Western Sierra – California Fall Color

Transition

Yosemite Valley is undergoing transition between its two (maybe three) stages of fall color.

Stage One is the peak of bigleaf maple, dogwood and alder in late October to early November. Stage Two is the peak of black oak and Fremont cottonwood from early November to Thanksgiving Day. The possible third stage is really only a single tree, the Pioneer Sugar Maple near the Yosemite Chapel which peaks in mid October.

Iconic stage one photographs are of Fern Spring, Southside Drive and the Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoia. The iconic images of stage two are of Half Dome seen from Stoneman Meadow or Sentinel Bridge, black oak at the base of Yosemite Falls, and of Yosemite Valley’s stone bridges.

Creating your own icon is the objective of photography. Take reality, interpret it and make it iconic in your own fashion. Photographer Steve Spiker of stealingbeautyphotography.com shared his visions this week.

Spike found a mix of bigleaf maple: a third peaking, a third past peak and a third patchy. Similarly, dogwood were “well into their pale pinks, many past peak but plenty still in yellows” … transition.

He added that stretches of color are visible from the lookouts, but he assesses the Valley to be a week to two from full peak. That would be for Stage Two, as Stage one will continue to diminish in vibrance.

Despite a dusting of snow and heavy frost last week, Spike noted that color was holding and Southside Drive was, in a word, “glorious.”

Dogwood, Yosemite NP (11/1/22) Steve Spiker

Bigleaf maple, Yosemite Valley (11/1/22) Steve Spiker

Southside Drive, Yosemite Valley (11/1/22) Steve Spiker

Merced River, Yosemite Valley (11/1/22) Steve Spiker

LeConte Memorial Lodge, Yosemite Valley (11/1/22) Steve Spiker

Yosemite Valley (11/1/22) Steve Spiker

Yosemite Valley (4,000′) – Stage One – PEAK to Past Peak, GO NOW, You almost missed it.
Yosemite Valley (4,000′) – Stage Two – Patchy to Near Peak, Go Now.

November 7, 2022/by John Poimiroo

Southside Drive

Southside Drive in Yosemite Valley is California’s best autumn boulevard.

Bigleaf maple, Pacific dogwood and black oak line the section of the drive between Valley View and El Cap Meadow, though it is the maple that provide the drive’s delicate texture. At times during peak, the forest rains leaves which swirl and dance behind passing cars.

Color spotter Sam Xi caught the action at peak. It will continue into early November and is one of several not-to-be-missed peak fall color experiences.

Southside Drive, Yosemite Valley (4,000′) PEAK (75-100%) GO NOW!

November 1, 2022/1 Comment/by John Poimiroo

Eastern Sierra, Video, Western Sierra

Reminiscence

Peak has passed in the Eastern Sierra and is approaching to the west. Ken Robesky sends this video reminiscence of what was seen a week ago as he traveled both sides in a search for fall color.

October 26, 2022/1 Comment/by John Poimiroo

Fall Color Report, Foliage, Western Sierra

Yosemite Dogwood

There are four types of dogwood native to California: Mountain or Pacific Dogwood, a tree, and three shrubs: brown, red osier and blackfruit dogwood. They all grow on moist lower slopes and in riparian zones.

Cornus nutalli is the tree, best known in Yosemite Valley for its showy, white “flowers” that beautifully decorate the banks of the Merced River each May. These flowers are actually modified leaves, called bracts. Pacific dogwood’s fruit is bright orange-red.

C. glabrata (brown dogwood) is a shrub that forms a dense thicket, rising to 15′. C. sericea (red osier) is a multistemmed shrub similar in size to the brown dogwood, and also has white or blue fruit. C. sessilis (blackfruit dogwood) grows to 10′ and distinctively has brownish-yellow bracts and black fruit. It’s often overlooked because it blooms so early in spring.

On Legarlin Li’s recent visit to Yosemite Valley, the dogwood he captured had vermilion leaves, though Pacific dogwood often show rose, pink and auburn.

An eagle’s eye view of the Valley indicated little to no fall color change, but that’s expected as dogwood and bigleaf maple, which are showing now, are hidden beneath a canopy of conifers.

Dogwood and Bigleaf Maple, Yosemite Valley (4,000′) – Near Peak (50-75%) Go Now.

October 23, 2022/by John Poimiroo

Fall Color Report, Western Sierra

How Sweet It Is

Long before the native trees of Yosemite Valley turn color, an exotic sugar maple, planted by Yosemite pioneers as a remembrance of their northeast U.S. home areas, sugars up.

The Yosemite Pioneer Sugar Maple is found opposite the Yosemite Chapel along South Side Drive. Julie Kirby wrote, “It was the only color I saw in the valley. It had every fall color splashed throughout the tree, each branch had different colors like pompons. But, a breeze was blowing and leaves were wafting down.”

Julie estimates the Valley at still Just Starting, “with some lime greens.” Now, if you drive up the Tioga Road toward Tuolumne Meadows, there are hot spots of “glorious colors at 100%.” Though, Julie said she “did not stop because my car labors on the incline, so I like to keep the momentum going.”

She certainly did by sending these shots of the sugar maple. Go quickly, if you want to capture it, because it has a very short peak.

Yosemite Pioneer Sugar Maple, Yosemite NP – PEAK (75-100%) GO NOW!

October 8, 2022/by John Poimiroo

Fall Color Report, Western Sierra, Wildlife

Colorful Tioga Brookie

When Curtis Kautzer couldn’t find much fall color in the trees along the Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park, he found it in the park’s subalpine waters where brightly colored spawning Brook Trout swim and along streambanks among the willows.

