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Above Quincy

Quincy (10/14/19) Michael Beatley

Robert Cameron’s series of “Above” coffee table books fascinate me. Seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, Eiffel Tower or Statue of Liberty from above is mesmerizing.

So, when these photographs taken by Michael Beatley arrived, the bright colors of autumn trees and colored roofs reminded me of why Robert Cameron’s work is so endlessly fascinating.

First Aerial Photograph, Boston (10/8/1860) James Wallace Black

It was surely sensational to the public when James Wallace Black ascended in a balloon to take the first aerial photograph 159 years ago this month, as reported in MassMoments.

  • Quincy and the American Valley (10/14/19) Michael Beatley
  • Quincy (10/14/19) Michael Beatley

Today, we don’t have to go up in a balloon or aircraft to take aerial photographs. They can be taken by drones, or as Michael Beatley did, by climbing a hill. However they’re taken, aerial photographs still stir the imagination just as they did in 1860, particularly those with fall color.

  • Plumas National Forest (10/14/19) Michael Beatley
  • Pacific dogwood, Plumas National Forest (10/14/19) Michael Beatley
  • Pacific dogwood, Plumas National Forest (10/14/19) Michael Beatley

The Plumas National Forest, surrounding Quincy, has many roads, OHV routes, and hiking trails. Michael reports that the forest is full of peak rosy Pacific dogwood, yellow big leaf and gamboge mountain maple, deep-red mountain ash and orange black oak, amidst pine and fir.

Pick up a map at the USFS ranger station on CA-70 just east of Quincy to explore the forest. Four wheel drive is not needed to drive many of the roads.

  • Plumas National Forest – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
  • Quincy (3,342′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
  • American Valley (3,342′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
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Returning to Lundy Canyon

Lundy Falls, Lundy Canyon (10/14/19) Elliot McGucken

Looking at things from a different perspective allows you to move to the side, behind, between, above or below your subject.

A thousand people have taken pictures of Lundy Falls straight on, from afar. Elliot McGucken got wet beside it and presents a new, angled perspective of fall color up Lundy Canyon.

  • Lundy Falls, Lundy Canyon (10/14/19) Elliot McGucken
  • Lundy Canyon (10/14/19) Elliot McGucken
  • Beaver Ponds, Lundy Canyon (10/14/19) Elliot McGucken
  • Lundy Canyon (10/14/19) Elliot McGucken
Lundy Canyon (10/14/19) Elliot McGucken
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Waiting for the Moment

North Lake, N Fork Bishop Creek (10/10/19) Philip Reedy

Philip Reedy sent this image of photographers standing along the east shore of North Lake waiting for sunrise.

It pays to be up early, not just to wait for the moment when a scene is lit perfectly, but also to have your choice of locations to photograph it.

Elliot McGucken said that on the day he took the photo of North Lake with clouds in a blue sky (posted here, Oct. 11), there were a lot of photogs there in the morning, but no clouds in the sky.

However, he didn’t give up. He returned that afternoon to find that clouds had formed. It so happened that he had the shore nearly to himself. The sunrise photographers that had lined North Lake, like those above, hadn’t returned.

Great photographs need not be taken exclusively during the golden hour. Photographers who take them often arrive early and stay late, as things happen not just during the golden moment, but often earlier or later. 

I remember one freezing night at Tunnel View in Yosemite Valley, when I stood with other photographers, including many locals. After the sun had set, most of the photographers left, but we locals hung on for what developed to be one of the most incredible evenings ever.

The overcast, which had smothered the light broke open at just the right moment allowing pink, orange, purple and red light to turn the night sky into a fabulous, unforgettable painting. 

On another bone-aching night at North Lake, I heard other photographers say “That’s enough,” and leave. But, given what I learned from sticking it out in Yosemite, I didn’t.

You only learn what you missed, when other photographers, who’d seen you there before you bailed, say, “Wasn’t that fantastic, last night?”

After hearing that a couple of times, you learn never to arrive late, leave early or stop waiting for the moment.

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Fall Color Road Trip

Sorensens Resort, Hope Valley (10/9/19) Philip Reedy

Of all the contributors to this site, color spotter Philip Reedy of Davis makes some of the longest, most varied and interesting road trips in search of fall color and fly fishing.

Phil is a college chemistry teacher and, on the side, photographs covers for fly fishing publications. So he, as do many readers of this site, combines interests in science, reporting and the visual arts.

These are people who work both sides of their brains. My kinda people.

On his most recent road trip (Oct. 9-12), Phil crossed Carson Pass on his way to the Eastern Sierra. Though his images are now not useful for planning trips to see peak, they are lovely reflections of what was.

