In the Moment:
Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog
by Michael Frye | Oct 6, 2015 | Travels and Stories
Aspens near Red Mountain Pass, Colorado, USA
We’ve had a wonderful time in Colorado – again. The color hasn’t been as good as last year, but all the locals said that was one of the best autumns they’ve seen. This year the color was shaping up nicely around the San Juan Mountains in the southwestern part of the state, but then last Friday strong winds blew the leaves off many of the aspen leaves. Some areas seem to have received especially strong winds, leaving either bare trees or green ones, and few yellow leaves. But other places weren’t affected much at all, so there were still large swaths of spectacular color.
Here’s a photo from last week near Red Mountain Pass, outside of Ouray. This was made before the wind storm, but this is a high-elevation, early-changing spot, so some of the leaves had already fallen. Sometimes, however, a mixture of colorful leaves and bare trees is more interesting than just a mass of color; in this case the bare patches helped to make the diagonal lines of color stand out and create a pattern.
(more…)
by Michael Frye | Sep 30, 2015 | Travels and Stories
Autumn afternoon in the mountains near Telluride, Colorado, yesterday afternoon
I had planned to go to the Alabama Hills or Death Valley for last Sunday’s lunar eclipse, but high clouds streamed in from the Pacific and threatened to block the view. So at the last minute Claudia and I decided to go further south, toward clear skies that were visible on satellite photos. We ended up in Joshua Tree National Park – along with many, many other people who seemed to think this was a good place to view the eclipse.
They were right of course – it was a great place. And the skies cooperated for the most part. I captured a sequence that I think will work, but I haven’t had a chance to process it yet, because the next morning we started driving to Colorado. We loved our autumn visit last year, and just had to go back. Colorado welcomed us with some nice clouds on our first afternoon; I’ve included one image from that evening above.
(more…)
by Michael Frye | Sep 24, 2015 | Announcements
Curious deer, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
I just sent my prints to the G2 Gallery in Venice, California, for their upcoming exhibit, “Off the Beaten Path: Views From Yosemite.” This looks like a wonderful show, with photographs by Alan Ross, Robin Black, Art Wolfe, Franka Gabler, Ian Shive, Clyde Butcher, Marc Muench, and many others. They chose two of my Yosemite wildlife images for the exhibit, Curious Deer, and Coyote in Snow. The show runs from September 29th to November 15th. Unfortunately I won’t be able to make it to the reception on October 3rd, but I’m sure I’ll be missing a fun event. If you’re in southern California I hope you’ll have a chance to check out the show or attend the reception. You can find more information and see some photographs from the exhibit here.
— Michael Frye
(more…)
by Michael Frye | Sep 22, 2015 | Night Photography, Photography Tips
Lunar eclipse sequence, April 14th and 15th, 2014, Trona Pinnacles, CA, USA
We’re going to get another chance to photograph a lunar eclipse this Sunday evening in North America and South America (or early Monday morning in Europe and Africa).
This eclipse also coincides with the moon’s perigee, meaning that the moon will be at its closest point to the earth during its orbit, and will look bigger than usual. The media is going to make a big deal about this “supermoon,” but the moon will only look seven percent larger than average, a difference that won’t be readily apparent to the naked eye, much less in photographs.
However, every total lunar eclipse is special – a spectacular event to view and photograph. And unlike the last one in April, this one will feature a long total eclipse phase.
(more…)
by Michael Frye | Sep 21, 2015 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
Quaking aspens, Lee Vining Canyon, October 24, 2003
Claudia and I just returned from our annual trip to the Millpond Music Festival and (as Joe Craven puts it) “consciousness-raising event.” We had a wonderful time, as usual. The festival may or may not have raised my consciousness, but it sure was relaxing and fun.
Since the festival takes place in Bishop, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, the trip gives me a chance to check on the early fall color over there. Every year, it seems, some early-changing leaves lead to online predictions that the aspens will turn early. This year I’ve also heard a lot of speculation about the effect the drought will have on the autumn color, and even seen a few actual reports of aspens turning brown and dropping their leaves early.
Driving down to Bishop last Friday, the color didn’t look early at all. There were some yellow and lime-green aspens at the mouth of Warren Canyon (along Highway 120 in upper Lee Vining Canyon), and some lime-green trees on Parker Bench, but everything else looked dark green. Warren Canyon and Parker Bench are both high-elevation, early-changing locations, so that all looked pretty typical for this time of year.
(more…)
