My Rant About Some Guys Yosemite Rant

I just came across some guys "Yosemite Rant" as I was looking for a particular Ansel Adams picture and felt compelled to write a response to his rant and some of the ensuing comments.

In his rant he says, "Have you been to Yosemite?...Yosemite hands you its photographic beauty on a silver platter. [Ansel] Adams' images are right there for the taking...his images of Yosemite are pretty standard fare."

His original post was in 2006 and the last comment was in 2007 so if my comment never gets around to being moderated here it is:

"Have you been to Yosemite?"
Why yes! I have been going there since I was a little kid and stood in awe of Yosemite falls framed by the apparition of a white Christmas tree made of ice on a cold winter morning. I go at least a couple times a year to either backpack in the back country, drive over Tioga on the way to Mammoth or give a friend a quick tour of the valley.

I have been a somewhat successful photographer since high school and always try to capture some essence of Yosemite in a picture every time I go. Have I ever felt like, "Yosemite hands you its photographic beauty on a silver platter."??? Maybe, possibly, once...but I had to plan a return trip through the park at just the right time of day after missing the right light the first time through, hike a ways off the beaten path and scout out a suitable location to get the clear view of Half Dome that I was trying to capture. Okay it wasn't really all that hard and yes I did feel like that particular shot was handed to me on a silver platter. But I feel like I trekked countless miles of Yosemite wilderness and waited twenty years of visiting, searching, trying and hoping for that "silver platter" to be served! And while I like my "silver platter" shot and many people admire it, I don't consider my shot to be any sort of Ansel Adams...but then I don't share your opinion that, "his images of Yosemite are pretty standard fare." And not to be rude, but I feel the three shots you have posted here are (standard fare).

Yosemite may offer it's beautiful treasures on a silver platter to those who visit the park and stand there admiring the awesome sights with their own eyes, but to capture something truly amazing about Yosemite in a picture takes more than standing there dumbfounded by something so beautiful, pointing an expensive toy at it and snapping a picture. Unless of course you are an "artist" or have some sort of "individual vision".

But then again, what do I know? After all, I actually think Ansel Adams pictures are amazing...and every time I visit Yosemite I feel like "I have [never] seen this all before" :-)

I should disclose that I am both a Yosemite fan and an Ansel Adams fan.


...should I title this - Yosemite On A Silver Platter?