Fall is the beginning of my favorite time of the year. It’s when temperatures begin to drop, the forests start to change color and most importantly Kat and I get to spend a lot of quality time with our families during the holidays. This year is even more special with our wedding day this December.

With October coming to an end, I had a small window to see the Fall color in the Eastern Sierra. I checked the fall color reports and the weather and it looked like most of the area was past peak with a few areas right at peak conditions. Regardless of what color was left in the area, and even if no mages were made, it would be nice just to visit the area again. I had not been back for a few years. My buddies Eric, Noel and I left San Diego late Friday night for a quick 36-hour trip to see if we could catch the last of the Fall color.

We arrived in the Eastern Sierra for sunrise and began exploring the area. It was cold, bone-chilling cold. To our surprise, there were still some vibrant pockets of color. Even in the areas where most of the leaves had fallen off the trees, it was still very beautiful. To be honest some of my favorite scenes were the ones where either only a handful or small patch of leaves were clinging to the branches. It was extremely satisfying scouting and composing scenes in the massive area. After taking a few steps in any direction, the scenes would look completely different. I think this is why I enjoy making images of woodland scenes, there are so many possibilities and so many ways to make an image your own.

This year I have been trying to hold myself to four goals while making images: 1.) Slow down, 2.) Choose the composition wisely, 3.) Get it right in-camera and 4.) Stop and enjoy the moment/area. I can honestly say I did way better on all three goals this trip than any other past trip. I hope to continue this practice in the years to come.

As the morning light began to fade, it was time to head home. No more than an hour on our drive home we had heard that 50+ mph winds began hitting the Eastern Sierra. My guess is the last of the Fall leaves we had just made images of would be on the ground by days end. My 2019 Fall color trip was extremely short but was one of the most creatively fulfilling trips to date. It was quiet, the scenes were beautiful and for most of the trip we had the area pretty much to ourselves. A special thank you to Eric and Noel for going on this wild 36-hour road trip with me.

I hope to return again next Fall to share the beauty of the Eastern Sierra with Kat.

Below are some of the images that I made during my Fall 2019 trip.

- Marco