szczecin photo diary + guide. part i.

1 Comment

szczecin photo diary + guide. part i.

This is my personal travel guide to Szczecin. If you'd like to read my story about my time spent there, click here to go to Szczecin Part ii!

 

Chrobrego by the Oder river // Spend a morning or afternoon, or anytime really, walking around the Chrobrego area. Here you can find the Fontanna Wały Chrobrego, some beautiful old buildings covered in vines along Wały Chrobrego Road as well as many restaurants and cafes. Once you finish walking down the huge stone steps and spent some time by the fountain, make your way down the road by the Oder river for another stroll to see the city by the marina.

Jasne Błonia Park // There are many parks in and around Szczecin, but we personally spent a little bit of time walking around Jasne Błonia which is located just off the Szczecin Municipal Office (this green building). Here you can find an avenue of Plane Trees, planted in rows as well as a statue of Pope John Paul II.

Pomeranian Dukes' Castle // This castle in the heart of the city of Szczecin was built in 1428, damaged in World War II and rebuilt again. You can visit this castle at anytime and wander around the grounds. There are a few restaurants and cafes, and I personally had some amazing Pierogi at Na Kuncu Korytarza! You can also pay a small fee of around 5zł to visit the elevated open-air viewpoint.

Cathedral of St. James the Apostle // This is a large church located in the Szczecin old town. Here you can purchase tickets to take two elevators up to the highest level in the bell tower to see 360 bird’s eye views of Szczecin. 

Szczecin Concert Hall // Also known as the Szczecin Philharmonic Hall, this is a must-see in the city if you have half an hour to spare to walk by. The Hall’s architecture stands out to anything else that has been built in Szczecin and is just as stunning inside as it is out. This attraction would be even better if you have tickets to a show so you can see the inside of the theatre. Unfortunately while we were there they were undergoing maintenance construction so we missed out by a few days!

Szczecin Old Town // Like any Polish city, visiting the old town is a must-do for me! Compared to cities such as Gdansk and Krakow, Szczecin has the smallest old town to visit, but it’s still a well-spent afternoon to take a walk around. There are plenty of restaurants and cafes to spend your time having lunch or dinner.

Crooked Forest // The Crooked Forest, known as Krzywy Las in Polish, is located about an hours drive away from the city of Szczecin, right on the border with Germany. You can read more in detail about my trip to the Crooked Forest here.

Emerald Lake // Also known as Jezioro Szmaragdowe, the Emerald Lake gets it’s name from the emerald colour of the water, created by a collapsed mine. Here you can spend your time walking on the various hiking trails around the lake, and also receive a free tour of the mines that were built during World War II that are still largely unexplored to this day. Once again, you can find more detailed information on the Emerald Lake and my personal trip there in my blog post about the Crooked Forest here.

Make a day trip to Germany // Szczecin is located right on the Poland to Germany border, meaning at 30zł you can take a two hour train ride to Berlin. Dan and I decided to go to Berlin for one day, so we could have the chance to visit a new city but ultimately come home at the end of the day. We rose early to catch the first 6am train out of Szczecin to arrive in Berlin at 8am, and we were back at the train station at 8pm and home by 10pm. My blog post about Berlin is coming soon! 

all photos edited with my new Gdansk Lightroom Preset.

 

1 Comment

an afternoon with michaela wain for hello molly

Comment

an afternoon with michaela wain for hello molly

Comment

crooked forest, poland

4 Comments

crooked forest, poland

One afternoon while hanging about in our sun-filled home in Szczecin, Poland, Dan’s aunty and grandma took us for a drive to visit the Crooked Forest. The Crooked Forest, known as Krzywy Las in Polish, is located about an hours drive away from the city of Szczecin, right on the border with Germany. We drove through the countryside and I marvelled out the window at the wild sunflowers growing on the roadside as we listened to stories of how the stalks fly south in the winter and return to the very same home they built atop the electricity poles every season. 

