Yosemite Blog

Thomas Hawk takes some beautiful photos and I will admit I’m openly jealous. A few days ago Thomas and Robert Scoble (aka Scobleizer to all you geeks out there) were lucky enough to spend 2 days with Michael Adams, Ansel Adams son, and get a front row tour of some of Adams’ favorite locations. Very very cool. Scoble did a write up over at his blog and is planning to put the interview out on his fastcompany.tv program.

Here’s some of the qik video Robert shot.

Great work guys and really great photos (as always) Thomas. I can’t wait to see more.

By the way, in case you’re wondering who the pretty lady is in the photo I’m pretty sure that’s Thomas’ wife.

Photo by Thomas Hawk via Flickr. Video by Robert Scoble.

There’s a really cool interactive over at the New York Times that shows 9 different Ansel Adams photographs and where they were taken in relation on a map of the park. The interactive is part of an article the times ran a few days ago called “What Adams Saw Through His Lens“.

New York Times: Many people know these sights by name, but more know them by sight alone, as captured through the lens of the legendary American photographer Ansel Adams.

Adams first visited Yosemite in 1916 when he was 14 years old. On that trip, he hopped up on a tree stump to take a photo of Half Dome, then stumbled, headfirst, and accidentally pushed the shutter release. The upside-down image remained one of Adams’s favorites, he wrote in his autobiography.

The park itself also remained a favorite. Adams ended up living much of his life in Yosemite, and took many of his most well-known photographs there. Today, it is not unusual to encounter professional photographers and novices alike trying to retrace his path. They wait for the perfect minute of moonrise over Half Dome or a shadow on a fallen tree in Siesta Lake. They remember his photo of a juniper tree they saw in a museum, on a coffee cup or a monthly calendar. Ansel Adams’s work, in some ways, is the best unpaid advertising a national park could get.

Check out the interactive.
Read the rest of the article.

I think this is one of my all time favorite shots. Tenaya Canyon, Half Dome by Tony Immoos. What a great shot. Nice work Tony.

Photo by Tony Immoos via Flickr.

I can’t go anywhere lately without running into the rescue people. This one was fun to watch because they’re IN the river — the ice cold snow-melt Merced near the Happy Isles bridge. The training was done by Sierra Rescue for NPS, USFS, county agencies, and river guides.

Link to photos

Link to video

Photos and video by Brian Helfrich 

Now that the trees blocking the historic view are gone, the National Park Service in conjunction with the Yosemite Association are going to embark on a much needed makeover to revitalize Tunnel View, one of the most used spots in the park.

NPS: “The historic Tunnel View Overlook will receive a much-needed makeover thanks to the National Park Service Centennial Initiative and partnership with The Yosemite Fund.

Yosemite National Park Superintendent Mike Tollefson said today, “This is an incredible time for national parks in general and Yosemite in particular. This project, restoring one of the most iconic views in the nation, celebrates both the approaching 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service and the 20th Anniversary of The Yosemite Fund. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to undertake this rehabilitation for the benefit of all park visitors.”

“A signature view is about to get even better. The improvements will reestablish the promise of inspiration to those who visit Tunnel View,” said Bob Hansen, President of the nonprofit Yosemite Fund, whose donors are contributing nearly $1.8 million to the $3.3 million project. “It’s an honor to have this project selected as part of the Centennial Challenge and to partner with the National Park Service to improve this historic site.”

The Tunnel View Overlook Rehabilitation Project is designed to remedy safety issues, to correct drainage problems, to provide clear circulation patterns for pedestrians and vehicles, to enhance and maintain viewing opportunities for visitors, to provide accessibility to viewing areas for visitors with disabilities, to correct safety problems associated with the existing Inspiration Point trailhead, and to address sanitation issues while maintaining vistas and the naturalistic, rustic character and integrity of this historic site.

The Tunnel View Overlook is popular scenic viewpoint located adjacent to Wawona Road at the east portal of the Wawona Tunnel. This overlook affords expansive views of Yosemite Valley, El Capitan, Bridalveil Fall, and Half Dome. It was constructed in 1932 during an era that heralded a boom in design and development throughout the National Park Service, and helped initiate the National Park Service’s “rustic” design style. Wawona Tunnel and Tunnel View were determined to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 because of their exemplary park service rustic design. Very little physical change has occurred to Tunnel View’s physical features (including rockwork, circulation patterns, and configuration) since it was built in 1932. The site remains one of the most popular scenic overlooks in Yosemite National Park. Tour buses, tram tours, and single-family vehicles bring an estimated 5,000-7,000 people to the site per day during the height of the visitor season.

The National Park Centennial Initiative is a 10-year program to reinvigorate America’s national parks and prepare them for a second century. The initiative includes a focus on increased funding for park operations plus a President’s Challenge: up to $100 million a year in federal funds to match $100 million a year in philanthropic donations to the National Park Service.”