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Bare Aspen Trunks and Fallen Leaves

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Bare Aspen Trunks and Fallen Leaves
Bare Aspen Trunks and Fallen Leaves

Bare Aspen Trunks and Fallen Leaves. Bishop Creek, California. October 3, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The white trunks of nearly leafless aspen trees with fallen leaves below, Bishop Creek, California.

While the brilliant fall colors of the eastern Sierra aspens are an obvious attraction, I also like the bare, white trunks that begin to appear more clearly as the leaves fall. In fact, in some ways I prefer them as a subject to the leave. While I can’t stop myself from shooting those incredible colors, at some point they almost seem to produce a sort of visual overload. But the light-colored trunks, ranging from stout older trees to delicate and twisting small trees, especially against a background of rocks, fallen leaves, or the clutter of the forest have their own magic.

This is a scene from no special place – it is a just a spot along a road that I passed over more than once. I had shot in the general area earlier, but only noticed this as I passed by again on this cloudy and misty morning when the softer light allowed more of the details to appear and the slight rain brought out the colors a bit more.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Fall Aspen Leaves, Sierra Nevada

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Fall Aspen Leaves, Sierra Nevada
Fall Aspen Leaves, Sierra Nevada

Fall Aspen Leaves, Sierra Nevada. Bishop Creek, California. October 2, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Aspen leaves at their peak of red, orange, and gold color in the North Lake area of the Sierra Nevada, California.

More wild aspen colors… On this morning I went to the infamous North Lake – infamous for the ridiculous crowds of photographers who flock to the lower end of the lake to make the same photograph of the surface of the lake, the colorful trees at the far end, a band of aspens ascending a hillside, and the taller peaks beyond. A year or two I had my first encounter with the throng when I arrived at this lake, not knowing about this business, and found perhaps 20 photographers in a row near the outlet stream. This year I knew what was coming when I arrived at the lake, but I was still somewhat shocked to see that the horde was now up to perhaps 60 or more photographers packed tripod to tripod along the banks of the lake at the outlet, and now also extending along the far side of the lake as well.

Fortunately, I had no intention of shooting that scene. Instead, my plan was to park my car, pack up my gear, and walk slowly along the road past the lake looking for intimate photographs of small details of the autumn scene, especially where some smaller aspen trees grow right up agains a short, rocky cliff. So I spent perhaps an hour wandering along here, mostly by myself but with an occasional friendly encounter with other horde-avoiding photographers, until I reached a small parking area further up the lake by the other iconic subject at North Lake, the “tree tunnel.” I also did not plan to photograph this, but I did figure that I could find some very colorful leaves near here in the forest along the side of the road, and that is where I photographed this very colorful grouping of aspen leaves.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Aspen and Fern Covered Hillside, Sierra Nevada

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Aspen and Fern Covered Hillside, Sierra Nevada
Aspen and Fern Covered Hillside, Sierra Nevada

Aspen and Fern Covered Hillside, Sierra Nevada. Bishop Creek Area, California. October 2. 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Colorful autumn aspen trees and ferns cover a rocky hillside along Bishop Creek, Sierra Nevada, California.

And the series of photographs of wild autumn aspen color from the eastern Sierra Nevada continues… This photograph was made along Bishop Creek. The colors in this area when I was there were the most intense fall colors that I can remember seeing in the Sierra. At first I thought perhaps it was just me, but others have been writing the same thing about this. Not only were the aspens “on fire,” but the overcast and light rain also served to intensify their colors and the colors of the other brown and green plants.

This hillside above the banks of Bishop Creek was covered with dense aspens and ferns, and both were well along in the seasonal color transformation that occurs between the end of summer and when the first snow falls. Speaking of “dense,” this is one of a series of photographs in which I tried to work with these very densely vegetated scenes in an attempt to try to capture the lush and almost overgrown character of these areas.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Trees and Boulders, Bishop Creek

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Aspen Trees and Boulders, Bishop Creek
Aspen Trees and Boulders, Bishop Creek

Aspen Trees and Boulders, Bishop Creek. Sierra Nevada, California. October 3, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A row of aspens in full orange autumn color stands in front of a boulder field on a rainy evening, Bishop Creek, California.

I have visited this bunch of colorful trees before, but in the past have arrived just past the end of the prime color – but this time I think I hit the upper reaches of Bishop Canyon below South Lake at almost exactly the right time. Not only was the color at its peak, but the overcast, late day illumination, and light rain served to increase the intensity of the colors. I also feel that the background of large gray slabs and boulders provides a nice contrast to the very light tones of the aspen trunks and the gaudy colors of the leaves.

When it comes to fall color, each year seems to have its own personality. Some years feature brighter colors and others seem to be less striking; some seem to start early and others linger. Some years fall seems more like summer; but in others the weather seems to move quickly to winter. It is perhaps too soon to say for sure, but I have a feeling that this fall – at least the early weeks in the eastern Sierra – may go down as one of the most colorful and spectacular in a number of years.

I’ll mention a technical point about this photograph as well. For this image I used one of my favorite landscape lens, especially when I’m shooting more intimate details of the landscape, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 zoom. You’ll often hear people say that the best lens for landscape work is a wide angle lens. While the wides have their place, I think it is far too much of a generalization to say that any particular focal length is necessarily the most appropriate for landscape. Basically, any focal length that works with your subject and your concept of the subject is the right lens.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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