Autumn in the Sierras: Part 2
October 31, 2011 | By Nick Carver
Welcome back for part 2 of my trip to the Sierras! This post covers the second half of Day 2 - from afternoon to sunset. I spent much of the daytime hours getting the intimate details of this beautiful landscape. Close-up shots like these tend to be more forgiving of the harsh, midday light. Also, without the time crunch of beating a setting sun, I was able to relax a bit and concentrate on the details for a change.
The following 5 pictures were taken on the side of South Lake Road where sunlight was creeping out just perfectly to backlight these aspens against the dark shade of a cliff. I really enjoyed playing with the contrast between the bright yellows and deep shadow.
As the sun started to drop, I bounced around to several locations I thought would make the most of the late afternoon light. One of my favorite spots was this little pond (2nd picture down) where some gorgeous aspens reflected nicely in the still water. This location sure tried my patience, though. Not only was it difficult to find a stable footing in the marshy meadow, but then I accidentally stepped right into the pond on my way back to the car. Drenched my socks and shoes. No fun...
After sunset, I took some photos along the nearby creek, but I'm going to put those in the 3rd and final installment of my trip. So watch for those along with the rest of the pictures from my last day in the Sierras!
Autumn in the Sierras: Part 1
October 27, 2011 | By Nick Carver
Well, October is coming to an end and I'm happy to say that I did a fair amount of traveling in the past 27 days. The first trip this month was to Monache Meadows for some camping and off-roading. Just 8 days after that, I took a solo trip to Bishop, CA to capture the fall color over the course of a few days. I'm still working my way through the photos from that trip with the first batch featured here in this post.
As the departure day for my trip rolled around, I had feared I'd missed the fall color. I'd been watching the fall color reports (at this awesome site) over the previous couple weeks and it looked as though everything around Bishop had already peaked. But much to my delight, I was wrong! Turns out the color was peaking in exactly the areas I wanted to be in exactly the days I was there. Absolute perfection!
I left Southern California early, arriving in Bishop by about noon. So after checking in and getting some turkey in my stomach, I headed out to the Sabrina Basin area to see what the color was like.
I was, uh, dumbfounded to say the least. My mouth was agape. Literally. It was ridiculous. For an east coaster, it might not have been anything special, but for me, I really could not believe how colorful it all was. I'd never seen such vibrant yellow leaves before. And so much of them! Ah...I was like a kid in a candy store. Plus, the picturesque crags and peaks towering over these gorgeous Aspens...man-oh-man, it was a treat. I hope the pictures will do it justice, but I'm betting not. Not because I think the pictures came out bad or anything, but because there's really no way a photo could record the child-like amazement of my very first encounter with true fall color.
Am I coming across as a bit callow?
Anyway, so I spent the first part of the day shooting in a nice patch of bright yellow aspens, just soaking in the color. The good thing about fall color is that it's one of the few things in landscape photography you can shoot in midday light and still get decent results. In fact, I could make the argument that fall color is best photographed in midday light (but I still think sunrise or sunset is best). You just need to position yourself so the leaves are a little backlit by the sun.
For sunset, I decided to hit the Piute Pass Trail up near North Lake. I was hoping to hike up into an area where some mountain peaks would catch the sunset light. See, the problem with shooting in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains is that you're in the EASTERN Sierra Nevada Mountains. That means sunrise is when these mountains get the good light and unless you have clouds, sunset is pretty much nothing.
The hike was tough and steep and I didn't get nearly as far as I originally planned, but I got a few good shots with sunset light on the Piute Crags.
So, that marked the end of day 1. Now I originally planned to get up around 5:15 the next morning to get in position for the sunrise. I set my alarm, got to bed early and was raring to go. But apparently my body wasn't on the same page as my mind. Instead, I slept right through my alarm...2 hours past my alarm, in fact. I wanted to kick my own ass, but I'm not that flexible.
I hustled out to my pre-determined sunrise location overlooking the Sabrina Basin and although I didn't get the very first light of the day, it was early enough yet to get some good shots.
These next two shots are very similar, but I still can't decide which I like better. I'm leaning towards the second one down.
^ Click for a larger view
Then it was off to Lake Sabrina for the final shots of the morning.
^ Click for a larger view
Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 of this trip!
Monache Meadows
October 11, 2011 | By Nick Carver
Over the weekend, my brother and I took a short camping trip to the Kern Plateau in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. The place we chose was into Monache Meadow where the south fork of the Kern River makes its way through beautiful mountains and forest.
We chose this area to visit because it is only accessible by 4-wheel drive vehicles by way of the Monache 4-Wheel Drive Trail (Road 34E38). I wanted to put my 4Runner through its paces and really test out the new auxiliary lights. Other bonuses to this area of the Sequoia National Forest are that it's dispersed camping, campfires are allowed and there are no fees required to camp there. I'm used to campsites where you have to pay a $15-per-night fee, you have to supply all your information short of a urine sample, the campsites are pre-designated and your only scenic view is of the back of a Winnebago. That's why I've always preferred backpacking over car-camping.
But with a little bit of research, I found Monache, which I figured would carry all the benefits of seclusion that backpacking brings with all the convenience and fun of having a car with you. And it definitely delivered. It's a great place to camp if you have a 4x4 to get you there.
After getting settled in to our campsite along the Kern River, we headed out to the huge Monache Meadow to catch the sunset. I played with some lichen-covered rocks, reflections and the river in the foreground of my shots with the gorgeous Olancha Peak in the background to catch the sunset colors.
We stayed until twilight before heading back to camp...
After some grub, we were in for a cold night. It got all the way down to 27 degrees. Some of you out in the midwest may be chuckling right now, but that's pretty damn cold for this Southern California kid! But despite the painful cold, I got up before sunrise to catch the morning light on Bakeoven Meadow. I was pleased to see the entire meadow was covered in frost, which made for some real fun subject matter.
^ Click for a larger version
Overall, the trip was a fantastic experience and I'm pretty pleased with the shots. Feels like it was a productive 2 days. I'll definitely be returning to this area in the future. I'd really love to see it in the springtime.
