Are there special rules in Ysemite for tripod photography?
I know that this was a topic of conversation one time. But, I'm not sure how that came out.
Are there special rules in Ysemite for tripod photography?
I know that this was a topic of conversation one time. But, I'm not sure how that came out.
I think OP is now there
I know OP fairly well as we met in person many times
OP has his reasons
Tin Can
Well, Yosemite is a pretty big place overall. You probably wouldn't be welcome driving the spike feet of a Ries tripod into the floor of the Ahwahnee Hotel, or brushing into someone climbing the cable stairway to the top of Half Dome with something like that. Given the fact that most places I go in the Park might involve encountering six people the entire first day, and then nobody else for another week or so, there seems to be plenty of tripod space. But even at a super-popular turnouts like Olmstead Point, one only has to walk only a few yards to have plenty of personal elbow room and relative solitude. The biggest problem with conspicuous big tripods or big cameras is that they can attract an annoying or distracting audience of their own in popular locations - you become the object of curiosity, and not the scenery. But with a bit of discretion, even that is easy to avoid. At least, it's never prevented me from getting the shot I wanted. But admittedly, I tend to instinctively gravitate away from "must see" locations.
...or one does strange and bizarre things like being an artist-in-residence in a National Park and have a kick with the line of people high along a trail, waiting for their turn to look through one's camera. From around the world, all ages, some never been this close to a film camera let alone get under a darkcloth and look at a 5x7's GG.
Zion...a quick exposure before letting the visitors look through the camera. Did not lose any over the ledge, I think.
"Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China
I've never done that kind of thing, but have often had people of all ages ask permission to look under the darkcloth. I accommodate them. Around here they tend to be very polite as stay at a respectful distance until the shot is obviously complete, before they approach. At overtly popular NP locations, that is often not the case, and I get genuinely worried that some Dennis the Menace type might be somewhere nearby aiming his slingshot right at my groundglass. And I have had redneck types either throw rocks along rural roads, or deliberately spin tires to throw gravel. Apparently they saw my California plates and had certain stereotypes, not realizing that I literally grew up with cowboys and Indians, and not with a surfboard on a street lined with palm trees.
We went and visited Yosemite in the mid May, just before Memorial Day, and had a wonderful time. Thanks for your inputs and suggestions! Stayed in Cabin at Curry Village for 3 nights and Yosemite Valley Lodge for another 3 nights. Hiked several trails, Mist, Vernal and Nevada, Panorama, Sentinel Dome and Yosemite Falls trails, about 10 miles a day. Also showed my view camera to 2 families when I took the photo below near Yosemite Low Fall. Kids and parents were amazed and surprised when they saw the image was upside down on ground glass.
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
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