Category Archives: California Fall Color

California Fall Color

Quick note regarding Sierra Nevada fall color

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Fall color? In July? Apparently I’m not the only one who starts thinking about this well before the colors appear – there were a number of search engine hits here today for the subject. I’ll likely write more about this subject when we get closer to fall, but I thought I’d post just a bit of basic information today.

When – The exact time for peak aspen (and other) fall color in the Sierra can vary a bit depending upon a variety of factors, but right around the first week of October is a good bet. Truly crazed Sierra aspen photographers are on alert from the last week of September through the middle of October.

Where – All over the eastern Sierra. (There are aspens west of the Sierra crest – such as near the tops of Monitor and Carson passes – but most of the color is on the “east side.”) You can find them up almost any eastern Sierra roadway that head up into the range. One of the best areas is around North Lake, South Lake, and Lake Sabrina above Bishop, California.

There is a lot more to say about this… later.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

California Fall Color, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Grove and Fallen Leaves

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Aspen Grove and Fallen Leaves

Aspen Grove and Fallen Leaves. Near Aspendell, California. October 5, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An aspen grove with newly fallen leaves littering the ground – near Aspendell, California.

This is one of a group of photographs I made near the start of the short road to North Lake. I had shot here very early in the morning, gone to North Lake for a bit more shooting, and then stopped here on the way to Sabrina Lake. When I arrived here I first stopped at an extensive aspen grove inside a turn in the road and started shooting there in the shade since the sun had not yet topped the ridge to the southeast. Soon the sun rose high enough to just barely peak over the ridge and I found myself on the border line between sun and shadow. For the next 5-10 minutes I moved down the hillside through the aspen groves trying to stay just ahead of the sun, and shooting the saturated colors in this area between the shadow and the full sun.

keywords: aspen, tree, grove, forest, fall, autumn, color, gold, yellow, branch, trunk, north, lake, aspendell, sabrina, morning, sierra, nevada, mountains, range, california, usa, travel, scenic, landscape, stock

(Note: I’m trying a slightly different approach on the daily photos today. Rather than posting the thumbnail image I am posting a larger version of the photo from my Flickr account.)

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

 

California Fall Color

Be Cautious About Sierra Fall Color Reports!

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I just read the following from a photography blog that I enjoy reading:

Fall Color Report The Weekend of October 13-14 is your best bet for fall color in the Eastern Sierra. Most of the big trees are near peak color, but with the unusual weather patterns we’ve been having, it might not last long. Another storm could end it all, or two weeks of warm weather could make it last and last. It’s anyone’s guess. Last week’s storms burned out or blew off the leaves at higher elevations, and – Rich Seiling [West Coast Imaging blog]

(With tongue planted firmly in cheek…) I’ll agree that the “weekend of October 13-14 is your best bet for fall color in the Eastern Sierra”… of all of the weekends remaining this year.

But that doesn’t mean it will be good, especially if you are looking for aspens. I’ve hit many of the classic aspen spots during the past two weeks, and while I did find some good color this past weekend, and while there are certainly going to be a few OK spots left, the vast majority of the eastern Sierra aspen color is all gone. As of last weekend the trees up high were largely bare or, if they had any leaves they were brown or black. In the places where I did see good color last weekend, the groves were almost uniformly reaching the end of the show. And that was last weekend.

If you are going anyway… don’t bother going high. Check out lower canyons, especially a bit farther north along the range. Enjoy other types of all color if you can’t find aspens: golden grasses in meadows and pastures, non-aspen trees turning color in Owens Valley and similar areas, dogwoods in the western Sierra (along the highway 120 entrance to Yosemite, for example), western foothill color, and a dusting of autumn snow on the higher peaks.

October is my favorite time of year in the Sierra, and in a normal year there might still be quite a few aspens turning this weekend. But this isn’t a normal year, and I’m afraid that the aspen show is pretty much over.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

California Fall Color, News

Sierra Fall Colors: Fading Fast

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I’m back from another weekend chasing aspens and other icons of fall in the eastern Sierra. I’ll post more on this later, but for now I just want to say that if you are thinking of going to see this fall’s aspens… go immediately! It is already too late in many places, but if you hurry you can still find a few good stand – mostly in low altitude groves.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.