Chiranjeeb Buragohain 
, Oct 04, 2005; 12:43 a.m.
Just came back from a weekend trip to Bishop to shoot fall colors.
So this info might be useful for folks who are planning to go in the
near future.
I spent both days (friday & saturday) shooting in Bishop creek canyon
---there was plenty to shoot, so didn't venture towards June
Lake/Rock Creek/Mono Lake. In fact, with so many subjects close at
hand, I didn't even venture far from the car. The colors are pretty
much at a peak on both north and south fork of Bishop creek. South
fork has more trees and hence more locations to shoot. There are
still some green aspens, (gives a nice contrast) but on the positive
side none of the trees have shed their leaves. The colors around
North lake are especially spectacular. Also north lake gets amazing
alpenglow at sunrise. South lake has a more dramatic mountain
backdrop than north lake, but the first light does not strike these
mountains until well after sunrise. Didn't visit Lake Sabrina at
sunrise. This was my first experience with fall color in California
and the display is as good as any in New England.
There were lot of photographers working the area ---never seen such
concentration of photographers before. I also ran into a Mountain
Light workshop being taught by Justin Black. Everybody with an SLR
seems to be shooting digital ---felt like a dinosaur shooting 35mm.
It was heartening to see somebody lug a 4X5 around. Bishop was hot,
but most of the interesting areas up in the mountains were very
pleasant. There was frost on the ground at dawn above 9000 feet.
The campgrounds below 9000 feet are open. No problem with mosquitoes.
Noticed something curious and I hope some of the more well informed
folks might chime in with an answer. As a rule, it seems that as you
go higher in altitude, the temperatures will fall and so colors will
be peaking earlier. But this time I noticed that this isn't strictly
true. In fact, there were some strands of aspen which were green and
they were surrounded on all sides by strands which have turned color.
These strands were on the same hillside, facing the same way and
pretty much adjacent to each other. Does anybody know why such
variations exist?
Mark Chappell , Oct 04, 2005; 10:55 a.m.
In fact, there were some strands of aspen which were green and they were surrounded
on all sides by strands which have turned color. These strands were on the same hillside,
facing the same way and pretty much adjacent to each other. Does anybody know why
such variations exist?
Yes. It's because aspen stands are not clusters of independent individual trees. Instead,
stands are often (usually) genetic clones, joined together by root systems. Since all the
trees in the stand are genetically identical, they respond the same way to environmental
changes -- and a given stand may very well not "behave" the same as nearby stands that
are different clonal lines.
Jason Cain , Oct 04, 2005; 03:19 p.m.
Michael Gordon , Oct 04, 2005; 05:08 p.m.
What Mark said about the aspens! And even more, it's not temperature related but related to the length of the day. After the equinox - when the days begin shortening - the trees suspend their production of chlorophyll.
Yep, indeed there were lots of photographers about. DSLRS? Guy Tal and I conducted our workshop this weekend on Bishop Creek with seven large format photographers. Long live film and big negatives!
www.gtworkshops.com
Mark Chappell , Oct 04, 2005; 06:01 p.m.
After the equinox - when the days begin shortening...
To be nerdily precise, days (the length of the light period) begin shortening after the summer
solstice and continue to shorten until the winter solstice. The equinox is the date
on which day length = night length. Plants don't 'care' about the equinox per se, but most
species do respond to day lengths shorter (or longer) than some critical photoperiod, which
differs among species.
Michael Gordon , Oct 05, 2005; 01:20 p.m.
You are absolutely right, Mark. I simply typed and responded without allowing my brain to participate :)
Mark Chappell , Oct 05, 2005; 02:08 p.m.
I sometimes do the same thing. Very embarrassing during lectures.
