Category Archives: Photographs: Fall

Photographs of fall color

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

Bare Aspen Thicket

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Bare Aspen Thicket
Stark trunks in a dense and nearly bare aspen thicket east of the Sierra Nevada

Bare Aspen Thicket. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Stark trunks in a dense and nearly bare aspen thicket east of the Sierra Nevada.

This isn’t the first time I’ve recounted the story of this photograph — it is one of a few that I made on a morning that took us to a high location east of the Sierra where photographs of the nearby aspens ended up being a bit more successful than the anticipated long shots of the Sierra crest at dawn. We were — of course! — up and on the road from our Eastern Sierra camp before dawn, heading east from US 395 into the high desert country. It was cold — below 10 degrees Fahrenheit along the way — and we arrived to find the atmosphere a bit too affected by wildfire smoke that muted and colored the long views in ways that were not quite what we had in mind.

Fortunately, as is so often the case, there were other things to see and photograph. Among these subjects was this thick grove of aspen trees standing in a broad valley below our position. These trees had actually been the other subject I was thinking of when I headed to this spot but, as I suspected, they were well past their prime autumn color. (Some trees out this way change color earlier than those in the Sierra.) But the dense pattern of light colored trunks and branches, with but a few remaining leaves, provided an interesting and complex subject before the direct dawn sunlight arrived at this location.

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.

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

Aspen Grove, Fall Color

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Aspen Grove, Fall Color
Shorter aspen trees at the edge of the grove, near the peak of Eastern Sierra Nevada fall color.

Aspen Grove, Fall Color. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shorter aspen trees at the edge of the grove, near the peak of Eastern Sierra Nevada fall color.

Over a few decades of photographing fall aspen color I have learned a few things, some of them seemingly contradictory. First, despite the annual attempts to figure out “when the color season will start,” it usually starts at pretty much the same time each year. (There are some variations, notably when the range experiences weather extremes such as drought or record-breaking precipitation.) Second, once a season gets underway there are many factors that can affect its progress — changes in temperature, the amount of moisture in the soil, elevation, storms (or lack of same), wind, and so forth. I’m still trying to decide how to characterize the 2019 aspen color season. Once underway it seemed, well, “odd.” In many places the color came early and didn’t last long, while in others there was great color. (For anyone still wondering, the aspen color season is essentially over now — but there’s always next year!)

I had first passed by this spot a week earlier — too early, as it turned out, but that was no surprise as I was there during the first few days of October. There certainly can be color that early, but better prospects typically come around a week into the month. I returned again the following week, but on our first attempt we got distracted by other subjects and by the time we arrived at this spot the light had changed and the trees were in full sun — which washed out the colors. So we came back the following morning, taking care to arrive a bit earlier than necessary, thus leaving time to find camera positions while the soft light still prevailed.

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.

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

Solo Aspen

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Solo Aspen
One bright autumn aspen tree against a dark forest background

Solo Aspen. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

One bright autumn aspen tree against a dark forest background.

For a long time I have thought about how photographers attempted to convey the entirely color-focused nature of autumn trees and leaves using black and white photography. It isn’t impossible, but it isn’t easy. We are so attuned to the fact that the colors — green, red, orange, yellow, brown — define the subject at this time of year, that it isn’t easy to see them black and white.

So, here is an attempt. I photographed in black and white for a long time before I worked much in color, and I don’t have many photographs of autumn subject from that period, at least not photographs that focus on the color change. In truth, this photograph began in color — both literally as an image captured with a color digital camera and subjectively, as I began the post-processing work in color. While experimenting with various ways of handling color saturation (along with handling the much darker background behind the prominent tree) I happened to lower the saturation slider to zero. Hmmm… that looked interesting! So I went a bit further, using other more sophisticated ways of exploring a monochromatic interpretation, and this is where I ended up.

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.

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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.

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

Layered Groves

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

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.