Sunbeams from Tunnel View, spring, Yosemite National Park

For the first time ever I’ll be participating in Sierra Art Trails, this October 5th through 7th. Sierra Art Trails is an annual event in the Sierra foothills near Yosemite featuring wonderful local artists, including many who are nationally and internationally known. The open studios give visitors a chance to meet the artists and sometimes see demonstrations of how they produce their work.

I’ll be showing my work at Casto Oaks Fine Wine and Art in downtown Mariposa. My display will include a wide variety of images, old and new, including classic daytime landscapes, nighttime photographs, and high-key images. I’ll also have my small matted prints available, plus signed books and posters—and special prices on many items. I always enjoy meeting online friends in person, so please stop by and say hello if you’re in the area.

While you’re at Casto Oaks you can sample their excellent wines (tasting is free, and their award-winning 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon is great!). And they’re offering 10% off all their wines during Sierra Art Trails.

Just around the corner our good friend and wonderful painter Penny Otwell will open her studio to visitors. You’ll be able to see lots of her bold and colorful work, and she’s also hosting three talented local jewelry makers, Saralynn Nusbaum, Becky Caraco, and LothLorien Stewart.

If you venture down the art trail towards Oakhurst you can visit more friends and great artists like Outdoor Photographer columnist William Neill, David and Charlotte Hoffman, Christine Loberg, Moira Donohoe, Franka Gabler, Mike Reeves, Rikki Alley, Nancy Robbins, and Jeff Grandy.

The $18 Sierra Art Trails catalog is your admission ticket for the weekend. The catalog includes information about all 108 artists and maps to the studios. You can purchase a catalog online, or at Casto Oaks, the Mariposa County Visitors Bureau, Stellar Gallery in Oakhurst, and many other locations (here’s a complete list).

It should be a great weekend—I hope to see you along the trail!

—Michael Frye

Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author and photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters, plus the eBooks Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, and Exposure for Outdoor Photography. He has written numerous magazine articles on the art and technique of photography, and his images have been published in over thirty countries around the world. Michael has lived either in or near Yosemite National Park since 1983, currently residing just outside the park in Mariposa, California.