I’ve heard many theories as to how the Crooked Forest came about while researching online. From aliens, to war tanks, to ideas that there is perhaps a fluctuation of gravitational forces in this particular area. Regardless, I couldn’t wait to visit this place! There are also many concepts that this forest is haunted due to it’s particularities. I personally don’t really believe in places being haunted, however the minute I stepped foot in the Crooked Forest I started feeling slightly anxious which later went away as the day progressed. It could have been just a coincidence but that was part of my experience of being here. The forest itself is so beautiful, I’ve never seen a sight like that before in my life!

There was a board up at the entrance of the forest which mentioned that these trees were planted before World War II by a carpenter to make furniture. The trees were bent for the furniture he wanted but when the war started, he fled and never returned and the trees stretched back towards the sun. 

The Crooked Forest itself is very small, so we only spent a short time here taking some pictures before heading onwards on our adventure. We stopped for ice cream (of course) in the town of Gryfino and next at a place where Dan’s aunty used to visit regularly when she was younger called Emerald Lake, Jezioro Szmaragdowe in Polish. At Emerald Lake (the name comes from the emerald colour of the water, created by a collapsed mine) we spent the rest of our day walking on the hiking trails around the lake, taking pictures in the lush green shade of the towering trees. We also went for a free tour of the mines that are home to bats in the winter. The mines we explored were apparently built by the Germans in World War II and had carvings on the walls of Swastikas and soldiers names who used to spend time down there. Most of the tunnels are still largely unexplored to this day, however we do know that they run from Germany all the way into Poland. It was extremely interesting to be present in something that was created so long ago and we still know so little about today. 

If you want to check out what else you can do while you're in Poland, you can see my travel guide for Gdansk here and Krakow here!

all photos edited with my Gdansk Lightroom Preset!

 

4 Comments

krakow at dusk

2 Comments

krakow at dusk

It was our last night in Krakow, so Dan and I decided to spend it exploring the Stare Miastro/Main Square. We had dinner and spent dusk skipping through the streets full of people but it really felt like we were the only ones there. Krakow had a magic about it that I wasn’t expecting. It’s one of my favourite European cities that I have visited so far. I have nothing but positive memories and things to say about the beautiful architecture, the things we did and the wonderful people we met. You can check out my Krakow photo diary + travel guide if you want to hear more information about the things we got up to! 

 
 

2 Comments

krakow photo diary + guide

9 Comments

krakow photo diary + guide

Dan and I took the 5 hour train from Gdansk to Krakow, eyes glued to the window watching us zip past the world. When we arrived at sunrise, Dan's family friend Stan was waiting for us at the station and drove us home. We spent the next few days exploring Krakow from morning to night to see everything this beautiful city had to offer.

Find my travel guide to Krakow at the bottom of this blog post!

If you come to Kraków in the summer, like many European cities, be prepared to be an early riser to beat the crowds and lines at the main attractions. At the time of me writing this, Kraków is the second most popular European City for tourism. 

How to get there // We took the Pendolino train from Gdansk to Kraków which is the new train line in Poland. The ride takes 5 and a half hours but I found it went past pretty quickly with my eyes glued to the window watching the forests, spotting deers and admiring all the little country cottages in the middle of nowhere. If you are catching a train in Poland I would recommend to purchase your tickets as soon as possible. The earliest you can book train tickets is a month in advance, and every day that goes past they get more and more expensive.

Flights to and from main cities in Poland are also an easy way to get around. You can find tickets just as cheap as train tickets and you'll get there in half the time. We decided to stick to train rides on this trip as we were growing tiredsome having already spent 50+ hours on planes over the past few weeks. Plus I also wanted to see what the Polish countryside looks like!

What to do

Old City Square // We probably spent most of our time here in the city square. It's the perfect place for a meal and a drink as the entire main square is lined with restaurants and bars. We did a bit of souvenir shopping here too, wandering and making our way through all the streets and alleys connected to the main square. Here you also have the main markets and above the markets a lovely little art gallery. You can find the entrance to the gallery via the outside of the Market Square building. 

