“Aspen Thicket” — A dense aspen thicket, with few remaining leaves.
One of the advantages of returning to the same subjects over the years is that this gives your vision for them time to evolve. Here I speak not just of aspens in general, but of this particular grove of trees. Some years ago, while photographing a different nearby subject, a large grove further up the hillside caught my attention. It posed two challenges. First, getting close to the grove would be extremely difficult. Second, it always seemed to have lost its leaves when the other trees I came to see were at their color peak.
“Autumn Aspen Leaves” — Aspen leaves turn orange and brown in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.
There are little personal spots all over the Sierra Nevada that I return to each year — a bend in a road, a tree, a favorite rock, a viewpoint. These trees are on that list. I suspect that most passers-by might not really notice them. They are along a route to a different popular place, and there’s a good chance that most people are thinking more about that destination. And when people leave that other spot, their attention may well be focused on the road more than on a couple of trees. But I notice, and I stop almost every time.
“Boulder, Stream, Autumn Trees” — Autumn aspen trees line a Sierra stream interrupted by a boulder.
I have stopped to look at and sometimes photograph this little stream for a couple of decades. It lies along a road in the Eastern Sierra Nevada where I often photograph fall color and occasionally go to access backcountry trailheads. At the right moment of the day and season, it is surrounded by very colorful aspen trees.
This was my final aspen photograph of the day. These trees grow in what feels like high desert terrain along the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. This is essentially “sage brush country,” though as the elevation rises there are increasing numbers of conifers. Being east of the crest of the range, the area falls into evening shadows well before actual sunset.
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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