Fallen autumn leaves congregate around the base of Granuja Falls in Uvas Canyon, California.

I often hear friends from the east coast say “I think I would miss fall too much,” regarding moving west. Or even my friends who are out here already say that they do miss fall. This always confuses me, because there is certainly an autumn here in Northern California. It’s true, many of the landscapes are dominated by evergreens or other trees that don’t change color. But plenty of pockets of hardwoods do exist that change color in a brilliant display. You simply have to know where to look. My favorite place for fall in the Bay Area is Uvas Canyon, about a half hour outside of San Jose. On this visit, it was the forest floor which captivated me, especially the ways in which the leaves and streams interacted with one another. In this photograph, a lone leaf remains on the rocks of Granuja Falls, while his comrades have already left him behind.

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