A Week of Photos In Review
North Lake (9/27/15) Elliot McCucken
North Lake (9/27/15) Elliot McCucken
Sunrise, Tioga Pass (9/30/15) Alena Nicholas
So many photographers send great photos to share with CaliforniaFallColor.com readers, that we often don’t have time to post them. Let’s make that up, today.
Anyone can send photos. The best way to get your photos published is to email them to editor(at)californiafallcolor.com.
Photos should be large enough to post. 1,000k is best, though we can use photos down to about 250k.
The top five photos, each week, are (with the photographer’s permission) sent to media for placement on their websites on television (weather reports) and in newspapers. This is a great way to get published and garner exposure from a major medium. For these, we need high resolution shots (300 dpi).
We’re unable to promise to publish every photo, but when a photo is of a place we don’t see very often or is exceptional, we try our best to post it.
Here are some of the best photos received this past week from color spotters across California. Enjoy. We sure did.
Dogwood, Yosemite Valley (10/1/15) Alena Nicholas
Bishop Creek (9/27/15) Elliot McCucken
Blue Lake above Big Virginia Lake (9/27/15) Kevin Lennox
Tioga Pass (10/1/15) Alena Nicholas
Tioga Pass (10/1/15) Alena Nicholas
S. Fork Bishop Creek (9/27/15) Elliot McCucken
Please note that the entire Eastern Sierra landscape has changed dramatically since most of the above images shown in this post were taken.
As I mentioned in an earlier comment on a different post two days ago, many of the areas that were at peak when photographed last weekend (9/27) were ravaged by winds and stormy weather in the high country.
The best color remaining as of yesterday afternoon, 10/1 ,was at Rock Creek Lake. At the time it was snowing and raining and another storm is expected this coming Sunday.
The images above are gorgeous. Many thanks to the photographers who contributed them and to you for sharing them. And as you so often note, its still appropriate to GO NOW — especially if you can get up to Rock Creek.
Typically in the Eastern Sierra, we go through a period of intense color in the high country followed by what I call “the green lull”. It usually lasts a week or so and then the lower elevations explode with color, assuming storms havent taken their toll.
From what I saw the last three days, while the high end color is gone or fading fast, all the remaining green trees may still put on a great show in the near future.
Id say June Lake Loop (still mostly green with touches of color and many bare trees), Aspendell, lower elevations of Bishop Creek Canyon, Lundy Canyon, Lee Vining, etc. all have enough green still on the trees to produce a nice second act on the Eastside.
Not trying to be negative; I just don’t want people to be disappointed if they do GO NOW and don’t see the same beauty and intensity captured in the stunning photos noted above.
For me, the Sierra are always worth visiting. Just keep an open mind and you’ll find the different stages of Autumn beauty throughout the season.
Thanks. We are planning a weekend trip to Eastern Sierra the coming weekend. Any recommendations on best places to see color?
The prime location still happens to be Bishop Creek Canyon, though all of the high canyons north of Bishop Creek are best bets for color. Be sure to check back on Wed. and Thursday for this week’s latest reports.
Hi John,
Thanks for the amazing write up and the awesome photographs posted on your blog. Your blog has actually helped me to convince my husband for a trip to the Eastern Sierra..So thanks a lot..we are planning for a trip this weekend or the following weekend. I live in Orange County and we plan to drive through Lake Sabrina enroute Bishop Creek way up to Aspendell. Could you recommend routes and places where we can see the amazing fall foliage.
Shweeta,
I’ll post an update on Bishop Creek on Wednesday evening. That should give you the best idea of where to head in that area and Mono County to the north. Certainly, areas of Bishop Creek will be past peak, though others will be Near Peak or Peaking. The best color for the canyon occurred two weeks ago and that was unseasonably early.