Favorite Fall Color experience - please share yours

Hey all,

I was hoping to hear from you regarding some of your favorite Fall colors experiences. Since I am new to shooting CA in the Fall I was also hoping to glean some insight into the local color.

Anyway I will start out with a CO story since that is all I got 'so far.'

Spent the night in my car in the overnight lot at the Maroon Bells with a bunch of other RNMPers. It got really cold that night (low 20s) and then snowed hard. Woke up pre-dawn because of the cold. Walked out to the lake in the dark with fresh snow all around on the ground and trees. Froze my tail off while taking in one the most beautiful mornings I have experienced. That day was later on remembered by all RMNPers as 'the Sunday' of 2006 in CO. And you were either their or you missed it. I happened to be amoung the fortunate that year.

So what comes to mind when you think about a good Fall color experiences and where were you? Any images you would care to share would be appreciated as well.

Thanks,

Derek

Man... hard to beat fresh snow and aspens.. what a special morning you had. Since we're bound to see many aspens in this thread, I'll post one of some fall Dogwoods in Sequoia NP last October. Compression killed this... saving at 50%!

Back in '05 when I was up bishop creek canyon shooting fall color we had the most spectacular sierra wave I've ever seen, truely an awesome experience standing in a meadow with everything turning bright orange. It was the same one as preston and MG have posted shots of. And I think getting that shot of NL I recently posted was pretty damn cool.

Very nice image Floris! It looks like you were in one of your favorite redwood groves up there with the red barked trees. Man, those Dogwoods just keep on giving. I didn't realize they turned color in the Fall as well.

Thanks for posting.

Thanks for sharing that story Cory. Sometimes it really helps to hear what went on behind the photo to get a better feel for the experience. Blogs are very helpful that way as well.

"So what comes to mind when you think about a good Fall color experiences and where were you?"

Now, that's a loaded question, if there ever was one!

For me, there are many experiences that live in vivid color in my memory. Here are a few that stand out...

October 1, 2005: Standing in the Four Jeffrey campground on Bishop Creek with Michael Gordon (MG) and Guy Tal watching and photographing the greatest Sierra Wave sunset I've ever seen. The light reflected from the cloud turned everything; mountains, people, and trees a glorious shade of yellow-orange. I remember MG's beer sitting on a rock. Long after the others had hit the bags, MG and I sat around the fire and talked until the embers faded into the night.

2005: Re-staking Dan's tent in the middle of the night in high wind and rain at McGee Creek. I was sleeping in the dirt in my bag and bivvy sack. The stars were incredible in the clear sky above, while rain blew from the mountains. Dan was in his tent. I woke to the roar of a big wind hurtling down the canyon. and heard Dan's tent pegs being pulled from the ground, 'ping, ping, ping '. Rats! I crawled out of my sack, grabbed my headlamp and hammer, and was lucky enough to find the pegs. Standing was difficult. Dan asked if I needed help. "Nope, you stay inside! I got it!", I shouted over the roar. I never told him, but I wanted him to stay inside to hold the tent down! The morning was chilly, clear, and calm; and the coffee never tasted so good!

2007: Photographing aspens in Lee Vining Canyon with MG, Harley, Dan, and Lon on a frigid morning with freshly fallen snow and then going back to camp for a cup of hot coffee around the fire.

2008: Meeting up with a group of CANP folks at the Whoa Nellie Deli in Lee Vining for a lunch, good talk, and general goofing off.

2008: Sitting around the campfire with Harley at Bishop Creek after a great day of exploring and doing photography.

While photography was always one goal of these trips, friendship and encounter are what made these experiences so rich and unforgetable.

This experience was not photography related, but speaks to solitude in the mountains...

1971: Crossing Forester Pass (13.700) at night, in a storm. I remember being hunkered down by a boulder and having a smoke after climbing to the pass from Tyndall Creek, while the peaks shredded the clouds and a fitful full moon seemed to glide in the heavens. As I descened from the pass, the clouds broke, and the light of the moon on the freshly dusted peaks of Center Basin was unforgetable. I hiked down Vidette Creek to the Kings River and wandered into Cedar Grove mid-morning. The pancake breakfast was awsome!

What a life! I am looking forward to this fall with great excitement! I truly hope to see many of you at Silver Lake on October 4th.!

-P

I've had some good experiences in the fall in eastern CA over the years, but I'm hoping for my best this fall when I spend a few days in western North Carolina along the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Smokey Mountains,.

Great stories Preston! Those sound like some serious good times.

