Autumn Light. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Autumn light on a Sierra Nevada slope with early fall color.
This photograph come from that beautiful time of year in the Sierra Nevada when summer is drawing to a close, all the signs of the coming autumn are appearing, and the crowds diminish. (Or at least they used to — a subject for another post…) I’ve frequently written that the signs of autumn appear well before the calendar says the season arrives. This photograph comes from the first week of fall — weeks before the peak of autumn aspen color, but a time when many other autumn colors begin to burst forth.
I am a bit embarrassed to say that I’m not quite positive where I made this photograph back in 2009. I know that I came off the trail from a short backcountry photography trip on this day, and that some time after I made this photograph I seems (looking at my archive) that I went to some location where very early aspen color was beginning to appear. The likely time of day, the direction of the light, the relatively barren upper slopes, and the time of day all suggest a location near to or just east of the crest. But the exact spot? Not sure!
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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.
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I think I would be able to find this spot again. It is in an area I’ve visited and photographed many times — when I’m there I often pass through this area. I think I actually do know the spot — it is just the particular view I don’t immediately recognize.
These places do change, both on an annual scale (more or less vegetation, higher/lower water level) and over the years. The latter are less easy to see, since they happen so slowly.
Dan
I love the light of late summer as well. Very nice photograph. Do you think you would find or recognize the spot if you go back? I wonder how much things would change there in 12 years? Does the camera that you use now have a GPS on it to put the location?