It looks like Inge Fernau has begun her (annual?) posting of fall color photographs from the Sierra Nevada. As I understand it – you can read more at her site – every fall she heads to the eastern Sierra and spends far more time than I do pursuing the annual autumn foliage and other seasonal subjects.
Autumn Color, Yosemite Valley
Autumn Color, Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. October 26, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell
Another in a series of photographs I made in El Capitan Meadow during a late-October one-day trip to Yosemite Valley to see the fall colors.
Base of Vernal Fall, Autumn
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Base of Vernal Fall, Autumn. Yosemite National Park, California. October 26, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell
This photograph was made (as you may have noticed from the date) in autumn of a pretty dry year. For this reason I was able to approach the base of the falls much more closely than would be possible in other years or during the waterfall season. (Even if you did manage to get this close in, say, June you wouldn’t see anything but a solid wall of mist.)
(Unfortunately, due to long-ago server software updates, this photograph no longer appears on this 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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.
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Merced River and Ilillouette Canyon, Autumn
Merced River and Ilillouette Canyon, Autumn. Yosemite National Park, California. October 26, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
As I set up for this shot – hoping to capture a bit of fall color, the interesting rocks in the riverbed, and the light coming across the ridge above the distant canyon – a person nearby asked “What are you doing? You’re pointing straight into the sun!” True. I saw significant flare in the viewfinder, but this was easy to solve by using my hand to shield the front element of the lens from the direct sun.
I’m almost embarrassed to admit that this photograph was shot right in the middle of one of the most popular tourist destinations in Yosemite – the middle of the bridge below Vernal Fall. At least I pointed the camera the opposite direction from everyone else! :-)