Category Archives: Photographs: Fall Color

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

Aspens in a Row

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Aspens in a Row
A row of colorful autumn aspen trees against a backdrop of rugged rocks.

Aspens in a Row. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A row of colorful autumn aspen trees against a backdrop of rugged rocks.

Along the base of this rocky face, which parallels the shoreline of a subalpine eastern Sierra lake, aspen trees try to grow with the classic tall and straight form. They almost succeed, but the rocky soil seems to hold them back, and while they are fairly straight they are not that tall. However, because they are in the shadow of a ridge yet open to the light on the other side, they pick up lovely soft and reflected light.

Our initial plans did not work out on this morning. We arrived at a high-country lake hoping to find reflections of aspens and the surrounding peaks. Instead we encountered strong winds and rough water on the lake. There were no good reflections and leaves were coming down in the wind. However, there are almost always alternative subjects, and by using a long lens I was able to photograph these trees across the valley.

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, Photographs: Yosemite

Autumn Oaks, Morning

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Autumn Oaks, Morning
Autumn oak trees silhouetted in morning light, against the backdrop of smoke from a managed fire, Yosemite Valley.

Autumn Oaks, Morning. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Autumn oak trees silhouetted in morning light, against the backdrop of smoke from a managed fire, Yosemite Valley.

This photograph comes from the my November 1 visit to Yosemite Valley on a day when a managed fire filled the air with smoke. It was especially thick here, as the fire was burning more or less around the meadow containing these trees. In the photograph you can probably see the thicker smoke in the shaded distance, though where I was standing it was not quite as bad.

There were several key features making this photograph work. The slender trunks of these trees are always interesting, but here they were backlight by intense sunlight coming over the top of the Valley walls, increasing the saturation of the fall leaf color. This light also left the trunks in silhouette while lighting up some of the dry autumn grasses, and the smoke muted background distractions.

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, 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.

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

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.

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.