Golden Aspen Forest, Autumn. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
A dense forest of golden Sierra Nevada autumn aspen trees.
After sharing a bunch of very colorful red and orange aspen leaf photographs recently, someone asked me about those colors, wondering if they were a stage in the color development that led to the yellow/gold leaves with which this person was familiar. In response I pointed out a couple of things. First, those other colors — the reds and oranges — are actually the terminal colors of those leaves before they fall, and they do not go through a yellow stage. Secondly, those colors are, at least in the Sierra, the exception to the more familiar rule, which is the yellow colored leaves — those are by far the most common type.
The grove in this photograph is perhaps of the more typical sort. For the most part, the tall, thick-trunk trees of Colorado and similar places are quite rare in the Sierra. They do exist here and there, especially in some sheltered and well-watered locations. But more often we see smaller trees and trees that do not grow straight and tall. Many lovely Sierra aspen groves include trees that are only one or two times the height of a person. This is one of those groves. Note the typical yellow color, the small and slender trunks, and the surrounding vegetation representing fairly dry conditions.
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.
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