Autumn, Eastern Sierra Valley. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
The autumn color of aspens, willows, and more comes to the valleys of the Eastern Sierra Nevada.
During the past week I made my first trip to the Eastern Sierra Nevada to look for the annual fall aspen color transition. Broadly speaking — even though there can be some earlier and later aspen color — I regard the first three weeks of October as being the most likely time to find good color, with the second week perhaps being the most reliable period. Over the past few years the transition has seemed to start a bit earlier, but this year it seems to be on what we used to regard as a “normal” schedule. There wasn’t much color at all during the first few days of the month this year, but it was starting to come on more strongly towards the end of the first week. It should be quite good as of this October 8 posting… but that’s a guess, since I’m back home now. (I’ll be heading back up in a few days.)
Since folks often ask me about the aspen color season (perhaps because I wrote “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide To Autumn In The Sierra.” Being ready to answer those questions was one reason for visiting early in the season. (OK, the main reason was to make my own photographs! And to make a presentation about autumn color in Mammoth Lakes.) I visited areas between highway 88 (Carson Pass) in the north and Bishop Creek Canyon to the south, stopping in quite a few other places in between. This photograph comes from one of those intermediate stops, a rugged east-side canyon that holds a lot of wonderful fall color from aspens, willows, cottonwoods, and more. (Looking for more information about the aspen color transition? Pease visit my Sierra Nevada Fall Color page.)
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email
Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.
All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.