Tag Archives: california

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

Autumn Lake, Dawn, Eastern Sierra

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“Autumn Lake, Dawn, Eastern Sierra” — Dawn light comes to an Eastern Sierra Nevada lake surrounded by autumn aspen trees and reflecting distant peaks.

Yes, this is a bit of an iconic spot, but with good reason. And this year the colors around this Eastern Sierra Nevada lake were exceptional. I first photographed here before it became the often over-busy place it is today, so I’ve seen the color transition here many times. It has been about a decade since I saw colors like what I found this year. The most striking thing this year was the abundance of red and orange colors, something we don’t see every time.

The circumstances of this photograph were a bit complex. I was camped nearby the night before, and at sunset a thick cloud of suffocating wildfire smoke descended from the Sierra crest. I almost packed up and left, but then I decided to at least stick around for the night and see what the morning might bring. It was still smoky in the morning though not quite as bad as the previous night. Figuring that the smoke would be even worse farther to the north, I decided to head to this nearby lake. The smoke muted the light quite a bit, but because the smoke is not consistently thick there were moments when it thinned and more directional light appeared. I decided to simply set up in one spot and patiently wait for those momentary changes in illumination.

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: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Point Sur, Winter Light

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Point Sur, Winter Light
Winter surf and light beneath the lighthouse at Point Sur.

Point Sur, Winter Light. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter surf and light beneath the lighthouse at Point Sur.

This photograph is at the historic Point Sur, a rocky hill that would be a monumental sea stack if it were not still tenuously connected to the mainland by a low, sandy peninsula. (I’ve always wondered how often that peninsula has been overtopped by huge storm surf or perhaps an occasional tsunami.) The lighthouse at the upper left is part of a more extensive set of structures erected decades ago to support the isolated lighthouse keepers. Long ago it was considered to be so remote that it was resupplied by ships that arrived every few months, and the keepers and their families had to be essentially self-sufficient.

Point Sur has a tremendous physical presence along this section of the rugged coast. Before and after it the steep hills and cliffs are momentarily interrupted by low headlands, so it stands out against this flatter 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 and Amazon.

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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.

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

Forest, Boulder, and Pond

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Forest, Boiulder, and Pond
A tree grows in a crack in a large boulder set in forest and reflected in a quiet Sierra Nevada pond.

Forest, Boulder, and Pond. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A tree grows in a crack in a large boulder set in forest and reflected in a quiet Sierra Nevada pond.

Although the indications are more subtle than in the wildly colorful aspen groves, this is also a Sierra Nevada fall color photograph. It is not a familiar icon — not remotely so! — but it seems to be “iconic” to me, in the sense that it captures something of the quality of this season when things seem to slow down in preparation for the coming winter.

What are the subtle autumn signifiers in this photograph? There is one obvious feature in the tiny patch of yellow leaves at the far right. But those grasses lining the banks of this small pond are another indicator — while they are still green at their bases, the upper tips have gone to yellow and brown. There is something about the quality of the light, too. It always seems softer to me at this time of year, especially in shaded areas like this one.

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.

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

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

Aspen Copse, Autumn

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Aspen Copse, Autumn
A stand of colorful Sierra Nevada autumn aspen trees against a rock face.

Aspen Copse, Autumn. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A stand of colorful Sierra Nevada autumn aspen trees against a rock face.

There are many ways to look at aspen trees. The autumn colors themselves are striking, whether you look at individual leaves, small groups of trees, or an entire forest. But the other distinct annual phases have their charms, too — the bare winter trunks and branches, the springtime eruption of new growth, the “quaking” green leaves of summer. Beyond that, I’m fascinated by the larger patterns of how groves of these trees spread across the landscape, sometimes seeming to “flow” across it, and at others to dot it in isolated groups.

This little group of trees is connected to several of those modes of seeing. This year groves like this on in the Eastern Sierra seemed a bit more likely to include the beautiful orange and yellow colors. The trees in the photo are part of a much larger pattern — this copse extends a line of trees that extends along and beyond the shore of a like, almost surrounding it and flowing above and below it. It lies right up against a rock face, and by early autumn the trees remain it its shadow well into the late morning, providing soft light that intensifies the color of the leaves.

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.

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