Ansel Adams Photo Hunt - Half Dome from Glacier Point.

Interesting Places I've Photographed

Half Dome 

From 

Glacier Point

Yosemite National Park, CA

Topic: Ansel Adams Photo Hunt

Quick Description: 

Both Ansel Adams and I took a picture of Half Dome from Glacier Point.

Long Description:

Some things don't seem to change very quickly. Half Dome from Glacier Point looks exactly the same today as it did when Ansel Adams took this famous black and white photograph in 1947.

Other thing change drastically. Today you could drive to Glacier Point in relative comfort over a paved road and snap an instant full color photo using your SLR digital camera or your even your cell phone camera. In 1947, it would have been an arduous trip to over more primitive roads to reach the same spot, and you would need to develop and print a black and white image from a silver-gelatin negative.

Half Dome is at the eastern end of Yosemite National Park. This huge granite monolith reaches an elevation of 8,842 feet and rises 4,737 feet above the valley floor. It is made up from a type of granite called plutonic rock. The missing half is presumed to have fallen off when the Ice Age glaciers passed through. Some, however, contend that the appearance that half a mountain peak is missing is largely an illusion. Some of the peak was lost to glaciers but the mountain retained much of its original pre-glacier form.

In season, May to November, you can hike the 17 miles to Half Dome and climb the nearly one mile to the summit. Most however will be content to enjoy the iconic view from the coordinates at Glacier Point. While Glacier Point is only about 2 miles from Yosemite Village, its a thirty mile drive along steep curvy roads to reach this very popular viewpoint. Getting there and back easily takes up half a day.