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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspens and Early Snow, North Lake

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Aspens and Early Snow, North Lake

Aspens and Early Snow, North Lake. Sierra Nevada, California. October 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An early autumn snow fall dusts the ridge above the aspen groves at North Lake, Sierra Nevada, California.

Another photograph from my early October 2008 visit to the Bishop Creek area. On the first morning I left Bishop very early, waiting only long enough for the local Starbucks to open. (There I admired a couple of Vern Clevenger photos hanging on the wall – his gallery is next door – and saw a few other bleary-eyed photographers getting some much-needed coffee.) Although the weather was clear in Bishop, it began to cloud up as I drove up toward North Lake. When I arrived before sunrise it was cloudy there, but it looked the conditions might be good for some early morning aspen photography.

But not for long. Almost as soon as I took my gear out of the car the wind came up, the temperature dropped and it began to rain and then snow. I quickly holed up in my car to wait it out, and an hour later the sun began to emerge in between the light snow showers. This well known grove of aspens on the far side of the lake climbs a valley toward the ridge. Although many leaves came down quickly in the wind as the front passed, there was still a lot of color in the grove. Here there is still light snow falling on the ridge, even as sunlight slants in from the right.

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Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Corral, McGee Canyon

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Corral, McGee Canyon

Corral, McGee Canyon. Sierra Nevada, California. October 5, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Stock corral in afternoon autumn light, McGee Canyon, Sierra Nevada.

After shooting for two days in the Bishop Creek area I headed down to Bishop for coffee and an internet connection, after which I began my long drive back to the Bay Area. Between Bishop and Mammoth Lakes I took the short lateral road up into McGee Canyon. After stopping at the road end I started back down, stopping along the road just below the stock corral to make this photograph of the fall colors in the canyon and the high peaks with a dusting of autumn snowfall beyond.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Grove, South Fork Bishop Creek

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Aspen Grove, South Fork Bishop Creek

Aspen Grove, South Fork Bishop Creek. Sierra Nevada, California. October 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Slender aspen trunks topped with golden autumn leaves near the South Fork of Bishop Creek.

This beautiful grove of slender-trunk aspens with only a few leaves left in their crowns was a lucky find. In the evening I went out looking for groves that were in the shadow of the high peaks of the valley below South Lake. I ended up on a small one-lane gravel road that didn’t seem to be getting too many visitors besides me. I found this grove near the end of this road just before it rejoined the main paved roadway, and just as the fading light provided saturated colors in the trees’ crowns to provide contrast with the paper white color of their trunks. (There is quite a bit of fine detail in this photograph that isn’t visible in the small jpg image posted here.)

keywords: aspen, tree, grove, trunk, white, leaves, yellow, gold, boulders, rocks, branch, bishop, creek, south, fork, south lake, california, usa, sierra, nevada, range, mountains, fall, autumn, color, scenic, travel, stock, nature

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Aspen Grove, South Bishop Creek

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Aspen Grove, South Bishop Creek

Aspen Grove, South Bishop Creek. Sierra Nevada, California. October 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Aspen grove near South Bishop Creek in full autumn color.

Another aspen grove photograph from last weekend’s Epic Aspen Hunt in the eastern Sierra, this example from the south fork of Bishop Creek below South Lake. This specific spot was not one that would necessarily attract anyone – it was down a short and very inconspicuous dirt road paralleling the main paved roadway, and there was only one other photographer shooting in the area when I visited. I just drove into the grove on this little one-lane road, found a pull-out, and got out and shot right where I found myself; I spent at least a half hour exploring this one very small are of dense trees. The shaded grove provided an opportunity to see and photograph the brilliant colors and bright white trunks of these trees without having do deal with the harsh direct sunlight that can create a dynamic range that is almost impossible to capture.

For those hoping to photograph these aspen during the upcoming weekend, some advice. I think that these the trees in these higher areas up the roads to North Lake, South Lake, and Sabrina Lake are likely to have pretty much run their course by now. Reports I saw today seemed to say as much, but they did mention that the colors further down that canyons are looking pretty good. I’ll probably head back up on Saturday and Sunday, but I’m likely to shoot in lower-elevation areas including Lundy and Lee Vining Canyons – the latter often has good color a bit later in the season.

keywords: aspen, grove, forest, tree, leaf, gold, yellow, green, grass, trunk, branch, white, foliage, bishop, creek, south, sierra, nevada, range, mountains, california, usa, scenic, nature, travel, landscape, stock, canopy