Category Archives: Photographs: Fall Color

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspens, Peaks, and Evening Shadows #1

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Aspens, Peaks, and Evening Shadows I
Autumn aspen groves, lengthening early evening shadows, and snow-dusted peaks in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Aspens, Peaks, and Evening Shadows #1. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Autumn aspen groves, lengthening early evening shadows, and snow-dusted peaks in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

This is probably a familiar scene to Eastern Sierra aspen color hunters who poke around in harder-to-reach areas. I had been traveling through this high terrain, where one crosses the boundary between aspen country and conifer forests. It was late in the day, and soon the long shadows cast by peaks near the Sierra crest began to fall across the landscape.

I looked back and saw these sunlit groves… and the rapidly expanding and approaching shadow. I quickly set up and made a few exposures as the shadows began to mute the colors of some of the brilliantly yellow groves. Yet the foreground trees remained in the sunlight, glowing in its warm light.

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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Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Slopes

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Aspen Slopes
Autumn aspen trees rise from a valley toward the Sierra Nevada crest.

Aspen Slopes. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Autumn aspen trees rise from a valley toward the Sierra Nevada crest.

This little valley running along the base of the eastern slopes of the Sierra was on my agenda for this trip. But due to trying to squeeze in visits to numerous locations I couldn’t get to all of them in the perfect, soft, early and late day light. I arrived at this spot in the late afternoon, when the sun was backlighting these trees.

The answer groves here are among the most extensive I know of. They are not fully continuous, but there are quite a few of them and they are draped across the slopes, rising high up to where they meet the conifer forest. While the daytime sunlight isn’t my favorite for aspen photography, here the backlight intensifies the colors of the leaves.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature

Aspens, Living and Dead

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Aspens, Living and Dead
A dense grove of aspens including living and dead trees, east of the Sierra Nevada.

Aspens, Living and Dead. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A dense grove of aspens including living and dead trees, east of the Sierra Nevada.

If you are familiar with Sierra Nevada aspens, some things about this grove will feel familiar, yet you might get the feeling that something is a bit different. Regarding the latter, you are correct — this grove is technically not in the Sierra Nevada. It is in a range of mountains not too far to the east of the range, where the drier climate contributes to both the “sagebrush country” appearance and the twisted and often stunted trees.

We visited this general area early one October morning, planning to photograph from a point providing an unobstructed view of a fascinating section of the Sierra crest. After photographing that scene around sunrise, we turned our attention to this nearby subject, working quickly to make pictures before the intense direct sunlight arrived. Note the mixture of very colorful small trees and older snags.

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.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

High Desert Aspens in Transition

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High Desert Aspens in Transition
A grove of high desert aspens in transition to autumn color.

High Desert Aspens in Transition. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A grove of high desert aspens in transition to autumn color.

Although my first inclination has always been to think of aspens as being trees of the high, subalpine zone, in fact they grow right down into the high desert, including along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. As such the trees are often found juxtaposed with what seem more like desert landscapes than the mountain scenes we might expect. I’m fascinated by these places, and I’ve long looked around for more examples.

This little winding grove sits near the bottom of a shallow valley that likely holds a stream during the spring melt. Here most of the trees are the typical small and sometimes stunted type, but the skeletons of a few taller trees are mixed into these little 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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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