“Boulders and Autumn Forest” — Fall colors in a conifer forest along the banks of the Merced River, Yosemite Valley.
while there is fall color in Yosemite, it is not widespread, and it comes in bits and pieces rather than hillsides blanketed in color. This scene is a case in point. The great majority of the trees here along the Merced River are conifers. But deciduous trees are scattered though the forest. Here they include three major sources of fall color in the Valley: A big leaf maple, a dogwood, and a black oak.
While working on this photograph I had a not-unusual “Yosemite experience.” When I made the exposure I was shooting across the Merced River into what seemed like an inaccessible forest. But as I post-processed the file and looked closely I discovered that there were old electrical wires hidden among the trees! The Valley has been populated for centuries, and few places there can be said to be true wilderness at this point.
“Autumn Forest, Yosemite Valley” — Autumn color from black oak and big leaf maple trees among the conifers, Yosemite Valley.
This is another of those dense vegetation photographs that I like. I enjoy the challenge of looking at these complex scenes long enough to find order in their complexity and near-chaos. Here that meant setting up a good distance back from the scene and photographing with a very long lens, moving around to find just the right relationships among the elements.
There are two special things about this specific spot in Yosemite Valley. The first has to do with light. Since areas along the base of the southern cliffs tend to remain in the shadows for many hours, I go here to find soft shadow light. But even better, El Capitan is across the Valley from this spot, and it reflects the daytime sun into these trees, giving a directional quality to the light. There’s one more interesting thing about this spot: a road runs fight in front of it, so one must compose carefully to leave it out and then wait for any cars to pass!
“Forest With Autumn Leaves” — Autumn leaves on black oak and big leaf maple trees add color to a Yosemite Valley forest.
I enjoy the challenge of trying to make compositions out of very busy, complex scenes. There are plenty of such scenes in typical forest settings, where the amount of detail can be overwhelming, and it can take me a while to find something that works. Often I wander through such places just looking and using a framing card to check photograph potential. At some point, things fall into place.
I already knew of this spot where reflections from a cliff across Yosemite Valley send soft light into the forest and especially to the tall trees at the right. On the last day of October, autumn leaves were sprinkled throughout the scene, too. This feels like a quintessential autumn photograph of the Valley. It is not generally a place of vast forests of color — more common are conifer forests interrupted by intense color from scattered deciduous trees.
“Big Leaf Maple, Autumn” — A big, colorful autumn leaf from a big leaf maple tree, Yosemite Valley.
Leaves from the big leaf maple trees are among the most colorful sights in Yosemite Valley during the fall. Their yellow color is especially striking because they often grow in shaded, darker areas and sometimes among the conifers. They may not be that well known since their color season is short and not during the most popular tourist times. The five-lobed leaves are gigantic — sometimes as large as two hands spread out.
Finding this big, brightly-colored leaf was part of the pay-off for a half hour or more of slow wandering through a quiet forested area. Photographing in these places is both challenging and rewarding. There often will not be obvious iconic subjects there, but the rewarding challenge comes from discovering small things and finding ways to make compositions out of complex scenes.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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