Tag Archives: autumn

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Moonset, Eastern Sierra

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Moonset, Eastern Sierra
The autumn moon sets above the eastern Sierra Nevada crest as dawn light comes to the sky

Moonset, Eastern Sierra. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The autumn moon sets above the eastern Sierra Nevada crest as dawn light comes to the sky.

Late in the season I was between summer backpacking/camping trips and autumn color photography in the Eastern Sierra. The time was mid-September, a couple of weeks before I would typically be looking for fall color out here. I had been camping up near the crest above Lee Vining and poking around in various places looking for photographs — for example, I had spend some time around Mono Lake the previous day. I was in that mental space between summer and fall, and I was using some of my time to do a bit of reconnaissance in preparation for a return a few weeks later.

I got up very early on this morning and in the darkness I headed out to the east of the Sierra, not quite certain where I would end up. Driving along a somewhat lonely two-lane road, I spotted an interesting looking gravel side road heading toward a ridge that I had previously viewed from another angle, noting that there were some aspen trees out that way. On a hunch I turned off, engaged 4WD, and drove out on a road that eventually followed close to the ridge line. I soon came to a thick grove of short aspens and I was quite surprised to see them already (mid September!) nearing peak fall color. Eventually I took a smaller side road and soon came to an overlook, where I got out in the pre-dawn light (quickly realizing that it was really, really cold here!) and set about making some photographs of the groves of aspens and conifer forests leading toward the eastern escarpment of the Sierra with the setting full moon above.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Pond, Evening Sky

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Pond, Evening Sky
A quiet wetland pond reflects a cloud-streaked late-autumn evening sky

Pond, Evening Sky. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A quiet wetland pond reflects a cloud-streaked late-autumn evening sky.

Often when I am photographing in places like this one I am there to find some “event” — something interesting that happens and which emerges from the background of less exotic things. If fact, on this evening I was there looking for something that I perhaps didn’t quite find — the intended subject was less present than I had hoped and the light played out differently that I expected.

On the other hand I did find something that may be equally rewarding and perhaps almost as difficult to find — a moment of deep quiet and stillness in the list minutes of daylight on this evening. The last bits of sky color faded among the linear clouds, reflected on the surface of a quiet pond, interrupted by a few plants and the ripples left from departing birds.

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: Central California, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Nature

Wetlands, Autumn Tree

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An isolated tree with autumn foliage and a foggy wetland morning

Wetlands, Autumn Tree. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An isolated tree with autumn foliage and a foggy wetland morning.

This colorful tree illustrates something I learned about California (and western states) fall color some years ago — namely that it lasts a lot longer than you might think! I can often spot a few first hints of autumn color in the Sierra Nevada high country as early as late August, when corn lily plants start to go dormant and turn yellow and then brown. Soon after that some meadows begin to turn red as bilberry changes colors and a few yellow aspen leaves turn up here and there. By late September there is plenty of color in the highest elevation areas, and it works its way down to the road-served front country by or before the start of October. The color continues to descend to valleys at the base of the eastern Sierra throughout October, and by the start of November there is a lot of color in the western Sierra foothills. This color spreads throughout the state’s lowlands through November and right on into December. A month ago, close to Christmas, I saw beautiful cottonwood color along a Southern California river.

I photographed this wetland tree (though there may be more than one on the small island) a few days into December, on a morning that was technically late-autumn but which felt more like winter. It had been foggy at sunrise, but as the morning wore on and the sun rose higher the fog began to thin. This soft light highlighted the yellow and folder colors of this quintessential California scene.

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.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

White Pelicans, Clouds

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White Pelicans, Clouds
Four white pelicans in a cloud-filled California late-autumn sky

White Pelicans, Clouds. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Four white pelicans in a cloud-filled California late-autumn sky.

My timing was fortuitous on this morning. The white pelicans usually congrats in groups that appear to contain a few dozen individuals. The often stay more or less in one place for long periods of time, but eventually they decide to move. They take off in long strings of individuals, generally flying past not too far off the ground. This happens suddenly, and if I’m not in the right spot, rather than being close enough to photograph them I watch the brief spectacle from a distance. On this day I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time.

I think of the white pelicans as being special. Perhaps most people wouldn’t, being mostly familiar with white versions of the bird. But I had a long acquaintance with the coastal brown pelicans before I ever realized that the white version was found locally. I’m sure they were around, but someone I didn’t notice — today I see them in quiet coastal waters, in inland ponds, and more. But even today, the coastal birds seem familiar and conventional to me, while these white birds still seem a bit exotic.

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.

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