Friday, April 17, 2015

TGIF

Ah, well, Happy Friday!  It has been a busy week full of good friends and gorgeous vistas.  We were in Yosemite National Park with friends Bob Adler and Ted Grant.  It was primarily a photographic expedition (or so we like to say) and Bob was the right guy to have along -- he knows Yosemite very well and has his favorite spots to shoot photos at the perfect time of day.  It will take me weeks to process everything and select the best.  For now, here are a couple of unedited shots (click to embiggen):
Three Musketeers, Ted, Steve, Bob
Half Dome nearing sunset
It was such a pleasure to spend time with these fellows. Wonderful artists and delightful human beings. It has been a few years since I've been to the park, and it was Ted's first visit (he is Canadian). The majesty of the place never fails to enthrall.

125 years ago this year, an act of Congress made this park official.  Sometimes, yes, Congress has done good and right things.

Summer is not the time to visit, unless you like very large crowds of people.  I've been in spring, winter and fall.  In winter, when the snow falls and covers the cliffs and the valley and all is hushed, one can feel completely alone.  I like that feeling.

This trip we were treated to the Dogwood trees in bloom.  Hundreds of them.  White, pink and even yellow blooms.  One of our goals was to make pictures of these lovely trees at the height of their beauty, and I hope that between the four of us we managed something.

I've been completely out of the loop when it comes to reading the news or knowing what anybody is up to.  No Facebook, no internet.  Rome may  have burned, I don't know.

Watering the garden early this morning while drinking my coffee, I thought perhaps I could stay in this bubble of here and now right in front of me.  Ted heads back to Canada tomorrow, and Bob has moved on to Lake Tahoe for more picture making.  The husband and I are glad to be home.  Our faithful house and dog sitter has ensured that all is as we left it.

It's been a good week.  I hope it was for you as well.

“Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space.”  -- Ansel Adams

7 comments:

  1. One of the most beautiful places on earth. How wonderful to spend a few days in Yosemite with other photographers to celebrate that stunning beauty. Looking forward to more photos!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. working on the images! Enjoying some of what I captured.

      Delete
  2. Beautiful. I have never been there but have seen a ton of photos, which is not the same thing. Mostly the not having been is due to summer being about the only time we could arrange to be there. Driving north one year I had hoped to get there but we chose the east side of the Sierras and the roads across were still blocked by snow. Through Ansel Adams, I have appreciated the region. I hope we continue to have those in power who value such places for the ordinary folks to visit and absorb nature.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You might want to make a special effort to go. It's not to be forgotten. Like you say, not in the summer. Being in that valley with granite cliff and rock faces 3,500 feet high is spectacular.

      Delete
  3. Oh, how wonderful! Look forward to more photos.

    Kings Canyon, a little south, is less crowded in summer, and also gorgeous; but the iconic images are from Yosemite.

    I remember one road trip with friends in summer, where we ended up in Yosemite and the only campsites available (reservations? what are those?) were waaayyy uphill and off the beaten track, and we almost froze to death and starved because we did not really have camping gear or food or skills. So we made a community decision at 5 a.m. that we had to get the hell out and find civilization. We were teenagers, so that tells you it was a while ago...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was gorgeous.

      I think my camera was one of those little stupid cheap ones, 110's, probably kodak. I remember photos from that trip, probably have them someplace, but don't know that I took any in the park because we arrived at dusk and fled at dawn.

      Delete
  4. a vast edifice, a cathedral of stone.....a place of worship.
    Rain Trueax, I hope you can one day be there....

    ReplyDelete

Short But Sweet

I took a very short getaway with my daughter and grandkids.  We flew to our old stomping grounds in Santa Cruz, CA.  It was supposed to be t...