“There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias and redwoods…and our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their children’s children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred.”
YOSEMITE, CA
I remember the very first time I saw Yosemite. I mean, how could one forget right? I must’ve been about 8 years old. It was the first year my family had moved to the United States from the interior de São Paulo- which simply means we are not from the capital city but more so from the rural areas of the state. In Brazil you’d see lots of nature, I mean, it is a tropical country after all, but we had never seen anything like the giant sequoias, the huge redwoods that would require at least five of us to wrap around its trunk, the mountain ranges, and the beautiful Yosemite valley. Like any other person- we were in extreme awe; confused about the park itself. “Drive inside a tree?! How could that be possible?”, I used to think to myself. Little did I know anything about nature back then and it’s beautiful wonders.
Thinking back to my childhood, it would be my father driving, and my mother taking not hundreds but thousands of pictures from the passenger seat. “Celso, stop— STOP! Look at this, I need to take a photo! It’s so beautiful, oh God how’ve you made this world tão lindo.” In my teens, the same thing. Our trips wouldn’t stop. Dad would be driving, mom would be capturing, and my little brother and I would be amazed in the backseat. Annoyed a little bit because we’d stop the car every five minutes, but nonetheless thankful for all the places we have gone. I’m sure it’s my mom’s passion for photography that has influenced and developed my own love for the art.
Today, I find myself in the driver seat. I’ve honestly lost count of how many times I’ve visited the park. Mom and dad always loved Yosemite, but never had the best health to hike all the trails or the intention of sleeping in the park. So as I grew up, I began to go with friends with the mission of hiking 10+ miles to explore and get lost inside Yosemite. I’ve taken different groups of friends, different family members visiting from Brazil that would witness the park for the first time, like myself but years ago. It’s a feeling that never gets old. Leave the Bay Area at 3:00 in the morning only to arrive before sunrise. Book a cabin to spend Christmas in the snowy park. See Yosemite full of flowers only to come back six months later and witness all the same trees naked in autumn.
Yosemite is now a part of me— Literally. I carry it in my arms. Because if there is one place on Earth that brings me back to a thankful and humble state- it’s there. Lost inside the woods, hearing the birds chirp and sing, seeing the wildlife, breathing the freshest air I’ve ever felt and inhaled, escaping the rushed city lives we now live in. It’s there. Ivy and I in the last five years we’ve been together, have seen it all. We’ve visited Yosemite in all four seasons. In temperatures below 0ºC, in altitudes above Half Dome during sunset hours. Every single time we are blown away. Below are some of my favorite shots of Yosemite from different times of the year in different years of the decade. From very touristic places, to nearly touching the waterfalls, and 2,000 ft above the highest peak of the park. I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I do.
