We’re back from the Sierra Nevada, and I have some new photographs to share. I was actually on the east side of the range twice over the past couple of weeks, mostly chasing autumn aspen color but also photographing other seasonal subjects. October is probably my favorite time in the range, and there was a lot to see, including this impressive sunrise cloud show along the crest near Bishop.
On this recent visit we stayed in Bishop for a couple of nights. The first-day plan was to rise early and head up into the mountains to photograph aspen color. But part way up, in the first pre-dawn light, it looked to me like there might be some sunrise drama along the Sierra crest — so we changed plans and headed out into the high desert at the base of the range and found a good location to photograph early light and clouds and fog swirling among the peaks.
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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, (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.
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Those Sierra crest clouds really make the shot — autumn light up there is something else. I enjoyed following along with your Scotland posts too; 5,000 images from two and a half days in Glasgow sounds about right for a photographer on the move! Lovely set as always.
In a range where clear blue skies area sometimes a bit too common, I always take advantage of the cloud frame when it appears! On this morning we diverted from our planned photography of aspens and headed out to this spot when we saw these conditions developeing.
I’m impressed by the number of images (5000!) that Ward says he captured in Scotland, though I tend to come back with far fewer these days myself!
To be clear, the 5000 images are from 24 days in Scotland, not just 2 1/2 day in Glasgow! That includes 11 days on the West Highland Way, touring around Glencoe, 3 days on Skye, and a final few days in Edinburgh.
Heh. That’s what I thought, Ward. I should have checked your original message before replying!
That’s still a lot of photographs though!
Dan
Beautiful! Missed the Sierra this year for various reasons, most recent being I spent 24 days in Scotland from early September (been enjoying your posts from there as well!).
Hi Ward,
Sorry you missed the Sierra color this year… but 24 days in Scotland seems like a pretty good compensation! Are you photographing there? I’d love to compare notes at some point.
Dan
I’m back now, but yes, around 5000 images! I’ve just finished 10 posts just covering my first 2 1/2 days in Glasgow… 😅: https://www.wardruth.com/category/travel/scotland-2026/
5000!!! That’s a lot — way more than I came back with… and I still haven’t really finished with them. Good luck!