(Yet Another) Quick Eastern Sierra Fall Aspen Color Note

October 8, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Based on what I observed during my visit to the eastern Sierra last weekend and on what I’m hearing from others who visited and who may be visiting now, a few quick observations, predictions, and thoughts:

Most of the higher elevation trees are likely to have lost their leaves by this weekend – if you shoot there look for the stark quality of bare aspen groves and perhaps a few lingering trees.
For this weekend, I suspect that middle elevation trees may be your best bet. Last weekend it looked like trees at the 8000′ elevation and a bit lower might be starting to pick up color, especially those in somewhat more exposed locations.
The consensus among a number of folks whose reports I follow seems to be that some of the areas that generally change later may be best a week or more from now. (For me these include spots like Lee Vining Canyon and Lundy Canyon.) To state it directly, some are suggesting that the weekend of October 17-18 may provide some interesting low-elevation color.
Overall, the the grand cycles of nature in the eastern Sierra, a number of us are thinking that this may well not go down in the records as the most astonishing year for aspen color.
There are always other great subjects to shoot in the eastern Sierra. Trees down in Owens Valley and other high desert areas are changing colors; the eastern face of the range provides may wonderful photographic opportunities; aspens can be photogenic even when they are not bright red, orange, yellow, and gold; a dusting of snow on the higher peak – not unusual at all this time of year – provides some great images.
Keep in mind that even when the whole eastern Sierra is not lit up by wild aspen colors, all you have to do is find one spot that is.

There are no guarantees when it comes to figuring out what nature will do. Consult as many reports as you can find, watch the weather, be flexible, and hope for the best.

UPDATE: Do keep a careful eye on the weather early next week. Based on current predictions there is a very good chance that the first significant storm of the season may sweep across the state, and this could easily lead to extended closures of high passes.

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.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

San Francisco Buildings, Foot of Market

October 8, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Forms of large downtown San Francisco buildings near the foot of Market street in morning light.

Near the foot of Market Street, close to the Ferry Building and the Bay, the morning light coming across the water lit these buildings in a special way – something to do, I think, with the low angle of the light, the fact that the fog was just clearing, and the blue sky with thin clouds above. Although the buildings are in direct sun, the light is partially softened and interrupted by the remaining fog clouds over the Bay to the east. When I shot this I had a pretty good idea that it would end up as a black and white photograph.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Reviews

First Light: Five Photographers Explore Yosemite’s Wilderness

October 7, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

This post is a book recommendation and a short story about a recent short pack trip in Yosemite.

Earlier this year Heyday Books and the Yosemite Association published First Light: Five Photographers Explore Yosemite’s Wilderness. The five photographers are Charles Cramer, Kark Kroeber, Scot Miller, Mike Osborne, and Keith Walklet. Between the five of them, I wouldn’t be surprised if they have well over a century of experience in the park exploring, working, and doing photography – it is hard to imagine a group of people with more intimate knowledge of the park and especially of the backcountry. (To give you an idea, the experiences of these photographers range from apprenticeship with Ansel Adams to years of work as a Yosemite Park ranger and much more.)

I don’t think there is a single shot of the typical “Yosemite icons” in this book – this is an exploration of images from the back-country and the photographs interpret scenes and experiences that most park visitors don’t get to share unless they take the time to leave The Valley and park roads and set themselves free on high country trails. Those who already know the back-country will identify quickly with the photographs in the book; those who have not experienced the Yosemite high country will get a wonderful introduction to the 95% of the park not experienced by most visitors – the best part of the park in my view.

The book is available from a number of sources including Heyday Books and should be available from the Ansel Adams Gallery, which had and may still have autographed copies for sale.

It has been my good fortune to know Charles “Charlie” Cramer over the years – in fact, Charlie played organ at our wedding! More recently I have twice been able to arrange my backpacking adventures so that I could run into the “five photographers” during their annual photographic expeditions into Yosemite. Last summer I planned to meet up with them at Fletcher Lake. I packed myself in for a few days but didn’t see them, until a few days into the trip when I was shooting above Townsley Lake. I spotted a heavily laden hiker approaching quickly around the side of the lake carrying so much stuff that I figured he must be a backpacker – but it turned out the be Keith Walklet, who seems to travel with a lot of gear! I found out that they were camped at Booth Lake, just below Fletcher, so I stopped by briefly the next day as I started my hike back to the trailhead.

This year I again scheduled a trip so that I could meet up with them briefly. They were camped out at upper Cathedral Lake for a week, and I managed to join them for two days. As one who often travels alone in the back-country and who has to minimize gear in order to keep the weight down, I have to say I appreciated arriving at their camp to find an extra chair that I could sit on as everyone sat around during the midday hours killing time between morning and evening photography! On the day I arrived they were having dinner at 3:15 p.m. so that everyone could be off looking for photographs by 4:00 p.m. or so. Everyone headed off to shoot and it wasn’t until way after dark that all came back to camp. The process essentially reversed in the morning – everyone was up and gone an hour before sunrise, and the group didn’t reassemble until mid or late morning.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: San Francisco

Morning, South Beach Harbor, Clearing Fog

October 7, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

South Beach Harbor, Clearing Morning Fog

Moored boats float in calm water under morning high fog on San Francisco Bay at South Beach Harbor.

The South Beach Harbor is a favorite subject of mine when I take the train to San Francisco to do photography on foot. I often walk from the Caltrain station past AT&T Park towards the Embarcadero, which takes me right to this spot. If the combination of still water, fog, and/or early morning light is right I usually stop and shoot here a bit before moving on.

On this morning the water was just about as smooth as I’ve ever seen on this part of the San Francisco Bay. Although there was fog, it ws the higher variety that still permits long views across the water, and it was already clearing when I arrived.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.