Aspens, Ferns, And Boulders. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Early autumn aspen color with ferns and granite boulders.
My arrival at this well-known Eastern Sierra location was perhaps a few days too early, and the color would not really peak until three or four days later. However, even when there are still a lot of green trees it is possible to find a few that are changing colors — and in some ways the striking fall leaf colors may even seem a bit more so when there are still some green leaves in the scene.
This photograph probably looks fairly static… but it was a very windy day! In fact, moments earlier I had given up photographing in a more exposed location because the winds were so strong! This grove was a bit more sheltered, being at the bottom of a steep, narrow bit of valley. Even so, the aspen leaves are easily moved in slight breezes and I had to wait for just the right moment to find a time when the motion was minimized. There is more going on in this scene than may be immediately visible. In a sense there are four primary components: the vertical lines of the light-colored trunks, the patterns of green and yellow leaves, the golden brown of the ferns, and hiding in the background the darker tones of rocks.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email
Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.
All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.