Late Autumn in Yosemite

Yosemite National Park - November 2023

I’ve made an annual Fall trip to the Sierra for many years and have encountered tree leaves in most stages of their colorful display. Looking back, it seems the one stage I’ve missed is late Autumn. I decided to head to the mountains a little later this year, with an eye toward fallen leaves and a different look in the deciduous branches. Since I had not been to Yosemite in a year and a half, I opted to spend a couple of days wandering in Yosemite Valley. The day I arrived, the forecast suggested unsettled weather, and I briefly entertained visions of a fresh dusting of snow the next day, recalling a glorious morning in the valley a few years ago.

The snow never materialized, but instead I was presented with frosted ground cover in the mornings and brilliant blue skies. The cottonwoods and aspens were mostly bare at this point, appealing in starkness and contrast and telling their own Fall story. Their fallen leaves also offered a smorgasbord of compositions for one inclined to look down from the soaring glory of El Capitan and Half Dome. And look down I did.

While the cottonwoods and aspens had lost their leaves, the black oaks took center stage with a profuse showing of orange that lit up the valley to the point of being overwhelming. I spent some time trying to photograph these brightly colored trees but kept getting distracted by compositions of fallen leaves and frosted-tinged grasses. The most interesting results of my efforts with the black oaks were reflections that leaned toward the abstract.

I can’t imagine losing the sense of awe at Yosemite’s sheer granite cliffs and stunning waterfalls, but, for the most part, I spent my time poking around the meadows, woods, and river’s edges looking down. It was an invigorating and engrossing experience. I’ve photographed many intimate landscapes in Yosemite over the years, but this trip took that focus to a new level of detail. Frost and fallen leaves were the most common subjects, and I mostly stayed in the shade for its even light, captivated by the crystalized blades of grass and intricate leaf veins. The imposing granite walls stood silently in the background, unconcerned that my camera was pointed elsewhere. They still made their presence known, however, as the sheer cliffs reflected sunlight onto the valley floor and cast a magical glow on my small subjects.

While I felt the images I made from this Yosemite trip told an interesting story about the season, the Sierra, and the surrounding flora, it occurred to me more than once that one might view these close-up photographs and wonder if they simply came from someone’s suburban backyard on a cold morning. I chuckled at the thought.