Undiscovered-Yosemite.com reports that brook trout are “one of Yosemite’s most popular game fish. Together with related species such as the Dolly Varden and lake trout, the brook trout is often referred to as a ‘charr.’

“The mottled olive markings of the brook trout with their dark background, are distributed over the back, dorsal and tail fins and are a distinctive feature of theirs. The light spots on the sides are either cream-colored or red. Often the red spots are encircled with a blue halo. The lower fins are reddish orange, margined with bands of black and white.

“This fish is especially colorful during the spawning season when the underside of the male become brilliantly red or sometimes orange.

Brook trout are “most commonly found in higher elevations above 7,000 feet in Yosemite (it) seldom does well at lower elevations where waters are too warm. The brook trout was widely planted in the (park’s) early days throughout the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers and can still be found there today,” the site describes.

Tioga Road, Yosemite NP (9,514′) – Patchy (10-50%)

October 2, 2022/by John Poimiroo

Fall Color Report, Western Sierra

Dreamin’ of a White Autumn

Davis color spotter Philip Reedy was dreamin’ of a white autumn, just like the ones he’d hoped to see. Where the treetops glisten and anglers listen to hear casting in the snow.

So he and a fishing buddy headed to Yosemite then asked, “Is white a color or not? This seems to be a bit of a gray area (pun forgiven). If white is a color and it’s still autumn for a few more days, then I had an awesome fall color trip to Yosemite.”

Phil had been watching weather reports and the Half Dome webcam when he saw that the Valley was solid white from rim to floor.

He left Davis Wednesday morning at 4:30 with the intent of taking fly fishing photos, but when Reedy got there, “the snow-covered trees could not be ignored. And beneath that layer of snow remained a lot of nice, orange, oak leaves.”

Not only were the oak orange, but Reedy wore an orange shirt that contrasted with the immaculate scene.

Now, Phil’s got me dreamin’ of a white autumn with every fall color post I write.

Yosemite Valley (4,000′) – Past Peak, You Missed It.

December 16, 2021/by John Poimiroo

Photography, Western Sierra

Clearing Autumn Storm

Clearing Autumn Storm, Yosemite Valley (11/9/21) Elliot McGucken

Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park (1937) Ansel Adams © The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust

In Ansel Adams’ classic 1937 photograph, Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite Valley was dusted with snow. The photograph was taken in early December.

In Elliot McGucken’s tome to Adams’ photograph (seen above), Yosemite Valley is flecked with autumn color. The photograph was taken in early November.

The days that Adams and McGucken photographed from similar locations (Adams reputedly from Inspiration Point and McGucken from Tunnel View – near each other, but not the same locations) were near matches in cloud formations, though Adams’ scene was snowy and McGucken’s “autumny.”

These comparisons of McGucken’s images present near-duplicative color juxtaposed with black and white versions. Adams’ original was a gelatin silver print made from an 8 x 10″ negative, shot at 1/5-second at f16. McGucken shot with a Fujifilm GFX 100 medium format mirrorless digital camera, using a GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR lens at focal length 42.5 mm, equivalent to 32 mm on full frame, at f10, 1/160 and ISO 200.

McGucken exclaimed, “What a year it was! I am leaving Yosemite today after almost three weeks here. The fall colors were the best that I remember.” He continued that Peak is almost past, “but there is still a lot of glory to be found throughout the Park if one ‘Goes Now!'”

Clearing Autumn Storm (2021) Elliot McGucken

McGucken had a video camera running in time lapse while he was taking these pictures. Here is that footage. It demonstrates how clouds move and what’s needed to capture a moment of perfection. Patience is required. All good things come to those who wait.

Photographer’s Bridge, Merced River, Yosemite Valley (11/10/21) Elliot McGucken

Yosemite Valley (4,000′) – Peak to Past Peak, GO NOW, You Almost Missed It.

November 12, 2021/by John Poimiroo

Fall Color Report, Photography, Western Sierra

PAN

Panorama of Yosemite Valley including Merced River, El Capitan, Three Brothers, Royal Arches and Sentinel Rock (11/8/21) Elliot McGucken

Pan was the Greek god of the wild, of fields, groves, wooded glens, the nature of mountain wilds and of … sex. Well, true to the Greek god, Elliot McGucken’s “PANoramic” photograph of Yosemite Valley is just plain sexy.

To make the panorama involved 13 shots with a wide angle 17mm lens on the Fuji GFX100 (17mm on medium format = 14mm on full frame field of view).Elliot was able to break out several individual images from the panorma, one of which follows. (click to enlarge)

Elliot said “Great light and high (yet, still) water made the glorious autumn reflections possible today.” That, of course, and a great photographer.

Elliot, you did Pan proud.

Merced River, The Three Brothers, Yosemite Valley (11/8/21) Elliot McGucken

Yosemite Valley (4,000′) – Peak to Past Peak, GO NOW, You Almost Missed It.

November 8, 2021/by John Poimiroo

Fall Color Report, Photography, Western Sierra

The Golden Hour

The Golden Hour, Tunnel View, Yosemite Valley (11/6/21) Elliot McGucken

Elliot McGucken gives new meaning to The Golden Hour with these fresh images from Yosemite Valley. The golden hour is the hour following sunrise and preceding sunset, each day. It is when light is warmest.

The Golden Hour, Tunnel View, Yosemite Valley (11/6/21) Elliot McGucken

He and John Chen were in Yosemite Valley at closing time, as John said, to down these “last call” shots.

Merced River, Upper Yosemite Fall reflection, Yosemite Valley (11/6/21) Elliot McGucken

Yosemite Valley’s black oak will continue to hold autumn color for another week or so, though much of the luster seen in these shots diminishes each day. (click to enlarge)