Libby Warne's blog

John Muir gave Yosemite the name “valley of light” for good reason, and it was here that Ansell Adam’s developed the zone system for photography. A fitting place for me to take my first baby steps to understanding the hand me down Nikon D70 that I inherited from Dan when he bought his newest toy.

In the Grayline bus on the way to Yosemite, I learned that Yosemite National Park was the first area in the United States designated as protected National Park, and it has more recently been World Heritage listed. It is located on the Western slopes of the Nevada mountains, California, where the famous Sequoia trees stretch out their 2000 year old branches, and home to the half dome famous for the Sierra Game logo, as well as beautiful cliffs, waterfalls, and tranquil meadows.

We saw an advertisement for a 3 day photo workshop in October at Tenaya Lodge. The Ansell Adam’s Gallery also has half day photo tours, and was running a 3 day workshop in October. As we were visiting in September, and would miss these dates, we contacted one of the local photographers, Nancy Robbins, to arrange an individual photo tour. Nancy lives locally, and is absolutely passionate about photography. She was thus able to take us to the locations where light would be hitting the water or rocks at just the right moment for those perfect shots.

The best teachers stand alongside and encourage you to experiment, then give feedback which gently guides you to discovering new concepts for yourself. Nancy was able to do this well for both myself and Dan – and we are both at very different levels. I went along expecting the tour to be mainly directed at Dan, and just glean a few pointers myself. I was happily surprised that in the day we were out I was able to learn the basics of aperture, shutter speed and ISO and see how adjusting these effects the photo. I also learned more about ways of framing the photo to guide the eye to the subject of interest.

Nancy was entertaining, engaging, flexible, and fun to be around, as well as a wealth of knowledge about photographic techniques. If you are considering a trip to Yosemite, and thinking of ideas for a tour, a photo tour is a great way to see the sights. I think even if I had a basic point and shoot camera, Nancy would still have been able to help me learn more about how to get the best out of my camera. Dan and I were very impressed and would highly recommend contacting Nancy if you are thinking about a trip to Yosemite!

Here’s some of my favourite photos from the weekend — the thumbnails have been cropped, but if you click on a photo you will see the full picture in a new screen. I hope you enjoy my holiday snaps!!