In the Moment:
Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog

First Snow of the Season?

by Michael Frye | Nov 19, 2009 | Yosemite Photo Conditions

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for Yosemite from 4 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday. The snow level is projected to begin at around 5000 feet Friday afternoon, but drop to 4000 feet—the elevation of Yosemite Valley—Friday night. Exact snow levels are difficult to forecast, so a slight fluctuation could mean rain instead of snow, but it seems likely that the Valley will get at least a dusting. Forecasters are predicting two to four inches of snow at 4000 feet, four to eight inches above 5000 feet.

For photographers, the big question is when the storm will clear. It looks like it might clear sometime during Friday night, meaning Saturday morning could be beautiful. Or not. It’s always unpredictable! But whenever it clears there will probably be great conditions for photography.

Yes, There's Still Fall Color in Yosemite

by Michael Frye | Nov 13, 2009 | Yosemite Photo Conditions

It rained yesterday, so I drove up to Yosemite Valley early this morning hoping to find some mist. And mist there was—not that much, but enough. I spent a couple of hours in the Ahwahnee Meadow, where I made this photograph. As I mentioned in my last post, I like the edges of seasons, and this image shows the fall-to-winter transition, with just a few leaves hanging on to these backlit cottonwood trees.

While these cottonwoods have dropped most of their leaves, elsewhere in the valley many trees are at peak color. This includes most of the oaks and dogwoods, as well as about half the cottonwoods and a few maples. The oaks in Cook’s Meadow and El Capitan Meadow are beautiful right now.

There’s a chance of rain again late next week, and I suspect there will still be some fall color then too.

My Favorite Time of Year

by Michael Frye | Nov 7, 2009 | Yosemite Photo Conditions

I’m often asked about my favorite time of year in Yosemite. I think the answer surprises many people: it’s right now, in early November. People expect me to say spring, when the waterfalls are flowing, or fall for the color, or maybe winter for capturing snow. In one sense they’re right about the fall color, as early November is often the autumn peak in Yosemite Valley. But even if the color is fading, I still love this time of year. My friend Jeff Grandy says he likes the transitions between seasons, and I agree. The edges are often more interesting than the middle. November is a transition from fall to winter. I can photograph yellow leaves next to bare trees. Ice forms on creeks and riverbanks. The light has reached beautiful, low, winter angles. Sometimes the first snowstorm arrives in November, and rain or snow can leave lingering fog or mist. Heavy frost often blankets the meadows – a key ingredient for this deer photograph, made on November 10th, 2006.

Of course every month offers beauty, and there’s always something interesting to photograph in Yosemite. But if I have to choose, this is it.

What’s your favorite time of year in Yosemite – or, if you don’t get to Yosemite often, wherever you live?

Day of the Dead

by Michael Frye | Nov 3, 2009 | Yosemite Photo Conditions

Last night my wife Claudia and I attended the Day of the Dead celebration in Hornitos, a tiny town in the Sierra foothills. The Stellar Gallery of Oakhurst hosted a reception in town for a Day-of-the-Dead-themed exhibit featuring work by many talented artists, including our friends Penny Otwell and Ann Mendershausen. At six p.m., under the light of a full moon, over 300 people joined the silent, candlelit procession from the town up a hill to the church and graveyard, where Rev. Steve Bulfer led a ceremony honoring the departed. Then the participants scattered throughout the graveyard to place candles on unlit graves.

This was the first time we had attended this event, and found it truly moving and inspiring. We’ll definitely be back next year. Naturally I had to try to photograph the proceedings, but it proved difficult. It was dark after all! For this image I left the shutter open for three minutes as the processioners marched up the hill, their candles forming a stream of light.

A November Peak for Yosemite Color?

by Michael Frye | Nov 2, 2009 | Yosemite Photo Conditions

The color in Yosemite Valley has continued to change, but slowly. The oaks, cottonwoods, and dogwoods are still not at peak. The early wave of maples is mostly gone, yet some are still partially green. With warm weather expected throughout the coming week, the second color peak in the Valley may not arrive until this weekend or even later.

My just-completed five-day workshop was a lot of fun. We had a great group of people and lots of sunshine. Friday evening we were able to photograph the moon rising next to Half Dome at sunset, and found some misty meadows and a rainbow on Upper Yosemite Fall the next morning. I photographed these cottonwood trees along the edge of Cook’s Meadow on Saturday.

