Layered Groves. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Parallel rows of Eastern Sierra Nevada aspen trees in varying stages of color.

So, how good has this Eastern Sierra autumn color season been… or not been? To be honest, that is a tough question to answer. If it was the first time you’ve been there for the annual changing of the aspen (and other vegetation) and you got to the right spots at the right time in the right conditions… there’s every chance that you found it to be incredible. And, to be honest, even when the entire range doesn’t light up with autumn color, you can find great color in the area you are visiting and all is good. After seeing quite a few autumn color change cycles in the Sierra, for me this one was just OK. But, odd as it may sound, that has its pluses, too. One of them is that it gives me good reason to look more closely and to look in different places… and to remember that the experience of autumn is not just about colorful leaves.

I visited this spot a couple times during the eight days I spent in the Eastern Sierra over a period of a couple of weeks. On my first visit most of the trees were still green, and I had looked forward to returning a bit later when those green trees transitioned. Surprisingly, when I returned perhaps a week later I found that most of the trees here had already lost their leaves or that the leaves had simply turned brown. But I don’t give up easily! Late in the day, with the low-angle light coming from the right direction, it was possible to frame compositions that juxtaposed the bare trees with those that still held some color. I made this photograph just a few minutes before the sun dropped behind the Sierra crest to the west.

---

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

---

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

First Fall Color. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An eastern Sierra Nevada aspen grove with first signs of autumn color.

One of the risks of starting my annual Eastern Sierra fall aspen color hunt a bit early is that I just might arrive too early for the color! That was mostly the case this year, when I made my first aspen-focused trip right at the beginning of October. The timing of the color transition can vary a bit from year to year, but I usually bet on the start of widespread color coming near the end of the first week of the month. Last year it came earlier — I photographed large groves of small trees at a location near the Sierra near the end of September, and I found good color close to the start of the month. That experience led me to start early this year.

There was some color when I arrived on October 2, but it was not widespread. Some of the higher elevation “scrub aspen” growing on rocky soil were changing to yellow, but most of the larger trees were still green. There were a few notable exceptions where groves had changed. More common were sights like this one — mostly green trees, leaning toward the lighter “lime green” color that comes before the transition, plus a few actual yellow leaves. This particular grove presented me with a special lighting situation. The trees were in the shaded bottom of a deep canyon, but across the canyon and beyond my camera position there was a large open slope that lay in direct sunlight. This rocky terrain reflected the warmer-colored light directly into the grove, giving a bit more light to the trees along its edge.

---

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

---

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

East Slope Canyon, Autumn. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn aspens carpet the lower reaches of an Eastern Sierra Nevada canyon.

The eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada is remarkable, with peaks rising abruptly by as much as 10,000 feet above the valleys to the east of the range. In summer you might start your morning in what amounts to a high desert town, drive to a 9,000 foot trailhead, and before day ends cross a 12,000 foot pass — or, if you are especially immune to pain, summit a 14,000 foot peak. During most summers you can look up from those valley towns to see such things as snow fields or impressive summer thunderstorms.

Huge canyons cut into these eastern slopes. Most have glacial origins, which are still visible in the form of lateral and terminal moraines extending into the slopes below the base of the range. In fall many of these canyons are carpeted with the (mostly) golden color of transitional aspens, beginning along creeks in the canyon bottoms and ascending the rocky slopes. I have backpacked up this canyon during this period, passing from the larger trees at the trailhead, through dry sagebrush country above, and then through groves of small trees before ascending into the subalpine zone.

---

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

---

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