Stopping to photograph these formations was almost an afterthought. We had been far down a remote road in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument photographing even more obscure locations, and we were headed back towards Escalante. Not being familiar with this area back then, I was surprised when we stopped here along the way, but then this little red rock garden began to attract me.
Continue reading Two Towers
This tree (along with a companion hiding behind it) is situated in an especially picturesque location at the base of a granite dome, where it grows out the upper edge of a pile of rocks. At just the right moment the sun moves around from behind and above the dome and illuminates the tree from behind. (You may have seen this tree in another photograph I recently shared, one that takes a wider view of the scene.)
There are many reason s that I like this tree, but one is that it always reminds me how easy it is to overlook something interesting. It is along a road that I have driven for decades. For years I whizzed past this spot without noticing it at all. Then I saw a photograph of this tree by Charles Cramer, and since then I do notice it. I often stop and look, and if the light is decent I’ll make a photograph or two — but in the end it will always remain “Charlie’s Tree.”
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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email
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Trees and Haze, El Capitan. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.
Late-afternoon spring haze mutes the contours of El Capitan, standing beyond groups of Yosemite Valley trees.
Near the end of my one-day (one very long day!) visit to Yosemite Valley the week before the Memorial Day crowds arrive, I visited a few spots in the lower Valley that are familiar to me. I went to this location mainly to photograph a flooded meadow that is surrounded by trees and from which granite cliffs are visible. These trees were silhouetted against the base of El Capitan, whose form and textures were muted by afternoon haze.
Haze can be the photographer’s enemy or friend. It certainly interferes if you are looking for clear, detailed photographs of distant subjects. On the other hand, it can accentuate the distance between objects, mute distant details to bring attention to closer subjects, and lend a moody emotion to a 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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.
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Autumn Aspens, Rocky Ledge. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.
A line of aspen trees, with backlit peak color, on a rocky ledge, Eastern Sierra Nevada.
These trees defied one of my working assumptions about Eastern Sierra Nevada autumn aspen color, namely that the high-elevation clusters of smaller trees growing in challenging surroundings usually turn and then drop their leaves earlier in the season. I know that’s often true, because I have seen it for myself in many locations. But this year seemed different, and in places where I have seen bare trees before the middle of October there were quite colorful groves this time. This line of trees was up very high in very rocky terrain, yet it managed to produce enough color to glow like flame in the morning back-light.
This wasn’t the only location where I saw this surprising change. I’m pretty familiar with groves along the June Lakes Loop, including some that are well above the loop and only accessible in some relatively difficult ways. I have photographs of those trees from previous years, and they peaked and then dropped leaves early. Yet this year, as I drove that loop on the last day of my visit, at the end of the third week of October, the same trees were producing vibrant gold colors. All of this reminds me that while the trees tend to follow the same general schedule from year to year, each season has its own personality.
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 | Twitter | 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.
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