2017 marks the first year where I haven't been in school, which means I have a lot more time to travel down to California to visit my sister and the rest of the family down south.
Southern California
Nathan, my oldest nephew, just graduated high school. Naturally, he needed senior photos, so I flew down to Southern California in March to take his photos. Along with Nathan, I took some photos of another niece, Jessica, as well.
Fresno
After spending some time in Southern California, both in LA and Orange County, the family and I headed back up to Fresno where I hung out with the family for some time and took more photos of my two youngest nieces.
Parts of Fresno were flooded during March, which made for some incredibly beautiful and luscious landscapes (and portrait backgrounds).
To be perfectly honest, the photo below was actually taken at the same spot but on a later trip in June. In either case, the Dikes is a hidden gem in Fresno.
Yosemite (Part 1)
While in Central California, I made time to go to Yosemite (as always). Nathan joined me this time as I took him on his first ever hike up to the lookout over Upper Yosemite Falls.
San Francisco (Part 1)
My sister, brother-in-law, and I also managed to sneak in a quick trip to San Francisco before I had to jet back to Seattle.
Newport Coast
My second trip to California was planned pretty last minute. As a birthday gift, I was able to go back down to Southern California to Newport Coast to visit the family.
It was also Jessica's birthday that week before I jetted back to Seattle.
San Francisco (Part 2)
On my third trip, I came down with my parents. My mom went ahead to Fresno while my dad and I quickly stopped in San Francisco for a day. We toured the city, grabbing food whenever we could and walked through Chinatown.
On recommendation from a friend, my dad and I visited Dolores Park and Twin Peaks, both which offered some incredible views of the city.
Yosemite (Part 2)
After our time in San Francisco, my dad and I drove to Fresno for Nathan's graduation party. After the party was over, I started to pack my gear that I had brought to backpack in Yosemite.
I originally planned on spending 3-4 nights in Yosemite, trekking through from the valley to Tenaya Lake then circling back to Cloud's Rest and summiting Half Dome. However, the trails around Tenaya Lake were "chin deep in snow" according to the Rangers, so I had a decision to make: to take a route I've taken before and go up Half Dome, or to do the North Rim of the valley, which I haven't yet.
In the end, I decided to go up Half Dome.
After descending from Half Dome, I also decided to refocus on one of my goals: spending more time with my family in California. I had come down to California for my nephew's graduation, but I had barely been in Fresno for a day. So, as I hiked down, I decided to head all the way back to the valley.
Along the way, I caught a new view of Half Dome I hadn't seen before and met an incredible couple: Francesca and Alex.
The next day, I drove out of the valley and found what I think was a flooded meadow (as I haven't seen water in this location before). I only had a 50mm on hand, but that didn't stop me from taking 73 photos to create this "wide" landscape shot.
Crazy to think that prior to 2017, I hardly visited California, but I've been three times already this year. I hope to be able to spend more time there, especially in the Sierras and Northern California.