  • Sorensens Resort, Hope Valley (10/9/19) Philip Reedy
  • West Carson River, Hope Valley (10/9/19) Philip Reedy
  • Red Lake Creek Cabin, Hope Valley (10/9/19) Philip Reedy
  • Red Lake Creek, Hope Valley (10/9/19) Philip Reedy
  • View of Hope Valley, CA-88 (10/9/19) Philip Reedy
  • Above Caples Lake, CA-88 (10/9/19) Philip Reedy
  • Silver Lake, CA-88 (10/9/19) Philip Reedy

The Hope Valley was suffocating under a pall of smoke from the Caples fire when he began the trip, capturing images of peak color lightly muted by particulates.

  • Monitor Pass (10/9/19) Philip Reedy
  • Monitor Pass (10/9/19) Philip Reedy
  • East Carson River, Markleville (10/9/19) Philip Reedy
  • Woodfords to Markleeville (10/9/19) Philip Reedy

He continued past Woodfords and through Markleeville on CA-89, crossing Monitor Pass, all of which are now at Peak.

  • North Lake, N Fork Bishop Creek Canyon (10/10/19) Philip Reedy

His objective was Bishop Creek Canyon. North Lake was nearing the end of its peak. It had lingered for weeks, then burst forth reflecting red, orange, yellow and lime all at once upon its still waters. Philip caught the end of it, much later than we’ve seen in past years.

Fly Fishing at North Lake (10/10/19) Philip Reedy
  • S Fork Bishop Creek (10/10/19) Philip Reedy
  • North Lake, N Fork Bishop Creek (10/10/19) Philip Reedy
  • Red Lake Creek, Hope Valley (10/9/19) Philip Reedy

The purpose of his trip was to capture possible fly fishing images for future covers. As Phil wrote in OWAC Outdoors, the bimonthly newsletter of the Outdoor Writers Association of California, “In my experience, the background of the photo is the most important aspect of a successful fly fishing photo. To assure that I always have a scenic background, I search for them, noting scenes that would make a nice landscape photo, perhaps with a waterfall, snow-capped peak or rushing river. Then, when the light and color are right, I return to those spots and stage a model in the scene I’d pre-visualized.”

That’s what Phil did on this trip … he took pictures at locations he’d pre-visualized would make good cover photos.

  • Parchers Resort, S Fork Bishop Creek (10/11/19) Philip Reedy
  • June Lake Loop (10/11/19) Philip Reedy

The complication with that approach, this autumn, is that fall color has not appeared with the same timing as previous years. Parchers Resort, which was past peak on Oct. 11 last year, is at peak now and the June Lakes Loop, which was at peak back then, is still Patchy and in some areas stripped due to aspen blight.

But then, no road trip turns out as you imagined it. There are always disappointments and new discoveries along the way.

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Year to Year

North Lake, N Fork Bishop Creek (10/8/18) Kurt Lawson
North Lake, N Fork Bishop Creek (10/8/19) Kurt Lawson

Kurt Lawson realized he was at the exact spot, at the exact time (within a minute) a year later and took a comparison photograph to share with us.

He wrote, “What a difference! You can see how this year is running late compared to last. Last year was a dream. This year, the clouds stayed away.”

As posted on Oct. 11, Elliot McGucken was able to photograph clouds that day, but not until the afternoon. Kurt’s comparison photograph was taken at 7:08 a.m.

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McGucken: North Lake

North Lake, N Fork Bishop Creek Canyon (10/8/19) Elliot McGucken

Elliot McGucken has the ability to go back to the same place and find a new perspective, a new perfection.

Of all the photographs received here, his seem to happen at the perfect moment, on the perfect day, from a perfect perspective not shared by him or others previously.

In these photographs, water texture is part of their success. The slight rippling on the surface of North Lake provides a dimension that is both noticeable and compelling.

  • North Lake, N Fork Bishop Creek Canyon (10/8/19) Elliot McGucken

Timing is a big part of taking photographs such as these. No matter how many times this site urges readers to GO NOW!, some wait, thinking it will get better in a day or two, that somehow the moment is already gone or they will be too early.

I believe Elliot, among us, is he who understands what’s being written, then has the patience and awareness to stand and wait for the perfect moment, when such beauty reveals itself. McGucken makes his moments from what nature provides.

These are not “golden hour” shots, but he has made golden moments for us from what he has patience to capture, from a new perspective, a new perfection.

  • North Lake, N Fork Bishop Creek Canyon (10/8/19) Elliot McGucken
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Perfection is Elusive

South Fork Bishop Creek (10/4/19) John Ehrenfeld

Perfection is elusive. Case in point: Bishop Creek Canyon. It struggled to start, but the color now being reported from that fork is gorgeous, with a layered blend that dazzles.

Color spotter John Ehrenfeld sends these photographs, which were taken on Friday.

Surveyor’s Meadow, S Fork Bishop Creek (10/4/19) John Ehrenfeld

In the above shot, Ehrenfeld shows the mix of lime, green, yellow and orange that travels 500′ up the mountainside at Surveyor’s Meadow. Not perfect, but then what ever is?

