Origins

Yosemite, Then and Now

Have you ever been to Yosemite?

Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty decided we should all go together. Their collaboration, Project Yosemite, has gifted us with a beautiful time-lapse video of views from all around the park.

A high definition tour of one of the oldest national parks, you say? And I don't even have to leave my couch? Or computer chair! Or beanbag perch!

Well not exactly. (Let's use the images as fresh inspiration to get there, or get to your local Yosemite.) 

Artists, photographers, and explorers have documented Yosemite for years to show us its peaks and valleys, seasons, and wildlife.

Project Yosemite's video is an amazing artifact of what Yosemite looks like now, a modern way to capture the latest iteration of a long history of landscapes. It is a reminder that we live in close proximity to wilderness, even when we don't feel it. And it is a reminder to continue to collect Yosemite with experiences and images.

In this way, we can look to the then, now, and future of Yosemite. We have been in awe of this landscape for centuries—creating this kind of archive will serve our memories as we continue to preserve the space.

Yosemite-bound,
-KK

Additional photographs by C.E. Watkins from Yosemite Views (1861-1866) at the New York Public Library.