Conway Summit Aspens in Rain. Conway Summit, California. October 3, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Fall rain and mist mute the colors of the extensive aspen groves above Conway Summit on Highway 395 in the eastern Sierra Nevada.
Just back from the eastern Sierra an hour or so earlier, and I want to get something posted before going to bed – so here is more or less the last photograph I made today. It rained lightly (and sometimes more heavily) all day, starting when I woke up in Bishop Canyon, continuing as I photographed in that general area until the early afternoon, and then following me north as I headed up to the Lee Vining area. Although I saw a few spots of sun as I drove towards this huge aspen grove near Conway Summit, by the time I arrived it was raining steadily. My plan was to decide here whether to continue my aspen hunt into the evening as I drove further north… or to recognize that the weather was going to be an issue and instead head up Tioga Pass and over the pass to return home.
Since it was raining at Conway Summit, after stopping to make a few exposures (including this one) I headed back to Lee Vining and then up to Tioga Pass. This Conway Summit photograph probably illustrates some important variables of landscape photograph in general and aspen photography specifically. Based on visits to this area in previous years, I was expecting less color than I found – while a lot of trees were still green, the higher trees had turned their most intense colors, and sections of the lower groves also were quite colorful. Despite the planning that gets me to places like this at the right time of day and at about the right time of the year, some things cannot be controlled – in this case, it was the weather. Also, even though I came here with a fairly specific shooting plan, once I arrived the conditions were tough enough that I had to work quickly. Fortunately I know this place pretty well, so I was able to find the scene I wanted to shoot without a lot of searching and I was then able to capture a few frames quickly… and get back into the car and out of the rain!
This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
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Dan – Thanks for answering where the rainy/snowy weather came from. The area I visited was the Lakes Basin Recreational area northwest of Sierraville. I have not visited this area before in the Sierras, so I wanted to investigate the region. It is still beautiful, but not on the scale of the Southern Eastern Sierra region (highway 120 and south), and mostly populated with conifers.
My thought of visiting this area was to explore lesser traveled portions of the Sierras to find new, less known vistas. As you mentioned in one of your other aspen posts, some fall color locations in the Eastern Sierras are being over run by so many photographers these days that trying to find new, original interpretations of this region, is getting tougher to do.
Perhaps the next time I go back, I’ll leave the camera and tripod at home, and instead bring a fishing pole!
Hi Greg:
Is that the 20 Lakes Basin area up past Saddlebag Lake, or one of the other “Lakes” Basins. (Like 10 Lakes, 9 Lakes, and the rest?)
As you now know, the aspen color is pretty minimal at the higher elevations on the west side of the crest. There are some exceptions (around Carson and Monitor Passes for example, and in a few odd spots here and there) but for the most part, as you noted, we’re talking conifers!
October (and late September) weather in the Sierra is an “interesting” thing. Folks who spend a lot of time in the Sierra during the summer get into a frame of mind that says, “might get some thundershowers – they’ll clear up at dusk,” and forget (at least once) that the winter cold fronts are a different beast entirely. The first time this happened to me I was on a high ridge in Yosemite in mid-October when it clouded up… and started to snow… and didn’t clear until a day later! So the motto for fall in the Sierra might be “enjoy the mostly sunny and beautiful fall weather… but keep your eyes peeled for weather fronts!”
This particular system came from one of the two directions that are common. This one was more or less a packet of tropical moisture that came up from Mexico, which is why most people got rain instead of snow. This was followed by an odd little “cut off low” that had more northerly origins, and which has been wandering around central California for several days and bringing the snow that came a bit later.
Should be nice this weekend though!
Dan
Dan – This past weekend I was up in the Lakes Basin area of the Sierras looking for fall color, but didn’t find much as this area is 98% conifers (which I didn’t know)! Well that is a lesson learned. But I don’t see it as a waste of time, as any time spent in the Sierras is more enjoyable than being stuck in traffic in the Bay Area!
On Sunday morning I awoke to the drip, drip, drip sounds of what sounded like rain, and then when I finally got up I was surprised to find moderate intensity levels of rain. I was surprised, as I have rarely expereinced rain in the Sierras during fall. Reluctantly, I decided to bail out of Sierras and drove down to lower elevations to Nevada City to get out of the rain.
Since I was out of communications with the media the whole time, I never could find out why we were experiencing rain at this time of the year. Would you happen to know where this rain storm came from?
Hi Dan! Thanks so much for sharing your insight into shooting fall color in the Sierras. It’s been a dream of mine to shoot some golden aspens for many years now. It seems that inevitably something (most often a stupid deadline at work) interferes with this. This weekend, however, I’m looking to make that happen. I’m trying to figure out where to stay. Did you have any problem finding a campsite with so many photographers running around? I was thinking of Four Jeffrey’s. I’ll be heading up Saturday most likely or late late Friday night and I’m concerned about finding an available walk-in site. I hope there is still color left this weekend.
Your photographs are great. I look forward to seeing more from your latest trip to the Sierras. Cheers,
-Kurt
Kurt, good luck with your “aspen hunting” this coming weekend! While some of the trees at the very high elevations will likely be past their prime, the lower elevation trees should be looking great. In fact, you’ll probably be among them at the Four Jeffreys campground – there are many trees there and nearby. I often stay at that campground, and at this time of year you shouldn’t have any problem getting a site. Do keep in mind that the weather is changing rapidly, and for the next few days it will probably be cold and wet there. I hear that it may warm up a bit and dry out some by the weekend.
I don’t think that all that many of the photographers camp. (You’ll have a much harder time getting a motel room in Bishop than getting a campsite!) On one hand I can certainly understand the desire to have a warm bed, electricity, and internet access. On the other hand, when I camp up there I can roll out of bed and be photographing aspens in 15 minutes.
Dan
Hi Dan!
I wouldn’t be surprised if we passed each other on the road. I was also staying in Bishop Canyon camping with my family enjoying a few days of vacation and photography. I’m hoping to post some of my favorite shots in the next week or so. As always, your photo’s inspire me to get out with my camera!
Hi Stephanie, and thanks for posting! I wouldn’t be surprised if we passed one another. It seemed like half the photographers in California (and Nevada) were up there this weekend! Where did you camp? I was going to stay at Four Jeffreys (my usual spot) but I decided to stay at the Forks campground instead on Saturday night.
The upper canyon, especially the south fork, was truly stunning – especially in the soft light of the rain. I shot all the way until after dark on Saturday night! I think that the upper canyon is going to be largely spent by next weekend, but the lower canyon may well have some great color by then.
I hope to post a lot more of my photographs over the next week. The Conway Summit shot was just the one that I could post-process the fastest late last night before finally getting to bed. ;-)
Dan