Being on Half Dome that night felt like being on another planet, a smooth granite surface under our feet and endless space spinning overhead. The morning’s sunrise felt like the first proper sunrise we’d ever witnessed.
—Project Yosemite
Project Yosemite captures spectacular vistas in photographs and time-lapse video; it shares what you will find in the backcountry of Yosemite National Park. A collaboration between photographers Colin Delehanty and Sheldon Neill, it is one of the most stunning depictions of any national park that I have ever seen. A feat of physical exertion, expert photography and videography skills, and I am sure a whole lot of patience.
Some of my favorite clips are those that capture the sweeping nature of the twilight sky. For me, this is the highlight of backpacking and sleeping out in the wilderness. Transport yourself to the night sky in Yosemite National Park from the top of Echo Ridge, as seen in the first eight seconds. Neill says “It was one of our more memorable trips because it was windy and the sunset was amazing. We were also fortunate to capture the Sierra Wave, which you don’t see often.”
Watch this stunning video for yourself, it will make you want to go to California right now.
Yosemite HD II from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.
National Geographic asked them to guide viewers through the video and point out the difficult-to-reach places of Yosemite National Park. If you’re an avid hiker read the full article and take some notes. Here is a full list of all 24 places they went (200+ miles and a total of 45 days in the park).
The first, Yosemite HD, was published in 2012. If you’d like to help support future projects you can donate to Project Yosemite on their website (link on the upper right). I would love to see similar projects for more national parks, starting with Olympic National Park. All of the different landscapes of the park would make it a great project.