Some photographers delay going until they sense it will be absolute perfection. In doing so, they miss the beauty Ehrenfeld captured and risk not seeing it, at all.

Lake Sabrina, M Fork Bishop Creek (10/5/19) Aaron Thom

Aaron Thom wasn’t discouraged by the mixed start, either. He visited Lake Sabrina on Saturday and got a shot splashed with green, yellow and orange.

In years when it turns all at once, it’s a short-lived display. A visit not timed to the elusive moment of perfection could may miss peak by a day or two. Whereas, this year’s show is proving to be the Energizer Bunny of autumn displays. It keeps going and going.

Conditions permitting, peak at Bishop Creek could last another week or two longer, making it one of the longest-lasting we’ve recorded in the past ten years.

So, if you’ve delayed visiting, you’re missing an unexpected show, one we may not see again for years to come. GO NOW!

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Come A Little Bit Closer

Neil Young implores his lover to come a little bit closer … “On this harvest moon” and go “dancing in the light.”

Harvest moons are the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox (in the northern hemisphere). TimeandDate.com reports that the next occurs on Sept. 13 (Sacramento), rising at approx. 7:32 p.m. (confirm for your location).

Harvest moons are called such, because they put out a lot of bright light in early evening. Traditionally, that has helped farmers bring in the harvest, the Old Farmer’s Almanac tells us.

Rising near sunset, harvest moons glow warmly from sunset light, and when the moon is near the horizon it appears bigger than usual.

Harvest moons also have the shortest difference in the time that they rise each day. Whereas in other months of the year, moons rise about 50 minutes apart on each successive day. Near the autumnal equinox, a harvest moon rises near sunset and 30 minutes later than the previous day.

The short difference in moonrise during September explains why it can appear that there are multiple full moons in a row.

A great thing about harvest moons is that leading to and following the full moon are several moons that appear to be full. So, if you miss photographing it on Sept. 13, shoot on the 11th, 12th, 14th or 15th and it will look pretty full, though not as good as on Sept. 13..

To photograph this year’s harvest moons, use your longest lens (>200mm) then zoom closest to the moon. Set the ISO at 100 and the aperture between f/11 and f/16, whichever is sharpest. Shutter speed should be between 1/60th and 1/125th. Focus manually and at infinity. Secure the camera on a tripod, and use a remote release or timer to avoid camera shake.

Before you set up, visit TimeAndDate.com to know the direction from where the moon will rise. Then, consider the foreground behind which the moon will rise. Will it be buildings, hills, a lake or farmlands?

If you happened to photograph this year’s harvest moons, send images to editor@californiafallcolor.com. We’d love to share them, “’cause we’d like to celebrate, see it shinin’ in your eye.”

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The Eye of the Beholder

June Lake Loop (10/30/18) Mark Harding

A proverb restated since the third century, B.C., is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

One might look at Mark Harding’s photographs of June Lake, post peak, and see nothing but gray, bare limbs.

Mark recognized the beauty within the austerity of the forest.

Just because an object, a plant or a person is worn, past peak or aging does not mean it is without beauty, character or interest as Mark so artistically  depicts in his photographs. 

  • June Lake Loop (7,654′) – Past Peak, YOU MISSED IT. Or, did you?
  • June Lake Loop (10/30/18) Mark Harding
  • June Lake Loop (10/30/18) Mark Harding
  • June Lake Loop (10/30/18) Mark Harding
  • June Lake Loop (10/30/18) Mark Harding
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The Tao of Epic Landscape Photography

The Philosopher’s Art

Landscape photographer Elliot McGucken combines fine art with the Yin-Yang wisdom of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching in his book, The Tao of Epic Landscape Photography.

Elliot’s photographs are well-known to readers of California Fall Color.com, as seen in his epic capture of a North Lake sunset gracing the banner of this site.

In his book he connects great landscape photography to following the teachings of Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu who authored the Tao Te Ching, a guide to life.

McGucken writes, “We artists would be wise to adopt the way of the Tao and to capture nature not by seeking to conquer or dominate her, but by adapting to her shape and form as water does and by becoming one with her.

“Via humble persistence and subtle improvisation, we too can be like water and follow the lead of her streams and rivers towards the most magnificent landscapes, on towards the ocean, which, by occupying the lowest of station, is king to them all.

“And, so too should we artists seek the lowest station as humble servants and sailors, creating art not for ourselves, but for others. For the Tao teaches that the sage grows wealthy not by accumulating wealth, but by sharing it.”

The Tao of Epic Landscape Photography includes over 100 of Elliot McGucken’s landscape photographs and inspirational guidance. It can be purchased at Amazon for $8.99 or for free on Amazon Unlimited. 

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