Tag Archives: california

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

Autumn Flow

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Autumn Flow
“Autumn Flow” — The surface of the Merced River, broken by boulders, reflects golden fall colors from nearby trees.

I was in Yosemite Valley on the last day of October to photograph the fall colors of oak, maple, and dogwood trees. It may seem odd to some, but I barely photographed the iconic formations of the park at all, instead wandering around looking for more intimate views that suggest autumn. I made this photograph at a place along the Merced River where I’ve stopped for years, a spot where I know that I can find interesting reflected light at the right times of day.

This is a somewhat long exposure, made that way to allow the surface of the water to blur a bit. The location is in deep shadows during much of the day, but here the water reflects the surrounding trees and the light from high cliffs across the valley.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Big Leaf Maple, Autumn

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Big Leaf Maple, Autumn
“Big Leaf Maple, Autumn” — A big, colorful autumn leaf from a big leaf maple tree, Yosemite Valley.

Leaves from the big leaf maple trees are among the most colorful sights in Yosemite Valley during the fall. Their yellow color is especially striking because they often grow in shaded, darker areas and sometimes among the conifers. They may not be that well known since their color season is short and not during the most popular tourist times. The five-lobed leaves are gigantic — sometimes as large as two hands spread out.

Finding this big, brightly-colored leaf was part of the pay-off for a half hour or more of slow wandering through a quiet forested area. Photographing in these places is both challenging and rewarding. There often will not be obvious iconic subjects there, but the rewarding challenge comes from discovering small things and finding ways to make compositions out of complex scenes.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Backlit Autumn Oak Tree

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Backlit Autumn Oak Tree
“Backlit Autumn Oak Tree” — Branches and leaves of an autumn black leaf oak tree in Yosemite Valley.

My Autumn color hunting season in the Sierra Nevada runs from roughly the very end of September through the beginning of November, as color moves from the highest east side regions to the foothills and valleys of the Western Sierra. A trip to Yosemite Valley right around Halloween is traditional, and this year was there on that date.

While California’s western Sierra isn’t known as a fall color hot spot, there is a lot of beautiful color if you know where and when to look. In Yosemite Valley, much of the color comes from bright yellow big leaf maples, golden-brown black oaks, and yellow-to-red dogwoods. The tree in the photograph is a large oak growing in a Valley meadow. I photographed directly backlit by the sun, just before it moved behind a high cliff.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Rectangular Patterns (Horizontal)

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Rectangular Patterns (Horizontal)
“Rectangular Patterns (Horizontal)” — Patterns formed by light, paint, shadows, and structure on an urban building.

This is one of a pair of photographs of the same structure. I’ll bet you might not be surprised to hear that the companion photograph is called “Rectangular Pattern (Vertical).” Working on this pair got me to thinking about a series that I might call “Urban Geometries” featuring such photographs, both from my existing archives and from some new work. You can look at this as a photograph of a real scene or, if you work at it, you may be able to see it as an abstract composition of forms and colors.

The location is an area that was acquired by a (very) big company for a huge future corporate campus. Then came the pandemic. Now their plans appear to be on hold, though they still hold rights to the properties. I suspect, but do not know for certain, that they did some “sprucing up” of the area to avoid charges that they are allowing it to degrade. Right now it is largely a sort of urban dead zone… though it has nice paint.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.