8.2. Where Can I Get the Best Shot?

You can photograph Half Dome from many locations; each one of them gives you a different angle and a different view. Some of the most common locations for photographing Half Dome include the Ahwahnee Meadow, Sentinel Bridge, Mirror Lake, Columbia Point, Cook's Meadow, Tunnel View, Washburn Point, Glacier Point, Big Oak Flat Road, and Olmsted Point (see A–I on map).

The best locations from which to photograph Half Dome: (A) Ahwahnee Meadow, (B) Sentinel Bridge, (C) Mirror Lake, (D) Columbia Point, (E) Cook's Meadow, (F) Tunnel View, (G) Washburn Point and Glacier Point, (H) Big Oak Flat Road, (I) Olmstead Point. Other photo ops: (9) Happy Isles, (17) Nevada Fall, (26) Vernal Fall.

8.2.1. Ahwahnee Meadow

Located just west of the Ahwahnee Hotel, the Ahwahnee Meadow is the location from which Ansel Adams made his famous image "Moon and Half Dome." This meadow stretches from the Ahwahnee Road to Northside Drive, and any location in the meadow is a great vantage point for photographing Half Dome (see figure 8.1).

Figure 8.1. Half Dome from the Ahwahnee Meadow (see A on the map) at sunset on a fall evening. Taken at ISO 100, f/18, 1/50 second with a 24-105mm zoom lens at 70mm.

8.2.2. Sentinel Bridge

Standing on Sentinel Bridge and photographing ...

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