in and amount the sequoias whereas in the lower grove the trails seem to stay well away from the sequoias. These trees truly cannot be described. They must be seen! Place something or someone next to a sequoia when you snap the picture to get a sense of scale. I have one picture with my backpack and one picture with a group of people in a sequoia grove. Maybe one day I will post those pictures here. Otherwise, it is very hard to convince someone how big these trees really are.

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Tenaya Lake at Sunset

Welcome to beautiful Tenaya Lake along the Tioga Road. This picture is a good example of how you can be at the right place at the right time and still have it be the wrong time. I wish the lake would have been calm to relect the bordering mountains better. I do still love this picture. I love the sunsetting on the moutains. I love how the mountains rise up literally out of the lake. And I love how the lake is still enough to at least give a reflection! I did get there at the right time to capture the rays of light from the sunset and also to avoid any headlights from the Tioga Road which winds along the bottom of the mountain on the left.

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Yosemite Falls

The difference in brightness between the shade where I'm standing and the sunlight shining directly on the Upper Yosemite Falls here makes for very bad contrast, but at least the picture gets it's point across. This is one of the few views that shows all of Yosemite falls, The Upper falls, the middle cascades, and the lower falls. This picture shows exactly why this waterfall is the highest in North America and one of the five highest in the world stretching 2,425 feet from top to bottom! Almost 1,000 feet taller than anything man has been able to build!

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Autumn Storm

Storms in Yosemite can make for amazingly gorgeous pictures! Once a storm clears clouds hug and drift along the valley walls sometimes for the rest of the day! This picture taken in autumn of last year after a rainstorm shows the fall colors of the meadow and trees against the pale rockface of the cliff which has it's own hovering cloud. I loved days when it snowed or rained because it meant that gorgeous scenes were going to be played out by the clouds. All you had to do was stand still for 5 minutes and the picture would be totally different! I have 8 pictures from Tunnel View taken on a day like this all taken within a half hour of each other, but each picture is different because of the clouds hugging the cliffs and trees in the valley.

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Lembert Dome

Lembert Dome is located along Tioga Road and is a popular destination during the summer. It rises to a height above 9,000 feet thus making it difficult to climb but the views it offers make it worth it! From almost every angle it looks inaccessable but two trails manage to work their way up, a rugged one, which I personally like, and an easier one. But whatever you do, don't miss this hike! Unless of course you're afraid of heights, then you're excused.