Aspen Grove, Evening, Rock Creek. Sierra Nevada, California. October 9 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A nearly bare aspen grove in soft evening light – Rock Creek, Sierra Nevada.

I had visited this area the previous week at the end of a day of intense shooting, but by the time I arrived on that earlier date I found stunning aspen colors… and weather that had become too nasty for me to shoot in. So I filed away my memory of the place and registered my intention to come back and shoot here later when the conditions and light might be right. Since I’m not so fond, in general, of photographing aspens in full sun, my plan was to eventually return either very early in the morning or late in the day when I could work in softer and diffused light. Recognizing that tall mountains to the west would block the light fairly early in the evening, my main plan was to come back late in the day.

I had this plan in mind when I started shooting on this day, so throughout the day as I visited and photographed other locations I was aware that I eventually needed to work my way north to be up Rock Creek as the day ended. In the afternoon I investigated Pine Creek – and interesting place but nothing grabbed me – and then photographed some trees in Round Valley in the last light that washed over them as the sun started to drop behind the ridges near Mount Morrison. Then I headed north on highway 395, turned off at Tom’s Place, and headed up Rock Creek.

Much of the intense color of the previous weekend was now gone – a few days of rain and snow had taken down many of those leaves, and in many places the remaining leaves had not yet changed colors. As I worked my way up and down the road looking for subjects I noted one small grove near the road, but since I didn’t see a good place to pull over I kept going. Finally, I decided that this little grove might be my best opportunity before the light disappeared, so I returned and found a narrow place to pull off the road. While I love the brilliantly colored aspen trees that attract all of us to the eastern Sierra at this time of year, I also like the bare or nearly bare aspen trunks after the leaves have fallen, especially when they have interesting shapes or are packed together in tight groves like this one.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email