Mariacki church // I think this church is a must see if you're in the Kraków old town. It costs 10zł to purchase entry tickets and 10zł for a photo pass. This money goes towards renovating the church, so I didn't mind to pay the fee. It's absolutely stunning inside so I couldn't recommend it more. On certain days you can also pay to climb to the top of the bell tower (which we didn't do) where I assume you'd have an amazing view of the city. 

Wawel Castle // You could easily spend an entire day at Wawel Castle. I would recommend to get to the castle as early as possible as tickets for attractions are limited to a certain amount of people per day. We unfortunately missed out on seeing the armoury, we were almost to the front of the line and watched helplessly as the number of tickets available went from 20 to 10 to 5 and to 0 before we could purchase them. In saying that, there are still many more attractions to see. We went to the Royal Crypts, Church, Bell Tower, Oriental Art museum, the second Bell Tower and the Dragon's Den. If you go to the Dragon's Den, I would recommend to leave it to last as the tunnels lead you out of the castle and you exit to the street on the other side of the entrance to Wawel! 

Salt mines // The Wieliczka Salt Mines are located in a suburb called Wieliczka and is about a 20 minute drive from the Kraków city centre. We arrived fairly early and still had to wait in a huge line to purchase tickets - I wasn't lying when I said there are a lot of tourists in Kraków! Once your purchase tickets, you line up yet again to get inside the mines with a tour group. You can only visit the mines with a tour group, you cannot unfortunately wander off on your own as I usually like to do. There are tours running every half an hour for about 7 different languages. The groups are pretty big so even though this line seems daunting to wait in, it eventually goes by pretty quickly. Upon entering you will receive a headset to listen to your tour guide and you need to walk down about 800 steps in a wooden narrow staircase to get to the mines. Overall it was a really interesting experience and I would recommend to visit at least once! Dan and I went with a family friend who is a local and he mentioned that in summer the tours of the mines are shorter to cater for the amount of people coming in, so if you can I would say it's better to go during the off season so you can have a slightly longer and more in depth tour! 

Zakopane mountains // Once again an early morning rise is definitely needed if you visit Zakopane mountains! The main attraction here is the mountain top where you can dangle your feet on the edge of a cliff, half of you in Poland and half of you in Slovakia. Unless you purchase your tickets online, our local friend recommends to leave at 4 or 5 in the morning to arrive at the mountains by 6am to beat what can be a 5 or 6 hour wait in line for tickets to ride the Kasprowy Wierch Cable Car to the top. Alternatively, you can also choose to hike to the top of the mountain which takes approximately 3.5 hours up the mountain and 2.5 hours down. Dan and I tried fitting in too many things in our short time in Kraków so unfortunately we didn't get to do this, we thought it would be nice to save our trip to the top of the mountain for when it's snowing in the years to come anyway. Instead we headed up the chairlifts in Kościelisko where you have the most amazing views and photo opportunities of the mountains themselves. 

After that we headed off to do a little more sight seeing. Some things that are a nearby drive from the mountains:

15th century castle // Niedzica Castle is an old, 15th century castle by the lake which is a mini museum inside. I loved looking at everything, though it seems more catered for younger kids rather than adults.

The dam // Right by the Niedzica Castle, you can walk across the Lake Czorsztynskie Dam that you can see Slovakia from. 

Kościuszko mound // Back towards the city of Kraków, you can pay 10zł per person to go up a man made mountain/hill to get a great view of Kraków from above. I love going to lookouts to see a city from a different perspective. It's fun trying to point out and figure out all the places you went to from a different view. This doesn't take long to do, we probably spent about 10 minutes walking to the top. 

 

I also have some exciting news because I've started sharing more fashion shoot behind the scenes videos + Lightroom & Photoshop Tutorials on my YouTube Channel! Be sure to subscribe as I upload 2 new videos every week x

 

all photos edited with my new Gdansk Lightroom Preset.

 

9 Comments

the clouds fly low

4 Comments

the clouds fly low

Almost two years ago now, before our year of endless summer of travelling to the States and Europe, Dan and I decided to call the Australian mountains home. We spent a week curled up cosy in a beautiful cottage surrounded by trees, birds and fog. We spent our time editing, writing, going on photo adventures in the afternoons and cooking dinners by the fire at night. 

