2008 Fall Color Summary Part 2

I realized that it will take longer than expected to get this summary completed, so I am writing it in parts
If you don’t want to read thru this report you can view all my Fall Colors here:
Fall Color Collection


September 30th was another day spend mostly along the Bishop Creek Canyon. There are so many different places to photograph along this area, even if you go to the same spot, there is different light, different clouds, a reflection and so on. I don’t get tired to photograph the Bishop Creek Canyon in the fall. We took a side trip to Convict lake and the McGee Creek Canyon trailhead. Both locations were as disappointing as others we had explored so far. Mostly green trees with a little yellow.

Bishop Creek Canyon Fall Colors. September 30, 2008. © Copyright Inge Fernau .

Another Bishop Creek Canyon Fall Color Image. September 30, 2008. © Copyright Inge Fernau .

Fall Color Road. September 30, 2008. © Copyright Inge Fernau .

Aspen Grove. September 30, 2008. © Copyright Inge Fernau .

On October 1st, I drove solo to see what is going on in Hope Valley and along the Monitor Pass. Hope Valley still had a lot of green Aspens, but some really nice ones as well. There was a lot of color around the Sorenson’s Resort. I found some colorful Aspen groves along the Monitor Pass, but there was still a lot of green. After spending a couple of hours in Hope Valley and along the Monitor Pass, I decided to check out the beaver ponds at Lundy Canyon; the story was the same here. The big Aspen Groves were still green with a little color around the ponds. Another disappointment…..
A short trip to Lee Vining Canyon and the June Lake loop proved to be just that – disappointing!

Aspen Grove. October 1, 2008. © Copyright Inge Fernau .

Another Aspen Grove. October 1, 2008. © Copyright Inge Fernau .

This Aspen Grove makes three. October 1, 2008. © Copyright Inge Fernau .

The Aspens along the Monitor Pass were awesome. October 1, 2008. © Copyright Inge Fernau .

October 1st concluded with the same theme I had seen this fall, most of the places that are normally in full fall color swing were late and mostly green.

October 2nd was my last day shooting with Randy and we tried to pack as many places as possible into this day. Beautiful clouds interrupted our drive to the Upper Summers Meadow Road. We just had to stop along US395 and take some beautiful images with the storm coming in. Just about every place we visited had mostly green trees. Fall was late again. Storm Clouds spilling over the Sierra Crest announced the oncoming weather system.

The old Cabin off of US 395. October 2, 2008. © Copyright Inge Fernau .

Eastern Sierra - California. October 2, 2008. © Copyright Inge Fernau .

On October 3rd I said good bye to Randy and his wife and I headed up to North Lake. Was greeted with a mirror image on the lake and tons of photog’s. When one of them constantly walked in front of my camera to get “his” shot, I packed up and looked for other views.

Photog at North Lake. October 3, 2008. © Copyright Inge Fernau .

>

Hikers along North Lake Road. October 3, 2008. © Copyright Inge Fernau .

View my entire - Fall Color Collection


2008 was a different kind of Fall Color year. The Eastern Sierra Aspens turned later than expected. It was unseasonable warm in September and the first few days in October. A lot of trees stayed green well into October and then starting October 10th an early cold winter storm put an end to most of the color. Some trees went from green to brown. Yellow, orange and red trees went to an almost black color. A couple of places held on to some color until the fourth weekend in October. Yosemite had some color, but it was not a banner year. Even the Wine Countries of Napa Valley and Sonoma were slow in turning color; by November 1st I finally saw more yellow and reds than green. I visited the Wine Country until November 30th and still found color.

This is still in draft form – more to follow.

These photographs are not in the public domain! They may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance written permission from Inge Fernau

Please visit my website for this and more. All images may be purchased or licensed in a range of sizes.


Visit my images on shutterstock