Autumn in the Eastern Sierra #2

Over the next days I moved north, basing myself in Lee Vining. From there I explored areas south along the June Lake Loop and north toward Conway Summit. Here are some photos from the rest of the trip. But I start with an abstract image of the mountain reflected in the ripples of the lake from my first day.

To see a larger collection of images from this trip, click here. You will be directed to my main website which has a much better viewing experience on a large screen.

Starfire

The next three images were taken along the June Lake Loop, an area that I have only just begun to explore.

Colorful Trunks
Aspen under Pines
Creekside Colors

The next four photos were from a high vantage point were you can look down on an expanse of aspens, open lands, and a mix of willows. I especially love the texture and soft blue-purple of the willow bushes. All of these photos were taken in the soft light after sunset until it was almost dark.

Willows and Aspen
Aspen River
Twilight on Aspens
Aspen Willow Panorama

The eastern Sierra portion of my trip ended with a visit to some wild horses in the grasslands. I stood around observing the horses for about an hour hoping to see some action. They mostly stood around too.

Wild Horses

To see a collection of images from this trip, click here.

Autumn in the Eastern Sierra #1

I recently returned from several weeks of travel. The inspiration to get out was the fall color but I found plenty of other interesting subjects. I’ll have several post upcoming with many great photos. My trip started with several days in the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains.

The Sierra Mountains are very special to me. I consider these mountains my backyard. For over 30 years, each summer I would go backpacking for several days at a time exploring and climbing these mountains. What a joy and blessing to be able to journey far into the wilderness, both on and off trails. I had so many extraordinary moments in nature.

The first photo was taken during the soft light of blue hour, after sunset, on the day I arrived. This is a mix of pines, aspens, and willows.

Peaceful Meadow

The next morning we started in the same canyon, but at a lake that I have shot many times before. The aspens at this lake were mostly bare already so I decided to focus on abstracts with the mountain light reflecting in the ripples on the water.

Fire on Water #1

Fire on Water #2

Later in the morning I returned to the pathway (below) that I had discovered on a previous year, and found it bathed in yellow and gold with sunlight filtering through the aspen leaves.

Golden Path

I will post the next installment from this trip in a few days.