Aspen color season is now underway in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountain range of California – or at least that’s what I hear. I haven’t been over the crest quite yet to see for myself, but others are writing about it and posting photographs, and my previous experience tells me that now is the time. I wrote extensively about this last year (see the article here) so I’ll try to keep this somewhat short, and mainly focus on some ideas about how to approach the whole process if you are planning to photograph the aspens this year.

Photographers who haven’t photographed the Sierra Nevada fall aspen color often have a series of questions – some of which I’ll answer directly and some of which I’ll be cagy about.

When do the trees change colors?

In my experience the first hints of change can may be seen in late September, though I’ve seen a few odd trees here and there get some color as early as the middle of the month. The core of the real “show” tends to be roughly around the first week of October, extending from a bit earlier than that until perhaps mid-October. You can perhaps find a few trees after that at lower elevations and in sheltered areas, but not many. (In a reply found below, Michael Frye says that he finds his best aspens a bit later than this. He knows what he is talking about!)

As I write this near the end of September, 2010… the change is underway. I’ll be going very soon. But before I do… 

What affects the timing of the change?

I’ve heard a lot of talk about this, but I’m not totally convinced that the speculation is entirely accurate – but that won’t keep me from repeating some of it! Many think that the timing may be affected by, or even given hints about, how early the cold season arrives. The idea is that an early winter is associated with an early change of color. Others point to the amount of precipitation that fell during the previous season and how late the snow and water stuck around. Other local factors such as elevation and exposure can make a difference – more on that below.

Do they all change at once?

No, they don’t. There are location and elevation variations and perhaps differences caused by other factors as well. In general, trees at higher elevations seem to change first. To some extent it seems to me that, all else being equal, smaller trees may also change ahead of larger trees. Trees in more sheltered areas, especially at lower elevations, may change last – deeper canyons along Owens Valley and similar areas can produce color relatively later.

Fall weather conditions can certainly affect the trees. There are some theories about cold snaps either bringing on the change in color… or ruining it by turning leaves brown and black. It is definitely the case that a weather front with high winds can quickly bring down a lot of leaves. I’ve related a story of mine about this elsewhere. One time I showed up at a good location well before dawn and could see in the very faint pre-dawn light that there were lots of leaves to photograph. However, a few minutes later a front blew in, the wind suddenly rose, and it began to snow – and I huddled in my car. Perhaps a half hour later the sun began to come out… and I discovered that half the leaves had been taken from the trees by the wind!

Are all of the good aspens on the east side of the range?

While most of the best known areas are on the east side, there are also some notable stands just to the west of the Sierra crest and some that are technically east of the crest but on the west side of certain ridges and passes. (Yes, I’m being a bit vague about this – more on that below.) Since so many stands are on the east side, the lighting there may favor morning shooting – though shooting in diffused shade can be good, too. However, some of these stands along ridges or west of the ridges can offer interesting light late in the day. Eventually you might consider shooting an east side area in the morning and then moving to a summit or west side area late in the day.

So, where are the very best aspen stands?

For several reasons, I’m not going to give a direct answer to that question here. However, if you do a bit of detective work – some of it on this web site – I’m sure you’ll come up with some specific locations. So, why am I being cagey about where the trees are? Read on…

• There are some extremely popular areas, and they have become even more popular – some might say “over-run” – over the past few years, especially during peak times. We probably have the resurgence in photography driven by DSLRs and the ability to communicate location information quickly on the web to thank for this. If you haven’t photographed these aspens before, there is perhaps nothing wrong with seeking out these areas and starting with them, but there is a good chance – really! – that you’ll find other photographers in your frame, or that you’ll occasionally find so many photographers at certain well-known locations that you’ll just want to go somewhere else.
• It is easy to make it your goal to recreate some specific aspen photograph that you  have seen. There are some iconic photographs of certain eastern Sierra locations that are familiar to many who “chase the aspens.” These spots can certainly be beautiful… but they are not necessarily any more beautiful than other lesser know areas.
• It can be gratifying in the short term to go straight to that Super Duper Aspen Spot with the Best Aspen Grove in California and make the same photograph that everyone else is making… at first. But the real satisfaction, at least for me, comes over a longer period of time during which I learn the areas more intimately and on a personal level. Eventually one begins to understand a bit more about the patterns of color change and the locations where the trees grow, and you even begin to find some personal favorite spots – in some cases spots that no one else might even notice.
• In many cases, good photographs do not necessarily come from going to The Best Aspen Grove. In truth, a few leaves on one single branch of one lone tree can make a better photograph than the biggest and most colorful grove. Sometimes a small tree against a cliff in an obscure location can make a compelling subject.

So, rather than naming the places where the aspens are, I’ll leave you with some general advice.

• Go to the eastern Sierra sometime around the very end of September through the first week of October or a bit later.
• Keep your eyes open as you pass over the crest for trees that are not in the usual east side places.
• As you drive along the east side on highway 395, keep your eyes peeled – both for specific examples of photogenic trees and for hints about where the color might be good in general.
• Within the limits of your driving skill and the vehicle you drive, investigate some of the many side roads that head into the mountains. Especially a bit later in the season, don’t necessarily rule out roads that head away from the Sierra in a few spots.
• Don’t pass up great small groves or even individual trees as you search for bigger groves.
• Get out of the car and walk. I can “see” much better when I’m on foot than when I’m driving.
• If conditions are not perfect, try to think differently about the subject. You might have had big groves of large trees full of color in mind, but a wind storm came through? Switch gears and look for photographs of bare limbs or of colorful leaves littering the ground. Perhaps it turned cloudy? Work on close shots of the leaves and branches in the beautiful soft and diffused light.

Happy aspen hunting!