Thank you for a wonderful week Kangaroo Valley. You refreshed my mind and gave me a breath of fresh air. 

 

all photos are edited with The Essentials Kit for Lightroom.

 

4 Comments

el and the sea part ii

4 Comments

el and the sea part ii

4 Comments

el and the sea part i

6 Comments

el and the sea part i

6 Comments

slowinski national park, poland

8 Comments

slowinski national park, poland

There was one thing on my bucket list that I had to see while I was in Poland and that was the sand dunes at Slowinski National Park. We had a very busy couple of months in Poland and weekends came and went with other plans and coming to the end of our trip we still hadn't had the chance to visit the sand dunes. On our second last day in Europe before we were set to board our way-too-many-hours-on-a-plane flight back to Australia, Dan’s uncle took a day off work. It was early in the morning while we were just waking up without many plans for the rest of the day, when he comes to us and says in Polish “I need to show you Łeba (Slowinski), let’s go”.

We set off on the two hour drive West away from Gdansk, five of us cramped in a tiny Skoda that couldn’t keep up with the highway speeds and an aircon that barely worked during the summer heat - but it was all part of the European roadtrip charm. We drove through pine forests, passed fields of flowers in the countryside and gazed at the country houses with piles of wooden logs already preparing for the cold winter ahead while in the middle of summer. We saw deer grazing in the fields and stalks that build their nests at the top of electricity poles.

It had only rained a couple of times during our entire long stay in Poland, and ironically as soon as we parked our car at the National Park entrance, the dark clouds looming in the distance finally gave way and it started pouring. We were too eager to get out of the car after the long drive and to start exploring, that we started our adventure through the rain.

Once we arrived at the park, we had to pay a small entrance fee and then purchase tickets for the ferry to take us to the beginning of the forest walkway to the sand dunes. After the first ferry ride, we stopped at the entrance of the walkway to have a bite to eat with some Polish beers before starting the forest trail.

The forest trail is incredible for an Australian like me. You are surrounded by towering pine trees, the floor and the tree trucks are covered in a layer of green moss and everything looked and felt so fresh and lush. Dan’s uncle picked some sort of berry from the forest floor for us to try and I was taken by all the tiny creatures that would suddenly appear everywhere around you if you only just paid attention. Fire red squirrels, tiny frogs with the loudest voices, giant beetles and giant slugs.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring where the forest meets the sand and taking a quick dip in the freezing Baltic sea before driving back home at dusk.

all photos edited with my new Gdansk Lightroom Preset!

 

8 Comments

wildflowers in the afternoon, gdansk

2 Comments

wildflowers in the afternoon, gdansk

Today was one of those rare moments while in Europe that Dan and I had a completely free day to do whatever we wanted. We decided to go for a walk in the local forest by our home in Gdansk, Poland. We spent the rest of the afternoon hiking, taking pictures, walking over logs that have been placed to cross rivers and coming across wild animals like horses and even some pigs which we heard rustling in the forest!

I shrieked with excitement when we came across a beautiful field of wildflowers, the white blossoms beaming in the short bursts of sunlight through the clouds. Next time I come to Poland, I vowed that I NEED to do a fashion shoot in some of these wonderful locations, so different to what home has to offer. Dan and I also daydreamed about how amazing it would be to have a home in one of these forest-surrounded suburbs in the countryside of Poland. Maybe one day. 

all photos edited with my new Gdansk Lightroom Preset.

 

2 Comments

yosemite instagram diary

2 Comments

yosemite instagram diary

Follow me on my instagram accounts:

 

main account  @julia trotti

personal account  @juls.trotti

 

I also have some exciting news because I've started sharing more fashion shoot behind the scenes videos + Lightroom & Photoshop Tutorials on my YouTube Channel! Be sure to subscribe as I upload 2 new videos every week x

 

You can also see all the final photos from this trip in my Yosemite National Park post!

