Winter in Yosemite

Disclaimer: this trip happened at the beginning of 2015, more than two years ago. I somehow never wrote anything about it. As of now, I'm working on going back through old photos and piecing together the stories of the days that have left a lasting impression on me to share with you. This is what I remember about this one:

This was a trip that opened my eyes to the world of travel photography. Previously, I had really only brought my camera along as an afterthought - I mainly had used it to capture small moments and video clips during my visits to different places along the west coast. At the time I cared more about yoyoing than anything, and my camera was mainly my tool for creating videos of that and sharing them with that small community. Taking photos wasn't really something that I had considered taking seriously yet, though I still snapped them from time to time.

But Yosemite was a place that I had wanted to go for a while, and when a few of my friends decided to hop in the car and drive through the night on New Years Day, I immediately grabbed my T3i and knew that whatever I brought back would be a cut above anything I had shot before then. I had mainly just shot things from my everyday life until this trip - hiking near my hometown, friends playing with yoyos, my horribly overpriced latte, the occasional long exposure. Nothing special or particularly interesting. But Yosemite was incredible, I had never been, had no idea what to expect, and went into it with the plan to just hold my finger down on the shutter button constantly and hope for the best.

I wasn't disappointed. The park was completely encased in ice and snow, and we spent the next few days climbing frozen waterfalls and walking in the shadows of the incredible granite peaks that lined the valley. It was a haunting and beautiful scene wherever we went, and we nearly had the park to ourselves. Nobody goes camping in the middle of the winter unless they're trying to avoid the crowds as much as you are, so even though we weren't the only ones there, the park was much less busy than during the summer and we never had to deal with any crowds.

Unfortunately the places I wanted to go most - Glacier and Taft point - were closed due to the weather. The roads were sketchy enough at lower elevations, and we didn't want to risk hiking as we were completely unprepared for the conditions. Honestly when we left, we didn't do any research whatsoever, and so we walked into a situation completely blind. It's not something I would recommend, and not something I've done since. Being stuck in freezing weather at night is never a good time, especially when you don't know it's coming. Always make sure you have an idea of what you're heading towards if you can. You'll save yourself a lot of trouble once you're there, scrambling around trying to make the best of a shitty situation that you're completely unprepared for.

But obviously it wasn't all bad. I came back with some of the most beautiful images I had ever taken, and am still finding gems from the trip as I go through old photos. We stopped in the redwoods for the night on our way home, giving me another place to revisit later once I had fallen in love with how much it resembled a completely different planet. The west coast has so many beautiful places to see, and I couldn't be more thankful for growing up here.

So that's it. Say yes to random road trips. Just do a quick google search once you do to know if you need to bring an extra jacket or some wool socks. Be prepared for plans to change. And most of all, don't fall off a waterfall and crack your sternum because it will hurt every time you move for the next three months and remind you of how stupid you are sometimes.

🤘🏼