Ansel Adams, a lifelong environmentalist considered by many to be the greatest landscape photographer of the 20th century, is known for his photographs of the American West, especially the Yosemite Valley. His first visit to Yosemite National Park occurred in 1916, when he was 14 years old, and he returned year after year from then on to photograph its beauty.
While Ansel Adams chose to capture the stunning scenery there, I instead focused on my children and still remember taking the shot that became our 1994 Christmas card photo. That image remains now, over two decades later, one of my favorite pictures of the kids.
Taken after a snowfall with sounds muted by the snow, there was a crispness and pureness to the setting. We were only there a short time but it was magical and all three kids were willing subjects behind the fallen tree. Then we returned to the hotel where laughter replaced silence while they made snowmen and threw snowballs at each other.
Yosemite Valley, 1994
Look at that cute Paige! I always loved this picture too. I think it was the first time we ever played in snow.
You hit the right notes of the quiet after a snowfall. I think it’s magical to see the sparkles through the white, but it’s that feeling you are in a sound proof booth that really reflects snowfall in nature.