Tag Archives: brush

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

Aspens and Cliff, Autumn

Image Leave a comment
Aspens and Cliff, Autumn
A small copse of autumn aspens, surrounded by green plants and brush and backed by a rocky cliff.

Aspens and Cliff, Autumn. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A small copse of autumn aspens, surrounded by green plants and brush and backed by a rocky cliff.

This photograph comes from a location that I have visited for years, initially mostly for one particular view that I would rarely try to photograph these days. But it turns out — as always! — that there are other things to see and photograph close to this “one thing,” and I continue to enjoy going back and photographing them. Every time I go I discover something new.

This little group of trees, however, doesn’t really fit into that “something new” category, since I have photographed them before. Years ago, intrigued by the juxtaposition of trees and rocks, I tried to photograph them from very close up. I had some success, but it was eventually unsatisfying. The main issue was with camera angles — I ended up with two choices: either photographs of small elements in the scene (somewhat successful) or angling up to take in the whole tree (less successful!). But it turns out that I can work from a much greater distance and narrow the amount of cliff included behind the trees.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Where Once a Forest Stood

Image 2 Comments
Where Once a Forest Stood
The skeletons of ponderosa pines at the edge of high desert.

Where Once a Forest Stood. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

The skeletons of ponderosa pines at the edge of high desert.

Today I interrupt the stream of photos from our European travels (“Finally!,” a few of you say…) to share something from my first return to the Sierra and points east since we got home. The European trip was great — and I look forward to more like it — but I missed my mountains! There’s a lot more to write about that and about getting back “out there,” but I will save most of it for later posts.

On this morning I was camped above 9000′ in the Eastern Sierra, but I decided (for reasons including deteriorating weather) to head out along the eastern slopes of the range to photograph in the early light. After some less-than-satisfying photography of the eastern escarpment (wildfire smoke was an issue) I headed out into the high desert near Mono Lake and then into a remarkable grove of ponderosa pines, one of the largest (perhaps the largest) in existence. I was aware of the results of a wildfire here years ago, and I wanted to photograph the remains of burned forest, so I turned off on an unmarked route and ended up here, where dead trees still stand starkly against the desert landscape.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Yosemite Valley Forest

Image Leave a comment
Yosemite Valley Forest
A Yosemite Valley forest of conifers and spring dogwood trees.

Yosemite Valley Forest. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A Yosemite Valley forest of conifers and spring dogwood trees.

In an earlier post I described my “typical day” on one of my long, one-day visits to the Sierra. (I don’t recommend this approach, and I’d rather have had time to stay longer — but it was a choice between a quick visit and no visit.) I mentioned that, unsurprisingly, the early morning and evening hours are the most conducive to photography. But if I keep at it during the midday hours I can usually find some things that are worth the effort.

I made this photograph on a midday ramble. The goal was partly to scout potential subjects for later in the day, partly to enjoy a walk, and partly to make a few photographs if anything turned up. I stopped on a bridge over the snowmelt-swollen Merced River and as I contemplated the scene I thought this little bit of Yosemite Valley forest looked interesting with its tall conifers, open light, and scattered blooming dogwood trees.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Spring Trees

Image Leave a comment
Spring Trees
Lush spring growth on trees and undergrowth in Northern California hills.

Spring Trees. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Lush spring growth on trees and undergrowth in Northern California hills.

In much of California, early spring is the “impossibly green” season. New visitors to the state during most of the year are surprised by how dry it can be — there’s a lot of desert and the expansive grasslands go brown before summer begins. But visit in March and April to see a very different California, one that looks green and at times lush.

When I think of this green season, the grasslands usually come to mind first — hills with carpets of intense green, broken by a few trees and some wildflowers. But elsewhere the same transition happens. I made this photograph along an old favorite trail through a little forested vale in a local park where I go to photograph wildflowers.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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