Well, I've only had one mid October Weekend in Bishop Creek Canyon after peak color, but I hope to make up for it this year, I'm planning on making the meeting on 10/4.

My trips started on the eastern side when the Tioga Road was all dirt. So, that goes back quite away on the old sierra calendars. Some of the best photo producing trips have been primarily the standard spots of Bishop Creeks, Rock Creek, McGee Creek, Lundy Canyon, etc. But, I've also made a few trips to the eastern part of 120 with some good finds as well.
Some years are timed well and you can't stop at all when the light is right, but there are some off years too that can not be very productive at all. But, just being out there for the hunt is as good as it gets IMO.
I hope to see everyone that can make the trip to Silver Lake on the 4th.

I've taken many trips to the Eastern Sierra over the years, alternating between "home base" in Bishop one year and Lee Vining the next year; always with another photog buddy. Meeting up with "old" friends while on the east side is always a great time, sharing a campfire, a glass of wine or old BS stories are all great memories. This photo was taken the last day of our trip in 2007 I believe. We met up with Preston earlier in the week and hung out together for a couple of days then decided to head for home early because of the weather, except I headed to the Independence area to shoot in the boulder fields if the light was OK. Well, it was heavy overcast, storm brewing on the horizon and just enough time to scout out a shooting location, set up the 4x5 and expose about 4 sheets of film. I love this shot because of the cloud cover creating that "great diffuser" in the sky, really made the colors pop. No sooner than on the road headed south and it began to rain, then a downpour with continuous rain until about the Coso Junction, about 50 miles down the road. No matter what the weather, a trip to the Eastern Sierra in October is always worth it.

Wow Reno,

Very colorful image and great story to go along with it! You guys are really getting me psyched to get over to the Eastern side this year.

Derek

Just came back from the East Side yesterday and the rabbit brush is already starting to bloom here and there.

Derek,

Nice to hear from you... some of us were wondering where you've been. :-) A great topic and like Preston, a topic that is a bit loaded and one that there is no single answer. Just about all my experiences that combined photography and nature are great (minus those times when cameras have been destroyed, etc....)

I have to divide the "experience" in to People and photography. When it comes to pure photography, I'm a loner and am perfectly happy and content seeking out the beauty in nature and capturing it. Those "moments" are forever frozen in time because I have them captured. This image here while not my favorite nor my best, really kinda represents those "moments" that give me vivid reminders of why I love "being there." This was taken in 1993 and I remember it like it was yesterday.... Lower Lee Vining Canyon, up with a small group of Camera Club members. I remember scratching the heck out of my station wagon from Rabbit Brush and Sage navigating a very narrow dirt road before wondering around looking for images. This was of course 35mm and was also my first year of 4x5.

Then there's people. Now what good would nature photography be if we didn't have others to share that experience with? Like I said, I'm mostly a loner when it comes down to the act of photographing nature, but I also cherish being able to share that common bond with others. Preston already mentioned some recent good times - and it's not limited to fall color of course.

There's just something comforting and enjoyable being able to sit around the campfire, or have a bite to eat at Nicely's or the Mountain Room in Yosemite Valley, regardless of what's happened photographically that day. It's just good stuff.

And I'm looking forward to seeing some new and old faces at Silver Lake in a few weeks.

Lon

Hey Lon,

Yeah, I have been out of it photographically lately. My job has gotten crazy busy the last few months. The intial glee about a promotion has worn off a bit as I see all the new work which will be involved with it. I always tried to avoid managment type roles in the past. This time I don't think I will escape it. And everything is coming to a crescendo around the end of the month - right at the peak of Fall Colors. I've told myself I have to get away even if only for a few days. So thats my goal, unless my manager tells me its a no go.

Anyway thanks for sharing your story and the image that brings it to life. I have to agree with you regarding both aspects of photography. Some of my best memories are alone while others are with friends and family. Both can be very rewarding.

Derek

Last October 11 (as the stock market was in freefall, I seem to remember) I was in Bishop photographing autumn color. I got a good shot of North Lake, then drove to Mammoth Lakes. I rented a motel room and lay down for a nap at about 1:30. The sky was blue and clear. I woke up about 90 minutes later and there was a blizzard outside. It was a "freak" snowstorm, not caused by a storm front, but a rare condensation of moisture from Mono Lake which drifted up to Mammoth Lakes. Or so the news reports said. I snatched this photo the following morning at 9:41. It's taken off Highway 395 between Mammoth and Mono Lake.

Tony,

I love that zigzag strip of color. Fresh snow and fall colors are my favorite combination and also very difficult to predict/catch. It looks like you were ready for that freak storm.

Derek