Yosemite National Park is one of my favorite places. A remarkable and grand landscape of granite mountains, sheer valleys carved by glaciers, thunderous waterfalls plunging thousands of feet and several groves of majestic Sequoia trees. Everything about it seems bigger than life! It’s easy to see why it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Among the best places to gain panoramic views of the park are atop its granite domes. These domes, smoothed and rounded by the action of glaciers, protrude above the landscape to offer 360 degree views that are remarkable! Sentinel Dome is among these, situated near both Yosemite Valley and Glacier Point, it’s fairly easy to hike to. When I first started coming to Yosemite and (frequently) climbed this dome, there was a standing skeleton of an old Jeffrey pine which had lived at the harsh rocky summit for hundreds of years. Seeing it during each climb of the dome was sort of like visiting an old friend. The tree was a popular subject for Ansel Adams and scores of others photographers while it lived, but sadly it died during a drought in 1976. Even in death it made a dramatic subject for a photograph, as you can see from these images. It remained standing for almost 30 years before a storm toppled it in 2003.
So here’s a few photos you can’t take any more.
Nature has so many works of art that sometimes you need to stop and breath.
Like so many photographers of nature – you need a keen eye to capture that precious moment.
I once found that perfect scene and took a photo of each member of the family standing in for a “Portrait Picture”
Until I was asked by a group of maybe 20 people to move along !
I’d started a Kodak Moment where there was just a passing glance 20 minutes ago !