The Best Photographic Guide to Yosemite. – Yosemite Photographer's Guide Review

If you own a camera and plan to visit Yosemite National Park this should be the first thing you pack. This applies to all photographers... Seasoned Professionals, Serious Amateurs, Wannabe Photographers or tourists who wish to visit once and obtain a credible record of their visit. Even if you are not into cameras, but want to see all of the best features of Yosemite, this is your app as well. Without this app on your iPhone or iPad you are subject to the whims of luck. Luck will still be a factor, but if you bring the Photographer's Guide to Yosemite with you your good fortune will be enhanced dramatically by Michael Frye's vast multi-decades of experience gained by living next to the park. Photography is being at the right place at the right time and having a camera in your hands. This guide solves the issue of the right place at the right time. While planning your trip start with the magnificent and most powerful filtering system. It is located below the screen and just above the navigation buttons. This part of the application eliminates the guesswork in deciding where to go and what part of the day to go there. This filter alone can stretch a week long visit to the park into the equivalent of 2 weeks just by the time it saves by not having to scout around for great places to see or photograph. Say you plan to visit Yosemite in June. Of the 40 locations in this app there are 34 locations indicated to go see in June. Say you plan to visit in February. In February there are twelve locations. Each location has multiple directional views. Michael includes examples at each location for you to see in order to stimulate your imagination. Say you happen to like photographing wild flowers. There are multiple seasons and locations in and near Yosemite. This App can help you find them for the time of year you are there. Each location has the best times to go there and the best light (time of day). Also included are the directions to find each location and a simple outline of helpful photo advice for each location. The Maps are another special feature. Most importantly, the maps are embedded. There is no need for a cell or wireless connection. This is essential mostly because the Park is nearly devoid of such luxuries. What if you have seen a photograph of a place and you want to go see that location yourself but you don't know where to look for it. Press the Extras Navigation Button and then Press Slide Show to view all of the photographs from all of the locations. Once the photograph you are looking for comes into view just press "Go to Location" at the bottom of the screen and the app will take you directly to the location and to the map making it simple to find instantly. When first starting out with this app, go to the Extras section and press "Watch a video Demo of This App". This will stimulate many more ideas to use on this app than can be written in a review. Also highly informative are the little things in this App. When you have discovered a photographer you admire or whose photographs you like, it is nice to be able to meet the person and have them show you the "secrets" of their success. Photographers of note, like Michael, rarely share their secrets. If they do, it is at a cost. With this app Michael generously features "tips", "suggestions" and even has tutorial videos. This is a travel guide, photo guide, field trip(s) and video tutorial training classes all for $6.99. I have used this app on both iPhone and iPad. The iPad is best for study and planning. The iPhone is best for using in the field because of its pocket sized efficiency. I have used the predecessor product for years, the book version of A Photographer's Guide to Yosemite. Even though it was vastly outdated I continued to tape it up and press on. I secretly wished Michael would update his "film era" book. It never occurred to me that it could ever become an Application. The book was so comprehensive and complete I felt it could never be done without sacrificing the depth and quality of the book. I am humbled. Not only has it duplicated the original book version but it has taken us all beyond anything that one could comprehend at the time. Every person who has ever visited Yosemite, particularly photographers, owe Michael a debt of gratitude for his work on this application. It is simply a marvelous and essential tool. Jim Alexander
Review by Jim on the Drums on Yosemite Photographer's Guide.