Aspen-covered hillside, yesterday afternoon, near Bridgeport, California

I’m back on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, my home mountains, getting ready for our upcoming workshops. There’s some great color over here. I made this photograph yesterday afternoon up near Bridgeport, and especially liked the mix of colors on this hillside, with yellow, gold, orange, and green.

Overall, the color looks pretty typical for mid-October. The higher elevation aspens are mostly bare, but the lower-elevation trees are a mix of green, yellow, and orange. The color progression might be a little earlier than average, but not much. If there’s anything unusual, it’s that some typically early-changing groves are still mostly green, while other groves that usually turn later have progressed further.

I didn’t go to Lundy Canyon, or down to Bishop Creek or Rock Creek, but Convict Lake, June Lake Loop (from Silver to Grant Lakes), and Lee Vining Canyon are all mixtures of green and yellow, with some orange. I’d say those spots are a bit before peak, but should get there soon. Higher spots like Conway Summit, lower Virginia Lakes Road, and Dunderberg all have some bare trees, but mixed with patches of color.

Forecasters predicted wind today, but so far it hasn’t been as breezy as advertised. Beyond today it’s supposed to be sunny and relatively warm into next week, so if the leaves survive today they should last awhile. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the winds will continue to be relatively light; if so we should have some great color for awhile.

— Michael Frye

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Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author or principal photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, Yosemite Meditations for Women, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters. He has also written three eBooks: Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, Exposure for Outdoor Photography, and Landscapes in Lightroom 5: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide. Michael 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.