Autumn Aspen colors in Lundy Canyon.

After my sunrise shoot around Rock Creek Lake and a quick hike into Little Lakes valley, we spent the afternoon in Lundy Canyon before heading over to Bodie. I decided to leave my tripods in the truck and took a short hike. This image was shot not too far from the trail head leading to Lundy Canyon Falls. Tall bushes obstructed my view from the second beaver pond, preventing me from getting those reflective shots that I love to shoot. This was one of those rare occasions that mid-day light worked for me.

Planning to visit Lundy Canyon? The last 1 1/2 mile is on narrow dirt road. We saw a few cars that didn’t make it to the trail head. Personally, I wouldn’t even attempt to drive to drive all the way to the end without a high clearance vehicle or a 4×4. Also, don’t forget to bring mosquito repellents.

Aspen trees in the early morning light on Lake Sabrina

After my morning shoot on North Lake, I headed over to Lake Sabrina, sat out on the rocks and waited for the water surface to settle; it never did. I turned my attention to the east side of the lake. There were a lot of trees getting lit up as the sun rose above the mountains behind the trees. The slope seemed to catch on fire with the bright leaves burning in the morning sun. Didn’t want to photograph just a bunch of random trees, I scanned the lake side looking for interesting compositions.

I found this group of aspens forming a flame-like pattern. Knowing that a “proper exposure” would produce a flat and washed out image, I under exposed my shots to get the highlights to really pop against a dark background. I am not comfortable with the whole “expose to the right ” theory quite yet. Being a computer science major, I totally get why it makes sense to “expose to the right”, but having a washed out RAW image and having to dial back the exposure to obtain a more “correct” exposure later during post processing seems unnatural for me. I still tend to under expose my shots to keep my highlights in check. For what I typically shoot, shadow details aren’t that important to me. As long as I get my highlights the way I want, I’d be contented to let the shadows fall where they may.

I had a productive morning in Bishop Creek Canyon. After the light became too harsh, I went back to town to pick up Mrs Photofool (she rarely wakes up early for my sunrise shoots). We then drove up the mountains and spent the next few hours enjoying Autumn colors flowing down various creeks and streams. Well before sunset time, we left for Little Lakes Valley to scout for potential locations for my next sunrise shoot.

Bishop Creek Canyon’s aspens awaiting morning light on North Lake.

I really rushed my last post out because I got a little excited with the clear reflections that I waited for since pre-dawn. Had I taken my time, I would have posted this shot first. I photographed this North Lake sunrise about half an hour before the previous shot when the morning light began to fill the valley.

About my trip to the California Eastern Sierra last weekend, except for the high elevation locations, most of the trees were still green. The Sabrina Basin (above Aspendell) should be peaking by now. Elsewhere, I saw mostly greens and patches of yellows here and there. There were some good colors on Lake Sabrina, Rock Creek Lake, and deep inside Lundy Canyon. Barring storms, the Fall colors should be peaking in the Eastern Sierra during the next two weeks. Planning to photograph sunrise in the Bishop Creek Canyon area? Out of the three main lakes there (South Lake, Sabrina Lake, and North Lake), North Lake usually gets the first morning light. After North Lake, I typically head to Lake Sabrina to continue my morning shoot.

PS: I’m way too busy… will try to post the next one in a couple of days … same bat-channel, same bat-time ~12-1am PST.

North Lake’s Aspens basking in the early morning Autumn light.

Just got back from my road trip to the California’s Eastern Sierra. Had a good trip. Drove over 1000 miles, many on dirt roads. Did Bishop Creek Canyon, Rock Creek Canyon, Little Lakes Valley, Lundy Canyon, and Bodie. Got lost hiking in the John Muir wilderness (more about that later). Enjoyed two nice sunrises. Took some good photos. Totally spent now. Went a week too early, but caught some beautiful Autumn colors. Thinking about going to the Eastern Sierra this Fall? Definitely go during the next two weeks.

Decided to post this late morning light instead of earlier sunrise light shots where the trees were still in deep shadow. Will get around to writing a little more about my trip and posting a few more photos.

I’ve been posting too many reds. Here’s something a little cooler: Convict Lake’s foliage with fresh snow. This was shot two months ago. I was hesitant to post this earlier because I didn’t like the original composition. The original shot was much wider that included a portion of a bright sky. After cropping out about 30% of the image, I like it enough to post.

90° left view, ~45 minutes later from the previous shot.

For this shot, the right side of the lake was too bright, and the left side was still in the shadow. I took three exposures, one for the trees, one for the sky, and one for the bright mountain side. My intention was to combine them later, but I just don’t have time to do it yet. This was the shot that I exposed for the sky.

Looking back, I regretted that I left Convict Lake too early. I was working on the shadow side of the lake since sunrise but couldn’t get a shot that I feel print worthy. So I packed up my gears and left for June Lake and McGee Creek. Didn’t get anything outstanding there either. I guess I rushed to too many locations during my first day shooting Fall foliage. Snow during the first week of October is rare in California. I should have stayed put and worked the lake for another hour or so.

Woke up and it was still snowing! Arrived at Convict Lake well before sunrise. Decided to walk along the perimeter of the lake. Fresh snow! Sat on the edge of the lake for a while …