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

Autumn Aspens, Lake, Wildfire Smoke

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Autumn Aspens, Lake, Wildfire Smoke
Wildfire smoke drifts over the Sierra Nevada crest above a lake surrounded by autumn aspens

Autumn Aspens, Lake, Wildfire Smoke. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Wildfire smoke drifts over the Sierra Nevada crest above a lake surrounded by autumn aspens

This is one of several photographs I made of this Eastern Sierra lake near the peak of autumn color this fall. I photographed it from two perspectives, both of which I had decided on ahead of time. The first was from a slightly elevated position at a somewhat different location, a spot that provided an interesting view of some iconic aspen trees. This was the second position, along a shoreline of the lake where aspens grow and there is a view toward higher peaks along the Sierra crest. Because this was a somewhat special color year, I particularly wanted to include the foreground trees with red and orange leaves.

This particular composition reveals more clearly that the others I have shared that there was wildfire smoke in the air. The distance peaks of the Sierra crest are far enough away to be somewhat muted by it and their coloration is affected by the brown smoke, too. On the previous evening, after a day of fairly good conditions, thick smoke from a fire on the west side of the range had drifted over the crest and then descended into the valleys. I was quite awful, and it wasn’t entirely gone the next morning, though the brighter light of the rising sun cut through it a bit.

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: Pandemia, Photographs: Urban/Street

Green Wall, Autumn Leaves

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Green Wall, Autumn Leaves
Doorway, green wall, roll-up door, a pylon, and autumn leaves at an urban business.

Green Wall, Autumn Leaves. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Doorway, green wall, roll-up door, a pylon, and autumn leaves at an urban business.

This is a photograph I made on one of my long, almost-daily “pandemic walks” that circle out from my neighborhood to include everything from residential neighborhoods to light industrial areas and more. This building is along one of my common routes, and I probably pass by several times per week, usually without paying it much attention.

Scenes like this seem to me to contain more than might be immediately apparent. Objectively it is just a door in the side of a boring concrete industrial warehouse. But a few of the oddities attract me —‚ the brightly colored pylon, the oddly tilting yellow pole with its shadow pointing to the door, various geometries, and that wild green color.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alpine Lake in Shadow

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Alpine Lake in Shadow
Rocky terrain around a awilderness alpine lake in shadow, Kings Canyon National Park.

Alpine Lake in Shadow. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Rocky terrain around a wilderness alpine lake in shadow, Kings Canyon National Park.

I photographed this scene in a sort of light that I might not typically use for such a subject. This lake lies in a basin beneath some very tall and rugged peaks, and it loses its sunlight well before sunset as the shadows of those peaks stretch over the landscape. The softness of the light here is what you get it and kind of light, where the illumination comes from the diffused blue dome of the sky.

Of all the variations of Sierra Nevada terrain, places like this hold a special attraction for me. Near timberline, they mark the transition from the familiar forested country to the wild and rugged high places. The softening effect of vegetation is still here, but the views are open and rocks are everywhere. It is a landscape of possibilities, chief among them the potential to follow any line of passage that you can see.

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.

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Sand to Horizon

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Sand to Horizon
Incoming winter surf along California’s Big Sur coast.

Sand to Horizon. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Incoming winter surf along California’s Big Sur coast.

Winter is always my favorite season along the California coast, especially the spectacular coastline south of Monterey, sometimes called the “Big Sur” coast. This is a spectacular meeting of land and sea, where a single road tenuously traverses coastal mountain ranges, occasionally descending to the waterline, and where sea stacks and steep cliffs are everywhere. In winter, when big Pacific storms come to life, the surf can become huge, and at this time of year the atmospheric effects are often striking.

I made this photograph some years ago on a quick January visit. (I’ve fortunate to live close enough to go there and back on day trips.) In this photograph I decided to somewhat “abstract” the image, going for black and white and altering the tonalities to create a somewhat unreal effect as the lines of waves march in to the beach from the horizon.

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.

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

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