Picture of the week

Red and Gold

An appealing color contrast between the red trunk of a jeffery pine and the golden yellow leaves of an aspen tree grove.  This image was captured within the campground area of Lundy Canyon, just northwest of Mono Lake.

I just returned from a three day trip through the Eastern Sierra via motorcycle, exploring the area for fall color photography.  I camped the first night in Lundy Canyon, and the second along the South fork of Bishop Canyon.   Some areas were quite good, while others not so much.  Groves nearer to creeks are yielding reasonable colors, while those farther away from any active water not so much.  Also, elevations above about 8000' are spent.  Here is my analysis of the region that I visited as of 10/18:

Hope Valley - Past peak, but some reasonable pockets still exist.
Conway Summit - Strange mix of some good color, but with some green, while other areas are already brown. 
Virginia Lakes - Spent.
Lundy Canyon - Good, and perhaps a little past peak.  I found the best results at the two beaver pond basins towards the end of the road, as well as in some of the groves within the campground area.
Junes Lake loop - Good closer to the lake level and along Rush Creek.
Rock Creek - Good up to the Big Meadow Campground, but spent further up the road.
Bishop Canyon North Fork - Spent.
Bishop Canyon South Fork - Good at the lower half.  Good photography is a bit more challenging due to the deeper canyon limits when you have light away from the more golden times.