Category Archives: Locations

Locations, Photographers

Inge Fernau’s Fall Color Wrap-Up

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Photographer Inge Fernau seems to have become even more obsessed (in the most positive sense of the word!) than the rest of us with photographing eastern Sierra Nevada autumn colors. She has posted a narrative summary of this fall’s journey, along with a lot of interesting information gleaned from her visits to most of the great aspen color sites:

2007 Fall Color Summary Planning my trips to hunt for Fall Colors in the Eastern Sierra starts about 10 to 11 months prior to Fall. Sooooo I start planning in November for the next year.
After 5 years of coming on different days throughout September and October, I finally came to the conclusion that the best time to catch Fall Colors in the Eastern Sierra is the last week in September (~9/23) to about the second/third week in October (10/20). Cold spells, snow and high winds can change this drastically. I also must say that 2007 was not a banner year for the colors on the East side. In 2007 I logged over 4000 miles of travel.

– Magical Glow Photography [Journal of my travels for the perfect photo]

Follow her links to read more… much more.

Locations, Photographers

The Nocturnes at Mare Island

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Andy Frazer reports on two of my favorite subjects – The Nocturnes (SF Bay Area night photography group) and the Mare Island Naval Shipyard (great location for night photography). Follow his link to read the full story:

Nocturnes Descend on Mare Island

During the full moon last month, over thirty night photographers descended upon the decommissioned photo wonderland of Mare Island, in Vallejo, CA. The event was organized by Tim Baskerville of the Bay Area-based Nocturnes…. – Andy Frazer [Night Photography blog by Andy Frazer]

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Building with Green Windows, Full Moon. Mare Island Naval Shipyard. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Commentary, Locations, Photographs: Yosemite

Photographing Yosemite in Winter Podcast

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As if on cue (given my recent and upcoming Yosemite photographic expeditions) Jim Goldstein has released a new installment of the EXIF and Beyond Podcasts, this one devoted to Yosemite Winter Photos. (My copy is downloading as I write this, and I plan to listen to it on the bus to work tomorrow.)

One of the great things about Yosemite Valley is that the best times of year there are not, for the most part, the most crowded. (One exception can be early June in a great waterfall year.) I just returned from a fall foliage shoot there and I can’t imagine the Valley being any more beautiful… unless it is right after a winter snowfall.

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Morning and New Snow, Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. April 4, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Commentary, Locations

Oak and Dogwood Leaves and Other Things

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As I did another one-day photographic trip yesterday – this one to Yosemite Valley to see autumn colors. Up at 3:15 a.m. and on the road before 4:00 a.m. I arrived at the park entrance at 7:00 a.m., still before sunrise. Since there wasn’t yet enought light to photograph dogwood leaves and other autumn foliage along highway 120, I went ahead to the first view of Half Dome and El Capitan and shot a few images there before heading back up 120 to spend some time on the foliage. Then I headed down into The Valley where I found the foliage in abundance – it was just about as colorful as I’ve ever seen in the Valley.

I started at El Capitan Meadow (after a short snooze to make up for my early rise time) where there are a bunch of really beautiful black oaks in the middle of golden grasses. I spent over two hours working this spot before heading on to the Curry Village area. I left the car here and did the “tourist hike” to Vernal Fall, hoping to photograph a tree at the base of the cliff at the fall. When I got back to car it was later than I expected and darkness was arriving a bit early, so I started back down the valley to try to grab a few late shots, but without a whole lot of success – the high overcast was now thicker and there wasn’t much of a sunset.

The light was challenging all with light overcast and occasionally thicker clouds. This is a mixed blessing – large scale scenic vistas were somewhat obscured by haze and flat light; on the other hand the softer light can work well with foliage and similar subjects.

(I have posted a few examples in my Gallery – This link should get you to several of them.)

A couple notes about Yosemite conditions: The foliage on highway 120 and in the Valley was stunning yesterday. I have a feeling that this is the peak fall color weekend this season. I have a return trip scheduled for next week, but I’ll need to watch the conditions to see if it will be worth it. Also, not sure if it was due to normal atmospheric conditions or the aftermath of the southern California fires, but it was quite hazy in the Sierra.