This (if they had their eyes open) is what all of those posing in the following photographs saw of the Yosemite Valley floor some 3,200 feet below.

Overhanging Rock was a popular point to take photographs from but the following photos show it was an exciting and dramatic place to have your picture taken. From U. C. Bancroft Library archives.

Most of the early poses were sitting down and clutching for dear life but soon groups, acrobats, dancers, cars, animals made Overhanging Rock a popular site.

Photograph of Willam Munce on a trip to Yosemite in 1911, from JoaniesBalonie blog.

Taking one of the first poses with a decidedly casual stance.

In 1866, Yosemite commission member Galen Clark was chosen as the Guardian of Yosemite. Serving two terms as guardian totaling 22 years, Clark was known for his energy and ingenuity. Famed botanist John Muir called him the best mountaineer he ever met.

Glacier Point is a viewpoint above Yosemite Valley, in California. It is located on the south wall of Yosemite Valley at an elevation of 7,214 feet (2,199 m), 3,200 feet (980 m) above Half Dome Village.

It's not known whether she said "yes" or "no."

Kitty Tatch and Katherine Hazelston were waitresses in Yosemite’s Sentinel Hotel in the 1890s. They danced atop Overhanging Rock at Glacier Point for George Fiske’s famous photograph.

President Theodore Roosevelt, left, poses with John Muir for pictures on Overhanging Rock at the top of Glacier Point, near which the men camped in a hollow and awoke to five inches of snow in 1903.

Tourists with an American flag at Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, 1890’s.

Locomobile steam car on Overhanging Rock in 1900. This was the first automobile to enter Yosemite Valley. Oliver Lippincott drove up the steep, winding road to Glacier Point. The next morning it was hauled onto Overhanging Rock by ropes for this famous photograph.

A 1916 publicity shot of a Studebaker Roadster.