In the Moment:
Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog
by Michael Frye | Nov 12, 2010 | Critiques
“Dogwood” by Mark Wilburn
This week’s photograph was made by Mark Wilburn in Yosemite Valley. By having his image chosen for this critique Mark will receive a free 16×20 matted print from Aspen Creek Photo. If you’d like your images considered for future critiques you can upload them to the Flickr group I created for this purpose.
Overview, Composition, and Light
This image was made just a few days ago, on November 6th, near the peak of fall color in Yosemite Valley this year. In fact I was nearby, teaching a private workshop, when Mark made this photograph. I exchanged some pleasantries with a man who said he read my blog, but I didn’t get his name. Then when I contacted Mark about using this image for a critique he told me that was him!
Anyway, I know exactly where these dogwoods are: near Gates of the Valley, also known as Valley View. The dogwoods in this area are striking right now, but not necessarily easy to photograph. It’s one thing to find a colorful subject; it’s another to build a strong composition around that color.
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by Michael Frye | Nov 8, 2010 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
What a magical day it was in Yosemite Valley. The storm cleared overnight, and Claudia and I rose early to make the drive to the park. We saw a misty sunrise, a dramatic sunset, and beautiful fall color. Everywhere I looked there was another photograph, and another, and another—all demanding to be captured. I did my best to oblige. Here’s a morning view of Three Brothers in the mist; I’ll post more images soon.
Although some leaves were knocked down by the storm, most survived, and it looks like we’ll still have plenty of autumn color through this weekend.
First light on Three Brothers, around 7:00 a.m. this morning
by Michael Frye | Oct 27, 2010 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
Big-leaf maple… from a few years ago
Fall Color in Yosemite Valley is late—really late. I reported last week that about 50 percent of the maple leaves had turned, 20 percent of the cottonwoods, 20 percent of the dogwoods, and 5 percent of the oaks. Well it’s nearly a week later and I’d say the percentages are the same! Hardly anything has changed. There is some good color in spots: as before, the best places are around Pohono Bridge and underneath Cathedral Rocks along Southside Drive. I heard a reliable report that the dogwoods along Highway 120 are about half turned.
At this point don’t want to even try to predict when the color will peak, or what kind of autumn it might be, as this season is progressing more slowly than any fall I can remember. I’ll let you know if things suddenly start to turn.
by Michael Frye | Oct 21, 2010 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
I spent the last two days in Yosemite Valley doing a private workshop. The weather was fantastic—we got to photograph lots of interesting clouds and chiaroscuro light patterns. More potentially photogenic stormy conditions are predicted through the weekend.
The autumn color in the valley is improving every day, but it’s still not quite there yet. There are four main types of deciduous trees in the valley: big-leaf maples, dogwoods, cottonwoods, and black oaks. The maples usually change color first, and this year is no exception. You can find nice displays already near Pohono Bridge and along Southside Drive underneath Cathedral Rocks. I’d say about 50 percent of the maple leaves in the valley have turned as of today.
The other trees are a bit further behind. Perhaps 20 percent of the dogwood and cottonwood leaves have changed so far, and perhaps only 5 percent of the oak leaves. The dogwoods and cottonwoods need at least another week, and the oaks maybe two weeks.
But while the show consists mostly of maples so far, these trees produce the most consistently vibrant and beautiful color in the valley, and they are changing rapidly. I saw a noticeable increase in yellow leaves in just the last 36 hours. So they may peak soon—maybe even this weekend.
by Michael Frye | Oct 15, 2010 | Yosemite Photo Conditions
Aspens and snow in the Bishop Creek area, October 5th—Photograph by Evan Russel
After Tioga Pass closed last week I was stuck on the west side of the Sierra, but my friend Evan Russel, Ansel Adams Gallery staff photographer and one of my workshop assistants, made it over there a day earlier, and captured some some great images of snowy aspens after the storm on October 3rd and 4th. Here are a couple of examples. You can see more of Evan’s work on the Gallery’s Facebook page.
Meanwhile in Yosemite Valley autumn is progressing slowly. After some color suddenly appeared last week I thought that the leaves might turn quickly, but apparently the warm weather has slowed things down. I spent the last two days in the valley, and saw some trees that have partially changed, but none fully clothed in their fall colors. Claudia checked out the dogwoods along Highway 120 between the entrance station and Crane Flat and saw mostly green leaves, so it seems that even the higher-elevation trees haven’t changed yet.
Aspens and snow in the Bishop Creek area, October 5th—Photograph by Evan Russel
While we may have to wait a bit for more color in the valley, this could also mean that all the deciduous trees will change at the same time. Usually the dogwoods and big-leaf maples turn earlier than the oaks and cottonwoods, and the color is spread out over several weeks. But occasionally all the trees turn together, creating some exceptional conditions.
On the eastern side of the mountains the color is not yet at its peak in the middle and lower elevations, but things are starting to change quickly, and color can be found in many of the medium-to-high-elevation aspen groves. I described some of the progress in my last two posts, but will add that on Tuesday I found some nice orange trees in the upper reaches of Lee Vining Canyon, along Highway 120. These aspens had shown very little color only three days earlier. The next two weeks could be great in places like Lundy Canyon, Lee Vining Canyon, June Lake Loop, and Conway Summit.
