Above: The morning before the hike. Smoke from active wildfires obstructs visibility.

July 2017. Northern California was on fire, but we’d been planning the trip to Yosemite National Park for months. The goal: See the sunrise from the top of Half Dome. This meant leaving at midnight.

And so, on July 20th at midnight, we began a roughly 9-mile hike from Yosemite Village to the top of Half Dome.

In what is probably a quite rare occurrence, my friend Chase and I got to witness the sunrise from the top of Half Dome in total solitude (others in our group forewent the cables & stayed at the base). It was an amazing experience.

In order to travel light, I only brought a point & shoot camera — which I should know by now is something I usually regret. But still, they say the best camera is the one you have with you. And I’m thankful to have been able to capture these.

Canon Powershot S95

Below: Image & video credit @WhyWeDontHaveKids

I shot these exiting Sequoia National Park in 2011.

I’ve always loved taking landscape & nature photos, but I also love capturing the sun. It took me a few years before I realized it was a recurring theme in many of my photos.

Canon Powershot S95