Valley Loop Trail by Fern Spring, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, CA, 10/29/2008
Here is the view along west Valley Loop Trail near Fern Spring, looking toward the Pohono Bridge. During October this area of Yosemite Valley can be almost as colorful as New England! Thanks to the beautiful colors and cool weather, autumn is my favorite time of year to walk the Loop Trail through the forest while enjoying quiet and peaceful views of the Merced River. Although the golden leaves that fill this scene are from deciduous trees, the enormous tree trunk at left is the base of an old growth redwood. In this setting, the colors and views were beautiful in all directions. In addition to attractive colors and objects, a true work of art requires lines and shapes that produce a focus or center of interest - otherwise only color and texture have been achieved, a kind of gift wrap or wallpaper. Looking for the best composition, I walked back and forth along this section of trail for almost an hour before choosing this spot and making the photograph. I decided the trail itself is essential, forever beckoning the viewer onward into this colorful wooded promised land.
