Seeing Yosemite from a 9 Year Old’s PerspectiveÂ
By John P. DeGrazioÂ
I recently spent some quality family time in Yosemite on a hike to Sentinel Dome with my 4 and 9 year old girls. It’s become a DeGrazio tradition to allow each girl an opportunity to summit her first peak around her fourth birthday. On this trip, Sofia (4) handled the trek with ease. She proudly reached the summit and immediately demanded her lunch and sweet reward. It would be dishonest to say it was a can of peaches. She opted for a Jolly Rancher instead.
Mia has summited Sentinel a handful of times and barely broke a sweat. I could sense she needed a little more challenge so I handed her a camera and told her to make at least 10 photos. Her objectives were to shoot landscapes that included the Ansel Adams fallen Jeffrey pine (with no people in it which was no small feat on this day), Half Dome with foreground elements, and other snow covered peaks.
Watching my daughter carefully composing these images was a bigger thrill than I could have expected. She even inspired her little sister top make a few of her own. Later in the day, we walked the Merced River in Yosemite Valley, and she made a few more photos. Today, we will be sharing Mia’s images. Something tells me there will be more in the future.
