I'm back from Yosemite!

I won a copy of Artful Blogging from Joni of Yummers! I look forward to getting it in the mail. Thanks for picking me! Thanks to all of you for the warm wishes. I had a great vacation!

It was 101 degrees in Yosemite the first few days of my stay. I did a lot of hiking, biking, swimming, napping, and eating ice cream.

Yosemite has great free transportation set up for the valley. They have hybrid shuttle buses that run until 10pm at night. I rode them so frequently that I could easily create a series with all my photos.


The family waiting for the bus from left to right: Dan, Jenna, Dad, and Mom.


My main photographic goal I made for myself this trip was to avoid cliche travel photos. I have gone to Yosemite so frequently that I did not feel the need to capture the regular postcard photos.

We celebrated my mom's birthday by going to the Ahwahnee Hotel for dinner and relaxing by the Merced river and the Yosemite Lodge pool. My mom loves to garden and hates snails, so I bought her these from etsy. I love supporting other artists!

During one of our visits to the Merced River, my beautiful camera backpack slid down a rock (maybe a foot) and I found a filter of mine broken later that day. Filters are placed on the lens to protect it from dust, scratches, and UV rays. It also saves your lens from breaking. Luckily it will only cost $50 to replace instead of purchasing a replacement lens at $300.


Dan and I made a pilgrimage that every photographer dreams of making. We drove a little over two hours to see Tenaya Lake, Tioga Lake, Mono Lake, and Bodie. The two latter are quite a bit outside of Yosemite National Park. Tenaya Lake is famous because Ansel Adams photographed it in 1947. You can see his photo here. I first saw this photo in my grandfather's "office" while looking at some of the amazing photographs my grandparents have created over the years. They have such inspiring photos in that room. I took several photos with intentions of creating a panoramic later on. Can you see the changes that the rock face has made over the 50 years?


I find it really important to have a foreground, a middle ground, and a back ground in my photos. It really adds depth to the photo and enhances it greatly. Both photos, above and below, have these qualities. When taking photos, notice things that might make a photo better if included (like rocks or trees if creating landscapes).


I have a lot of other lake photos that I plan to upload to flickr in the next few days. If there is one thing I've learned with taking so many photos, it is to choose a few favorites so others won't be inundated with a ton of digital photos. I brought my 4GB memory card and managed to take over 950 digital photos. That's not counting my 4 rolls of film!

Mono lake was completely overcast so we enjoyed the visitors center. I saw some amazing photos that I have seen in textbooks. It was so inspiring to be view such stunning art.

Bodie was about 30 minutes from Mono lake . It was a gold mining town that has become a ghost town. I had no idea it was a State park or that it was as large as it was. Bodie has so much personality!



I have wanted to photograph this building for well over two years. On the drive home I was able to capture it in a drive by shooting. ;) The best way to do this is to have a fast shutter speed (1/1000th of second or greater and lots of light.


The drive home was great since Dan drove the whole way! When we reached Manteca I got a phone call from Jenna with bad news that my father had a bicycle accident. He will be alright, but he's chipped a tooth and bruised pretty badly. I'm so thankful that nothing was broken and that he will heal in time. It was a bit of a scare for all of us. Jenna, Mom, and Dad stayed an extra night at Curry village to let my Dad heal. He is in great spirits and should be home later tomorrow.