 

2 Comments

gdansk photo diary + guide

12 Comments

gdansk photo diary + guide

With heavy hearts, Dan and I left Yosemite National Park and drove back to San Francisco with our eyes set on new adventures that were coming our way very soon. We boarded our flight in San Francisco and left the US behind, landing in Frankfurt for a connecting flight to Gdansk. 

The first and last time I visited Gdansk, Dan and I had only a few fleeting days to spend there after a work trip. This time we were coming back with a few months to spend exploring and with his family. We couldn’t be more excited about it. When we land in Gdansk and walk out of the arrivals gate, it was the loveliest feeling seeing an old familiar face and a sense of deja vu receiving another big bear hug from Dan’s uncle. He drove us home, making a stop at the local bakery first to buy some blueberry filled pastries. I remember so vividly that drive from the airport to home, my eyes were glued to the car window watching all the spanning fields of wildflowers as we drove past, a permanent smile on my face regardless of the jet lag I felt.

Three years ago, it was the first time I visited Poland and I wrote “we were in poland for three days, and i couldn't thank dan's family enough for making it the most memorable three days ever. dan and i are longing to go to poland again soon, it would be so lovely to be able to spend a longer amount of time with his wonderful family exploring, hanging out and taking pictures.” and we finally got to do just that. These two and a half months we spent in Gdansk and traveling around Europe were one of the most memorable. I will never forget all the new friends I made, all the time I got to spent with family, all the places I explored and all the little moments in between. 

Here’s a collection of images and stories from our two and a half months in Poland. If you scroll down to the bottom of the blog post, I have put together my personal travel guide for Gdansk, Poland. If you are every planning on traveling here I hope you find it helpful! I have so many more pictures to share with you from all our travels around Europe which are coming soon!

I also have some exciting news because I've started sharing more fashion shoot behind the scenes videos + Lightroom & Photoshop Tutorials on my YouTube Channel! Be sure to subscribe as I upload 2 new videos every week x 

Here you can find my personal Gdansk travel guide!

What to do

Gdnask old town // If you’re travelling to Poland and decide to venture out of the main cities of Warsaw and Krakow to see something different, Gdansk is a beautiful city by the Baltic Sea. Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot are the three cities that make up the tri city area. For us, Gdansk was home for two months so we got to explore all the restaurants and bars that make up the main road in the old city. We were in Gdansk during the summer months, where Main street and Long street are busy morning to night with market stalls and the Gdansk Eye was in motion, giving you 360 views of the entire city - which we highly recommend doing at sunset!

Gdynia // Gydnia is the next city in the North of Poland, also by the water and popular for its night life amongst locals. Just like Gdansk, there are countless places to shop and eat as well as markets in the summer which are fun to walk through. One of my most memorable moments in Gdynia was exploring the Orłowski cliffs and visiting the nearby Orłowie pier. To find the cliffs, you walk up Zaciszna, a steep road and past an abandoned building into a beautiful forest which we managed to get to just in time for sunset. From here you continue walking along the path until you get the edge of the cliff for an amazing view from which you can see Gdansk. 

Sopot // Sopot is a marina-inspired town, once again nestled by the sea. In the middle of the beach stretch, you can find and make your way along the longest wooden pier in Europe at over half a kilometre long. It costs 25zł to get onto the pier and the views are beautiful especially if you go at sunset/dusk.

Oliwa // Oliwa is a quaint town near the Gdnask city centre with plenty to do. Here you can find the Gdansk Zoo which is nestled in the forest and makes for a lovely day of walking around. A short walk from the zoo, you can also find a lookout spot called Pachołek where you can walk up a few flights of stairs to get to the top of a tower higher than the treetops to see a 360 view of your surroundings. Park Oliwski is another must go to place. If you explore the park grounds, you will come across a green house, mini waterfalls, lakes and so many  beautiful areas to wander around and take pictures in. A couple of other places you can visit while in this town are the Oliwa church and spending your time wandering the streets in the town and surrounding suburbs. 

