Category Archives: Photographs: Nature

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

Cliff Face and Bare Aspen Trees

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Cliff Face and Bare Aspen Trees
Bare aspen tree trunks and branches against a backdrop of a Sierra Nevada rock face

Cliff Face and Bare Aspen Trees. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 9, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bare aspen tree trunks and branches against a backdrop of a Sierra Nevada rock face

There are all kinds of ways to photograph aspens, and they can be photographed during virtually any season: winter trees with snow, spring trees with new leaves, summer trees surrounded by wildflowers and grasses, autumn colors, and this wonderful time when the bare trees stand out against the rest of the surrounding terrain. At this latter stage they can be photogenic on their own or they can be set off against backdrops of other trees, rocks, or the fallen leaves littering the ground.

These specific trees have gotten my attention in the past. They grow against a fractured granite backdrop, and they are in a location where I might go to photograph other fall subjects. So when I go to photograph those subjects, I often end up walking past this spot and pausing. While nearby trees still had a lot of colorful leaves, these smaller trees had already dropped almost all of theirs.

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

Meadow, Evening Light And Shadows

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Meadow, Evening Light And Shadows
Evening light and shadows on meadows and trees along the base of the eastern Sierra Nevada

Meadow, Evening Light And Shadows. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 9, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light and shadows on meadows and trees along the base of the eastern Sierra Nevada

I visited this eastern Sierra location several times this October, and over those several visits I had the opportunity to watch the evolution of the fall color there. The first time I visited, very close to the start of the month, there was only a bit of color, and many of the aspen trees were still green. I returned less than a week later, and by that time most of the trees had changed color and a few had already lost their leaves.

Having watched this location for many years, several things have happened relative to how I photograph it. First, I rarely photograph it now the way I did at first. The overall landscape here is impressive, with meadows and groves of aspens leading upwards toward high peaks along the Sierra crest. But having photographed that expanse quite a few times, I now tend to look for smaller portions of this scene that I might not have previously noticed. Second, each year I get a better sense of how the color transition progresses as I return to this place and become more familiar with the patterns… and with the things that can vary from year to year. However, while some things have changed, others haven’t. For example, I still almost always photograph here late in the day, when the low angle sunlight barely clears the Sierra crest and passes over the landscape to backlight the trees and create long shadows.

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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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

Fall Color, Eastern Sierra Foothills

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Fall Color, Eastern Sierra Foothills
Colorful aspen groves ascend the foothills in the Eastern Sierra Nevada

Fall Color, Eastern Sierra Foothills. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 9, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Colorful aspen groves ascend the foothills in the Eastern Sierra Nevada

Indeed, I’m still going through this year’s photographs of fall color and other autumn subjects. It actually turned out to be a very beautiful fall in and around the Sierra Nevada. I suspect that the return to normal (actually above normal) precipitation had a big influence, and the contrast with the previous five drought years was quite large. I managed several trips into the range during the month of October, the prime time for most fall color, visiting the east side and also Yosemite Valley.

The best aspen color came, as it typically would in my experience, about a week and a half into October. The color begins earlier than that at high elevations and among some of the smaller trees, and then it generally works its way downward over a period of perhaps three weeks or so. I made this photograph right in the heart of that period, on a three-day foray that took me to a variety of locations. (I’ve been photographing this subject long enough that if I encounter less than stellar conditions I can usually pick up and quickly move to something better.) This spot is pretty well known and easily visible from US 395. I have photographed it many times, and now I’m either looking for astonishing and rare conditions or else a perspective that is a bit different. This photograph looks down into a group of large trees that are backed by a carpet of smaller trees, at peak color and ascending the hills toward the Sierra crest, all illuminated by very late afternoon 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 and Amazon.
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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, Photographs: Yosemite

Dogwood and Granite, Autumn

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Dogwood and Granite, Autumn
A small dogwood tree with autumn colors against the face of a granite boulder

Dogwood and Granite, Autumn. Yosemite Valley, California. October 21, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small dogwood tree with autumn colors against the face of a granite boulder

I’m certainly not the only photographer in Yosemite Valley to be intrigued by the juxtaposition of (near) permanent granite and impermanent seasonal subjects, but how can anyone resist? Such opportunities are everywhere, given that the valley is ringed by granite cliffs and filled with large reminders that chunks of these cliffs do periodically break loose and fall into the valley below. We often seem surprised with the news of a rock slide in the Valley, but even a little familiarity with the place makes it obvious that these are the rule and not the exception. Giant rock piles sit at the bases of cliffs. Recent slides are visible. And almost everywhere in the Valley, often surprisingly far from the cliffs, there are gigantic boulders that could only have arrived there from one source.

I happened upon this yellow autumn dogwood and its boulder while driving along one of the valley roads. Yes, that is almost an embarrassing admission — though most of my photographs of this type come while hiking. It was one of those moments when I catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye, immediately pull over (from driving or hiking) and see if I can find a photograph in it. Since I’ve already admitted to finding this photograph while driving, how about another admission? The biggest challenge of making this photograph? Waiting for the leaves to stop swinging back and forth in the breeze created by passing cars!

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 | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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