Category Archives: Photographs: Fall

Photographs of fall color

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

Aspens, Green and Yellow

October 27, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Transitional early autumn aspen color in the Eastern Sierra Nevada

These tall aspen trees with their straight trunks are not the most common sight in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, where smaller and more twisted trees are more the rule. But in protected and well-watered locations the trees can grow straight and tall. I photographed these at the beginning of what most would consider the prime aspen color season in this region, the first two or three weeks of October. The color starts up high (often even earlier than this) among small, high elevation trees and then works its way down into the canyons and out into the drier lands east of the Sierra. At this spot, though not within the view of the camera, there was an entire hillside covered in bright yellow small trees, but among these larger trees the show was just beginning.

This demonstrates something that Sierra aspen-chasers eventually learn, namely that if the trees in one spot are not ideal we can simply look higher or lower, north or south, and we’ll probably find trees in good condition. Although I did not make it back after this visit during the 2016 aspen color season, I’m quite sure that those who came to this spot a week or two after I was there found that some of the yellow trees had lost their leaves and that the trees that are green in this photograph were brightly colored.

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

Eastern Sierra Foothills, Autumn Aspens

October 26, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A small grove of autumn aspens is dwarfed by eastern Sierra foothill terrain

This is another Sierra Nevada autumn photograph, though the aspens take a smaller role in this one. The eastern base of the Sierra is a fascinating place. In some locations one can almost precisely locate the base of the range, where steep mountains or cliffs plunge directly into the alluvial fans at the base of the range. In several of these spots I have descended from the crest on long pack trips and walked to the “edge of the Sierra” to suddenly find myself in what feel like high desert terrain. In other locations the transition is more gradual, such as this location where the north-south highway reaches 8000′ of elevation or higher, putting this country in the same elevation range as many High Sierra meadows.

Here the junction with the range is more gradual, with high desert mountains and hills seeming to merge with the eastern extent of the Sierra and occasionally marked by huge rocky outcroppings and here and there cut by the ancient paths of glaciers. At the base of the hills in this photograph a couple of small groves of aspens manage to find a place in what is otherwise sage brush high desert, hinting at the forests to be found at higher elevations.

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 and Sage Brush, Evening

October 25, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

High desert aspen groves on sage-covered eastern Sierra hills

I’m continuing with one more characteristic eastern Sierra autumn photograph, though perhaps not the most common sort of view of the subject. The photograph does include some small groves of aspen trees in fall colors, but they are dwarfed by the immense scale of the rolling eastern Sierra foothills, covered by high desert sage brush, and cut with valleys containing creeks draining the eastern slopes of the range. I made this photograph in the early evening, just before sunset, as the low angle sun was sweeping across the crest and casting light and shadow almost parallel to the slope of the hills.

We usually look for fall aspen color in country that is higher and/or wetter — often somewhere up one of the great eastern Sierra canyons or perhaps along a ridge near the crest. But aspens grow in many places, some of which are unexpected or even surprising. They grow a good distance from the Sierra itself, sometimes far out in the high desert, and in areas that hardly seem alpine at all. Sometimes these are smaller trees, seeming to get by on less water and perhaps in a harsher climate, but occasionally they manage to form decent sized groves.

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

Aspen Slopes, Evening

October 23, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Back-lit aspens along the base of the eastern Sierra Nevada, evening

This eastern Sierra slope is filled with scattered groves of aspen trees, and because of its gentle slope upward to the west it catches the late afternoon light beautifully, backlighting the colorful autumn foliage. I photographed it perhaps a week or so before the peak of its autumn color — on the downside that means that some trees are still green, but it also means that no trees are yet completely bare.

This photograph can illustrate a few ideas about photographing such places. First, this is a location that I know very well, a popular and easily accessible location for seeing and photographing fall aspen color. As I’ve returned to it over the years, I have continued to photograph from the usual locations — but I’ve also poked around the area and I’ve found a few less obvious vantage points. That leads me to the second point, namely that it is often a good idea when photographing such things to try to get a little elevation on the subject. For this image I managed to find a spot that was perhaps a few hundred feet higher than the usual vantage points. Not only did this give a bit more separation to the beautiful ridges with their strips of rim light, but it also helped me avoid flare when shooting directly into the late afternoon sun.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Category Archives: Photographs: Fall

Aspens, Green and Yellow

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Eastern Sierra Foothills, Autumn Aspens

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Aspens and Sage Brush, Evening

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Aspen Slopes, Evening

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.