Tracy Barbutes
@tracybarbutes
Independent photojournalist. Fine art photographer. Wildland wildfire certified. FAA drone pilot. Based near Yosemite, CA. Member @womenphotograph @nppa. All images ©️.
Firefighters this afternoon responded to a vegetation fire burning at a moderate-to-dangerous rate of spread just down the road - the #PriestFire. The fire burned adjacent to the Old Priest Grade between Moccasin and Big Oak Flat/Groveland, CA. Forward progress has now been stopped.
Yosemite's annual PRIDE took place under sunny skies, wrapped in a supportive community, Friday, June 19, 2026. Love is Love. #yosemite #pride #loveislove
Ten years ago today, President Obama, and the first family, visited #Yosemite National Park. President Obama touted the achievements of the Park Service, and called for future generations to carry on the work of preserving the nation's wilderness. Ten. Years. Ago.
I miss being in a newsroom on election night. The next best thing? Documenting @calmatters.org nonpartisan VotingMatters events. calmatters.org/inside-the-n...
Maxine Joselow and Andrea Fuller of the New York Times reported that Trump is using $7MIL worth of entrance fees visitors have paid to our #nationalparks across the country to pay for work on the reflecting pool. 1/2
Ray McPadden, #Yosemite Park Supe, shrugged off headlines about overcrowding as the summer season begins without a vehicle reservation system, blaming activist groups who project “what the park experience should be like.” www.mariposagazette.com/articles/mcp...
Current #Yosemite Park supervisor, Ray McPadden, was encouraged to remove timed reservations, and he proudly did so. Today, Valley parking was full by ~10:45 am, Hetch Hetchy parking was full by ~12:30 pm, there were 1.5 hour wait times to enter the park via Hwy 41. Please be kind to park employees.
A protester carries an upside down American flag during a #nokingsday event adjacent to #yosemitenationalpark, Saturday, March 28, 2026.
No to kings. No to war. No to facism. No to 🧊 - #YosemiteNationalPark, California. #nokings
One antidote to world news: listen to and watch birds, if you are able.
I had the great fortune to spend time recently in #PinnaclesNationalPark. I spotted dozens of condors, countless turkey vultures and wild turkeys, dozens of smaller birds, coyote, and this red-shouldered hawk.
I love that it's winter here in the Sierra Nevada, and I can drop down the hill where it's spring in the Central Valley. California life.
Relieved for this much-needed precipitation in the #SierraNevada foothills.
Lots of weather here in the Sierra Nevada - and #Yosemite is closed.
Today, #Yosemite National Park officials announced they will no longer use a timed reservation system in 2026. Check the park website for real-time conditions, seasonal updates and trip-planning tools. Planning resources, travel tips and current alerts are available at www.nps.gov/yose.
No reservations required this year for Yosemite's 'firefall' event. All #Yosemite Valley parking was full by 3:30 pm yesterday, and then again today at 2:10 pm. You may text ynptraffic to 333111 for updates when the park is extremely busy.
Thankful for the Sierra Nevada / Payahuunadü every day... #thanksgiving
Honored to be a part of the Fall of Freedom movement with the @monroegallery.bsky.social Pop Up exhibit - online and in their Santa Fe, NM, gallery. ART MATTERS.
Well now, that was a fun evening. Just when you think you know someone, you learn something new. Thanks for stopping in Groveland tonight to share some of your stories @kenyager.bsky.social - #Yosemite is fortunate to have you as an ambassador.
Autumn in #Yosemite brings climbers to Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La (El Capitan) en masse.
The view that never grows old and never disappoints: #TenayaLake and the granite glory of the Sierra Nevada. #Yosemite
Several dozen furloughed #YosemiteNationalPark staffers, park concession employees, community members and park supporters participated in a #NoKings protest along Hwy 140 near the Yosemite sign in El Portal - outside of the park’s boundaries.
Love #Yosemite and the fabulous humans who care for the land and animals and visitors? Join a gathering on October 18, from 9am-12pm at the Yosemite National Park sign along Hwy 140 and show your support.
I photographed a naturalization ceremony at Yosemite’s Glacier Point amphitheater on Wednesday, at which nearly 70 people from 16 countries became U.S. citizens. #yosemite
We have a saying here in the Sierra Nevada foothills… not if, but when. #ChineseCamp is 15 minutes down the hill from our community, and we grieve it as our own. #TCUSeptemberLightningComplexFire www.tracybarbutes.com/chinesecampf...