Tag Archives: aspen

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

Aspens and Conifers, Autumn

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Aspens and Conifers, Autumn
Aspen and conifer trees grow up the slopes of an Eastern Sierra Nevada valley.

Aspens and Conifers, Autumn. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Aspen and conifer trees grow up the slopes of an Eastern Sierra Nevada valley.

If you look closely you may find aspens in just about every state of autumn color transition — nearly bare trees, brightly colored yellow and orange trees, and a few that are early in their transition or even still entirely green. This is a reminder that when you visit the Eastern Sierra aspens in the fall, if the color isn’t what you were looking for in one spot there is a good chance that you can find color by moving north or south or heading to a different elevation. While you take that close look, also notice some taller trees (a bit tricky to find) that are entirely bare but surrounded by smaller, very healthy aspens. When aspens are disrupted by fire or other problems, new growth frequently springs up from their extensive root systems, sometimes in weeks, and before too many years those trees engulf the old snags.

The view here encompasses terrain that rises from sagebrush highlands in the Eastern Sierra toward conifer forests at higher elevations. Aspens often grow in this sage country, in places as essentially the only large trees. Here we’re right at the lower boundary of the conifers, beginning with the single large specimen in the center of the frame, with a larger grove halfway up the slope, and hints of much larger forested areas near the top margin.

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

Autumn Aspens, Sage Brush Country

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Autumn Aspens, Sage Brush Country
A sage brush country grove of colorful autumn aspen trees in back-light, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Autumn Aspens, Sage Brush Country. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A sage brush country grove of colorful autumn aspen trees in back-light, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Wildfire smoke has posed challenges to Californians and those in other western states in recent years, and the current historic drought in the state has produced even more widespread and often large fires. We have come to live with smoke levels that are occasionally very unhealthy and almost always aesthetically displeasing. Almost every late-summer or autumn visit to the Sierra during the past two seasons has been affected, and on several occasions I have had to cut trips short as a result.

On this month’s brief visit to the eastern Sierra things were a bit better in the Sonora Pass area and a bit south, but the conditions deteriorated quickly starting just north of Mono Lake. Photographically speaking, this creates some rather serious challenges, especially when smoke covers (and discolors the atmosphere of) the larger landscape. There are some options — black and white can often work in such conditions or one can focus on closer subjects, composting to eliminate the longer views. The latter is what I did in this photograph of grove of small aspens growing in a shallow valley in sagebrush-covered hills, where back-light intensified the colors of the fall foliage.

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 to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Aspen Groves, Peaks, and Clouds

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Aspen Groves, Peaks, and Clouds
Clouds move in above Eastern Sierra peaks and autumn aspen groves.

Aspen Groves, Peaks, and Clouds. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Clouds move in above Eastern Sierra peaks and autumn aspen groves.

The fall color was the objective of my recent visit to the Eastern Sierra Nevada — and I did find it — but the weather and related conditions were perhaps the bigger story. Every fall we start to watch the forecasts, hoping to see the first early Pacific weather fronts arrive. They signal the advent of winter conditions, can bring rain and snow, and can sometimes last a day or more. In most years they begin in October, though the really big storms are still a ways in the future. During my visit early in the month, several weak fronts arrived and affected the weather. It turned cold, clouds lingered over the crest, and a small amount of rain and snow fell.

I made this photograph in a valley along the eastern front of the Sierra, where the sagebrush country rises toward higher peaks, and aspens and eventually conifers begin to predominate. Mixed sun and clouds moved varying light across this landscape, and clouds were settling in over the more distant peaks of the high country.

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 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.

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

Autumn Meadow, Forest, and Peak

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Autumn Meadow, Forest, and Peak
A peak towers above colorful autumn aspen groves at the edge of a meadow in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Autumn Meadow, Forest, and Peak. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A peak towers above colorful autumn aspen groves at the edge of a meadow in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

When it comes to visiting the Sierra Nevada, the past couple of years have been a challenge! Travel was hard in general during the summer of 2020. I managed to get up there briefly in the late summer, but I ran into wildfire issues and had to cancel out of the one backpack trip I had planned. I got to the Sierra a couple of times this season, but on each visit something threw a monkey wrench into my plans and I had to improvise or leave early. During the past few days I managed to get to the east side to see the aspen color. But (yes, here it comes) I hit wildfire smoke south of Bridgeport, and when CalTrans started closing passes yesterday in anticipation of several inches of new snow, I high-tailed it back home.

However, I did see and photograph some aspen color. For the most part, I saw some pretty decent color, with the promise of more to come. There were quite a few colorful trees and plenty of others with hints of color to come over the next couple of weeks. If you can avoid the smoke, it should be good. (It was sad to see many newly-brown trees along Tioga Pass Road on my way home, trees that appear to be suffering from the drought.)

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 | 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.