There are also a few places further out of Gdansk that I included photos of in this blog post that I wanted to mention: 

Hel // Be prepared to incidentally make a lot of hell puns when you're on your way to and while you're in Hel! We took a yacht ride into Hel, Dan's cousin owns a sail boat and took us out onto the water. It took us about 5 hours to get there but we had a great time listening to music, talking, having a drink and just looking out into the ocean. It only took us 3 hours to get back to Gdansk as we were traveling with the wind, letting us ride faster. You can also get to Hel via car, it would take about 2 hours to drive there from Gdansk. Hel is quite a touristy town, so be prepared for everything to be a lot more expensive here that in other parts of Poland. Everything has a nautical and pirate theme and it's a gorgeous town. We spent most of our time at the beach. I would recommend to go for a swim at the north side of the beach, where the sand is white and the ocean calm. And as the day comes to an end to go for a walk around the edge of Hel so you are walking at the furthest point in Poland to see the sun setting into the Baltic Sea from the south side. 

Malbork Castle // You can make a day trip from Gdansk to visit Malbork Castle, a medieval castle built in the 1400s. It takes just over an hour to make your way to Malbork from the Gdansk city centre either by car or train. Entry into the castle is 40zł per person in the summer. Once you enter the castle, you are free to roam the grounds with markets and a few places to eat in the outside sections and a museum within most of the rooms inside the castle.

Słowinski National Park // This was by far one of the highlights of my trip to Poland. I’ve always wanted to see the forest meet the sand dunes and I finally got the chance to on the second last day before we were heading home. Słowinski National Park, known to the locals as Łeba, is just over a 2 hour drive from Gdansk through forests and fields. When you arrive to the National Park, you need to pay an entry fee of about 5zł per person. From here, you can either walk around 8km to the beach or you can opt to pay to take the ferry, hire a bike or take the electric car straight to the beach. We chose to take the ferry halfway there and walk the rest of the way through the amazing forest to the beach. On our way back it was quickly getting dark so we decided to take the electric car as it was the fastest option. Once you arrive at the beach, you are free to explore as much as you like! The way the forest starts to intertwine with the sand dunes is definitely an incredible sight. 

Getting around

Getting around the tri-cities is extremely easy whether you are driving or taking public transport. When we were taking day trips to further away locations such as Malbork Castle or Slowinksi National Park, we decided to drive there for the convenience of having our own car. However public transport is usually just as quick. In fact, on Google maps it mentions it will take an hour and ten minutes to drive from Gdansk to Malbork, however taking the train would only be a 47 minute long trip.

To get around the old city in Gdansk, we normally walked everywhere as most things are a short distance away from each other. If we needed to travel a little bit further or travel between the tri-cities, working out which bus or tram to take was super easy, inexpensive and a new tram or bus usually arrives within a few minutes of each other. 

 

 

all photos edited with my new Gdansk Lightroom Preset.

 

12 Comments

enchanted rose | suzi rose

2 Comments

enchanted rose | suzi rose

2 Comments

the secret garden: white magazine

4 Comments

the secret garden: white magazine

Editorial for issue 29 of White Magazine.

 

model  blair @ chadwicks

styling  carla burrell

styling assistants  kate bryce & renee mantle

 hair & makeup  liv lundelius

florals  jardin botanic

videography  joel @ la lune cinema

 

I'm excited because I've started sharing more fashion shoot behind the scenes videos + Lightroom & Photoshop Tutorials on my YouTube Channel! Be sure to subscribe as I upload 2 new videos every week x

 

all photos edited with my New York Lightroom Preset!

 

 

4 Comments

san francisco instagram diary

2 Comments

san francisco instagram diary

2 Comments

10 easy to get to viewpoints in yosemite national park

11 Comments

10 easy to get to viewpoints in yosemite national park

01. cascade creek falls | Situated on your way into Yosemite Valley to the left side of the road when you take the 120 or Big Oak Flat Road into the Valley. There are only a couple of car spaces available to pull over to walk to the bridge this waterfall is situated next to, which are quickly filled up in peak seasons like summer. So hopefully as you're driving past there aren't too many people pulled over already!

02. merced river from above | Also situated on Big Oak Flat Road as you head into Yosemite Valley, make a stop on the Pohono Bridge to see this impressive view of the Merced River from above. These two images were taken on a winter morning.

