Autumn Road Trip To Lassen Volcanic National Park & Yosemite + More
On the third week of October, 2022 I left Los Angles at approximately 4am on what would become a 1,734 mile road trip chasing the changing leaves of Autumn. I shot this set of photos digitally but also took a new-to-me Leica M6 and some newly released film, please see the photos here in a recent blog post.
The day started by driving three hours in the dark until the first crack of light showed up around 7am. A dirt road right off the 395 proved to be the first stop to capture the morning fire in the sky. Continuing on up the eastern side of the Sierra with stops in Bishop, Inyo National Forrest, Convict Lake and little pull offs and points of interest like the tiny church.
Missing sunset by about 20 minutes turned out to be somewhat of a blessing, as the sky was turning crazy shades of sherbet and bubble gum just upon arrival at Mono Lake. Photographing the tufa formations jutting out of the lake only stopped after grabbing another fire in the sky image of post sunset when golden hour switched quickly to blue hour followed by blackness.
The next morning lead me to Lassen Volcanic National Park, extremely beautiful and also full of sadness and sorrow. The Dixie Fire that occurred in the summer and fall of 2021 is still very evident by the black, desolate looking trees that line much of the road leading to the main entrance and throughout the park.
The trip rounds out after heading south to Yosemite National Park, and it’s two most notable features; El Capitan and Half Dome.
