Picture of the week

Colors of nature

Fall colors as a backdrop to a cluster of valley oaks within Cooks Meadow of Yosemite valley. After returning from another nine day trip through the southwest navajo sandstone canyon country of southern Utah, it was refreshing to enjoy the greenery and sheer granite cliffs of Yosemite in the high sierras.  The colors of the valley oaks, maples, and dogwood in Yosemite during the fall are remarkable, with photographic opportunities everywhere.  It was a pleasant time to be here, being relatively quiet and uncrowded in late October. In a way, not having the waterfalls active was nice, as it removed that element of attraction for those crowds that tend to come just to see this aspect of eye candy, that is so signature Yosemite.  But there is so much more to this wonderous place, I hardly noticed.

While wandering through the meadow I encountered two black-tailed deer lying peacefully in the grass.  They were trusting enough to remain and let me photograph them, even after breaking out my tripod to get a better quality capture and composition. I tried not to disrupt their solitude by getting too close or moving too suddently. Aftet being satisfied with about 5 minutes of shooting, I folded up my tripod and moved on, leaving the deer alone to this little piece of heaven.

Glacier Point and Tioga Pass were closed the day I left as the first winter storm moved in, getting a chance to visit both areas, witnessing a sunset on Glacier Point one last time. Some lenticular clouds appeared over Half Dome at sunset, creating an unusal halo on top of this magnificent monolith of granite. As characteristic of this location, I was treated to one last light show well after the sun went down in the west, when most people have already left or started walking back to their cars.

I visited Yosemite this last week with a couple of friends to drop off a winter food cache up at Tuolumne Meadows just before road access was closed. These two (Randy and John) plan on crossing the sierras via backcountry skiis this coming winter, starting out of Lee Vining, crossing Tioga Pass, and then skiing across Toulumne Meadows, down past Tenaya Lake and Omstead point, and then skirting the north side to avoid the avalanche zones, finally following the right side of the valley for Tenaya creek all the way to Yosemite valley.  It should take about 5-6 days, carrying all their gear on their backs or a sled.  I am not ready for that extreme of an adventure, but volunteered to pick them up on the other side.

All content and images are property of Stephen Fischer Photography, copyright 2014.  Last updated: 11/02/2014   ()