03. half dome | Get your first glimpses of the Half Dome amongst the rest of the landscape of Yosemite National Park. This spot in an unnamed viewpoint just off Big Oak Flat Road before Cascade Creek Falls, with a small space for you to pull over, stretch your legs and see the first of many amazing views to come.

04. tunnel view | This is the spot to get *the* shot of Yosemite. This is not a viewpoint literally in the tunnel right next to the carpark. We saw a lot of people walking on the tiny pathway inside the polluted tunnel to get to a viewpoint that isn't the right one (although you can get a view of the side of mountain from here)! Tunnel View is the view you see just a few steps from the carpark out in the fresh air. To get here, you need to drive to the east end of the Wawona Tunnel along the Wawona Road/Highway 41. From here you can see El Capitan and Bridal Veil Falls as well as Half Dome right in the background. The first image was taken in the summer, so the falls were quite small and were hard to see. The next two images were taken in the winter where the waterfalls were flowing, however there were plenty of low-hanging clouds and fog which made it hard to see the Half Dome at times.

05. valley view | Situated to the left side of the one-way Northside Drive on your way out of Yosemite Valley, just before the last bridge before seeing the signs to the highway. There is a little carpark that fits around 15-20 cars and is a few steps from the road. This is the view of the valley from the Merced River. The first picture is Valley View in the winter, the second image is in the summer.

06. yosemite falls | While Yosemite Valley, pull over and take a walk around Sentinel Meadow where you can see some amazing views and a different perspective of Yosemite Falls. Be sure to listen to the signs and stay on the marked paths to 'give plants a chance' to grow back again!

07. el capitan bridge | Located along the one-way Northside Drive on your way out of Yosemite Valley. There are plenty of spots to pull over by the bridge to see views of El Capitan and Cathedral Rocks. 

08. cathedral rocks | Located along one-way Northside Drive and close by to El Capitan Bridge, El Capitan Meadow gives you impressive views of Cathedral Rocks as well as El Capitan itself. In the summer, we saw plenty of deer grazing in the meadows early in the morning and in the winter we caught glimpses of two wolves chasing after each other in the afternoon!

09. half dome sunset | Stop by Sentinel Bridge at sunset to see the last light linger on the Half Dome while being reflected in the Merced River. When the weather conditions are just right only the top of the Half Dome will be lit up in vivid colours.

10. glacier point | Located at the end of Glacier Point Road, about an hours drive out of Yosemite Valley. This is one of my favourite lookouts in Yosemite - you can see the Half Dome as well as many other mountains and you have clear views of Vernal and Nevada falls. If you use the binoculars at the viewpoint you can even see all the people that have hiked to the falls! I would recommend to get to this viewpoint early in the morning during peak seasons. Not only does it look amazing in the morning light, but once there are too many people they close access to Glacier Point Road until people leave to make more room. Access to this road is also closed during the Winter season, however you can make the 10 mile (one way) hike to Glacier Point or spend time at Badger Pass Ski Area (photo below).

While there are some amazing hikes you can do while in Yosemite National Park, I thought it would be a great idea to put together a blog post of all the landmarks and viewpoints you can see along the way that are super easy to get to. Whether you are only visiting for a short length of time or are looking for new perspectives to photograph the park, I hope this blog post has been helpful! What other viewpoints have you been to in Yosemite that you can recommend? I'd love to visit them on my next trip and add them to this list! 

 

I also have some exciting news because I've started sharing more fashion shoot behind the scenes videos, travel vlogs + Lightroom & Photoshop Tutorials on my YouTube Channel! Be sure to subscribe as I upload 2 new videos every week x

 

11 Comments

glacier point, yosemite national park

4 Comments

glacier point, yosemite national park

all photos edited with my Disposable Film Lightroom Preset

 

4 Comments

dusk dreamer

4 Comments

dusk dreamer

4 Comments

winter, 2015

Comment

winter, 2015

A little peek into the behind the scenes of my month of Winter.

 

Comment