Yo-se-mite & Photo-taker

My name is Anna Smits,

and I live in Yosemite Valley.

I first visited Yosemite National Park in 2014 and immediately became obsessed. I’d never conceived of so much splendor in one place! I was head-over-heels in love with the Park. As a result, in April 2016 I gave up a glorious office assistant career and fled to the woods, and I’ve never regretted that decision.

Living in Yosemite blesses me with a multitude of opportunities to experience with ease the moments many people never get to see: a once-every-800-years planetary conjunction from a seldom-visited perch, an empty Yosemite Valley during the longest shutdown in the Park’s history, the most one-of-a-kind Firefall I can imagine, and many, many more. I have endless stories of unique experiences I’ve had since moving to this magical mountain paradise.

You can usually find me adventuring on my days off, always lugging around my D850, no matter how difficult the terrain. Sometimes, perhaps, this isn’t the best idea, but the camera hasn’t broken yet.

I am consistently looking for the next adventure and what memories I can bring back from it to share with my friends and family. And here, I hope to share them with you.