Fall at the Buttes

The North Yuba River leading to the Sierra Buttes. I found this spot a year ago when I was looking for Fall color in the area, and loved how the river seemed to flow right into the Buttes. A problem I kept having though, is that I couldn't get the lighting right. The first time I came it was late morning, and I waited around forever to see if any light would shine into the canyon, and it never did. Then I had to wait a year to try again, which was last week. I tried for an evening shot, but the sun desceded behind the buttes pretty early, casting a large shadow over it. So for one last attempt, I figured I would try early morning light. 

I woke up at 3:15am to make the 2.5 hour drive to Sierra County, hoping for a beautiful early morning photo. With coffee in hand, and eyes a little heavy, I made the peaceful drive up Hwy 49. The stars were bright and vibrant, lighting up the night sky as I made my way up the mountain. When I arrived to the location, it was still pitch black, causing me to pass the pullout. It took about 15-20 minutes of driving around in the dark before I finally found it. I parked my car with 10 or 15 minutes to spare, so I took a couple more sips of coffee and waited for the sun to rise. 

As soon as the faintest bit of light came up, I made the short hike down to the river to find my spot. The leaves were more golden than when I was here a week ago, and the water had risen a little bit, making it a little scarier rock hopping around the river. I found a good spot on a big rock in the middle of the river, and started taking photos. I sat there for about an hour taking different kind of shots with the lighting coming up over the mountain and shining on the buttes. 

For years, I have been hoping to get a shot of a stream lined with aspens, and that day finally came. After three attempts over a span of a year, it finally all worked together to get something beautiful.