Yosemite Fall Color Update

by Michael Frye | Oct 27, 2009 | Yosemite Photo Conditions

I start teaching a five-day workshop tomorrow, so I won’t have much time for blogging until next week, but thought I’d post a short note about the color in Yosemite Valley. Since I was here four days ago some of the maples have lost their leaves, while the oaks and cottonwoods continue to progress. It looks like my prediction about two color peaks will come true, as the maples are a little past prime now, while the other trees aren’t quite there yet, although they’re progressing quickly and should reach full color soon. The cottonwoods are hard to figure out. Some are bare, and others appear to be only turning partly yellow before shedding their leaves.

Fall Color Update

by Michael Frye | Oct 21, 2009 | Yosemite Photo Conditions

We faced rain and wind during Monday’s Fall Color Workshop, but we also found fantastic light and clouds, including a rainbow over Mono Lake. The color is changing rapidly over there. Some aspens were stripped of their leaves during Sunday and Monday’s wind storm, but others have turned from partially green to full yellow. There’s still plenty of color around the June Lake Loop and in Lundy and Lee Vining Canyons. I made this photograph near Silver Lake this morning.

Tioga Pass closed Monday and didn’t reopen until about 10 a.m. today. Driving over the pass to Yosemite Valley this afternoon I found Siesta Lake with it’s usual October ring of red blueberry bushes. I made a detour to check on the dogwoods along Highway 120 west of Crane Flat, and found that almost all turned. In some years the majority of them turn red in this area, but this year most are yellow, although I found a few vivid red specimens.

In Yosemite Valley the big-leaf maples are beautiful. Almost all have turned a rich shade of yellow. The best spots are underneath Cathedral Rocks along Southside Drive and near Curry Village, including the old Lower River Campground area.

The other deciduous trees in the Valley—cottonwoods, oaks, and dogwoods—are still partially to mostly green, except for a few strange cottonwoods that are already bare. So it looks like we’ll have two peaks for color in the Valley: one right now for the maples, and another in one or two weeks for everything else.

The waterfalls got a boost from Monday’s storm. While the flow isn’t close to spring levels, it’s high for October. Upper Yosemite Fall receives early morning sunlight this time of year, something it doesn’t get in spring, so this is a chance to get some unusual photographs of it with good light and fall color in the foreground.

Fall Color Lazarus

by Michael Frye | Oct 18, 2009 | Yosemite Photo Conditions

After the last storm, many people reported finding little fall color on the east side of the Sierras. Aspens that had already turned yellow were stripped bare by the wind, and the remainder were still green. I was worried that there wouldn’t be anything to photograph during my fall color workshop on Monday.

But those green trees seem to have changed color quickly. I drove over Tioga Pass from Yosemite Valley yesterday afternoon, and breathed a sigh of relief when I caught my first glimpse of Lee Vining Canyon: all yellow. I’d say 80 percent of the trees had turned, and the remainder were yellow-green and should change completely soon.

I found a similar story around the June Lake loop, where about 60 to 70 percent of the aspens had completely turned, and the rest were on their way. I made the accompanying photograph in one of my favorite groves there. Both Lee Vining Canyon and the June Lake Loop were beautiful, and are likely to become even more photogenic in the next few days. I’ll be scouting some other locations today, and I expect to find similar conditions among the lower-elevation aspens. Nancy Boman at Murphey’s Motel in Lee Vining (a photographer’s favorite) told me that the color had arrived just within the last few days, which seems to fit the other reports I’ve heard.

On Friday I was in Yosemite Valley for a private workshop. The most striking change was the amount of water in Yosemite Falls and the Merced River. We had nice morning light on the upper fall and photographed reflections in the river. There was also some mist in the meadows. The water level will drop rapidly during the next week, as there’s not much of a snow pack to feed it, and the mist will also probably dissipate as the meadows dry out, but it might last a few more days.

Fall color in the Valley is developing rapidly. The sugar maple near the chapel is gorgeous, and the native big-leaf maples are about 80 percent turned. The cottonwoods are about halfway there. The dogwoods and oaks are just getting started, but it seems like things are moving quickly, so next weekend might be close to peak. Barring storms, the following weekend (two weeks from now) should also be good.

A minor weather system is expected Monday, and temperatures will drop early next week, so that could change the outlook. But fall-color gloom has turned to hope in just a few days.