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

Aspens and Conifers, Autumn

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Aspens and Conifers, Autumn
“Aspens and Conifers, Autumn” — A small stand of conifers surrounded by scrub aspen in autumn colors, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

In our search for the biggest, most spectacular aspen trees and the biggest and most expansive groves, we sometimes overlook these smaller “scrub aspen” trees. At least I do. But often they are just as colorful as the bigger trees, and they can be quite fascinating when draped across the right kinds of terrain. Their color is every bit as vibrant as that of the bigger trees, and sometimes they are the earliest to turn fall colors. I have even photographed them in September, the month before the main October peak of color.

The trees in this photograph might not be all that impressive up close. They are, after all, quite small — probably no taller than you are. But from a distance they form a more unified subject, a sort of blanket of color lying across this gentle landscape and surrounding a small group of conifers in early evening 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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Aspens, Last Light

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Aspens, Last Light
A few final beams of light illuminate Eastern Sierra autumn aspen trees.

The light in this location is unusual for the Sierra — for geographic reasons that I’ll explain below. This forest of autumn aspen trees is on the east slope of the range, at what I think of as a middle elevation. Here the high desert sage country meets aspens and a few conifers, then transitions as the terrain rises until the forest is mostly conifers. The shallow angle and steady rise let us view one of the bigger aspen stands in the Sierra.

About that special geography… In many places the eastern front of the Sierra is quite steep, and some of the most precipitous mountain faces in the range are along this side. But in this location the rise is more steady and gentle and it begins at a higher elevation. Consequently, late in the day when I made this photograph the light streaming between peaks to the west comes in at about the same angle as the slope — and long shadows and beams of late-day sunlight spread across the landscape.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Lake, Evening

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Black Point, Mono Lake, Evening
“Black Point, Mono Lake, Evening” — Evening clouds above Mono Lake and Black Point.

I made this photograph on an autumn evening after incoming clouds had ended my aspen photography for the day. I decided to make a quick run down to the shoreline of Mono Lake to see if there might be any interesting dusk light. The conditions were a bit subtle, but I think that they are actually representative of what we’re likely to see at Mono in the evening when clouds over the Great Basin dissipate and the lake is in shadow.

This particular bit of shoreline has long intrigued me. (I’m not the only one!) In many places along its edge we look straight out at the immensity of this lake, but in this spot we instead have a view along the shoreline, past bays and Black Point, toward volcanic islands and then desert mountains in the far distance.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Evening Aspens

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Evening Aspens
“Evening Aspens” — Beams of early evening light on Eastern Sierra aspen groves.

As I photographed here in the late afternoon I was keeping an eye on the sun as it descended toward clouds and the Sierra crest to the west. These trees are beautifully back-lit by late afternoon sun, but it looked like that light source might disappear early behind the clouds. As it turned out, the partially blocked light created an unusual and dramatic effect as beams of light highlighted trees against the darker background.

I think that we like to flatter ourselves about our ability to find and take advantage of subjects and great light. We put a lot of effort into searching out visually interesting locations (a worthwhile endeavor!) and then being there when the light is likely to be ideal. But in the end we are, to a great extent, at the mercy of conditions. Sometimes that is a problem, but on evenings like this one the light gods send us an occasional gift.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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