Tag Archives: california

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

Autumn Forest and Creek

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Autumn Forest and Creek
An Eastern Sierra creek flows past a forest in full autumn color.

Autumn Forest and Creek. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

An Eastern Sierra creek flows past a forest in full autumn color.

Perhaps because I wrote a book on the subject, people ask where the “best” autumn color is in the Sierra Nevada. I’m not really a subscriber to the “Best Thing” notions — that designation is often highly subjective, and there are other similar things that are as good or even better. This is certainly true when it comes to Sierra Nevada fall color. Is it the east side aspens? Should the cottonwoods be in the running? What about dogwoods, oaks, and maples on the west side? Do you like your trees as individual characters or as mass crowds. Do you like them tall and straight or short and bent? In other words, I cannot name a specific best place. But..

… there is good news — there is great fall color all over the range, and in many cases you don’t have to go to special, iconic places to find it. To me, this little scene is “about as autumn as you can get” in the Eastern Sierra: a gently flowing creek, some willows and other undergrowth in red and yellow, aspens turning, and white trunks set off against the color. Where is it? It really doesn’t matter. You can wander off in a thousand places in the range and find something just as good!

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

Black Oaks, Drifting Smoke

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Black Oaks, Drifting Smoke
Seasonal fire smoke drifts through a grove of Yosemite Valley black oak trees in morning light.

Black Oaks, Drifting Smoke. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Seasonal fire smoke drifts through a grove of Yosemite Valley black oak trees in morning light.

This photograph comes from my early-November one-day marathon up-and-back photography visit to Yosemite Valley, timed to photograph the fall colors. Since I start these trips hours before sunrise, I can never be sure of what conditions I’ll find in the Valley. I knew it would be clear weather with relatively warm temperatures… but I did realize until I arrived and saw the smoke that there would be management fires in the Valley. These fires are a good thing — they reduce the dead vegetation that can lead to extremely destructive fires — but they can make photograph difficult. As I arrived in the Valley it was obvious that I’d be dealing with smoke!

At this time of year the colors of backlit black oaks trees can glow, so I headed to a place where I know that there are some good specimens and excellent opportunities for that backlight. Arriving there, I discovered that the fire was right next to and almost surrounding the location. This could have been a very bad thing, but I soon realized that the light passing through the smoke was glowing beautifully and producing light beams. I found a spot with this composition and waited for the light to move across this spot.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Forest Path, Autumn

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Forest Path, Autumn
A Yosemite Valley trail winds among big trees and dense autumn foliage.

Forest Path, Autumn. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A Yosemite Valley trail winds among big trees and dense autumn foliage.

My feelings about Yosemite Valley, the location of this photograph, are… complicated. The place is in my bones. I first visited decades ago when I was just a child — yes, I watched the original firefall. I’ve gone scores of times since then, and I have seen the place in all seasons and all kinds of conditions. There’s no question that it is an utterly remarkable, almost unbelievable landscape. On the other hand, the human impact can be troubling. There are traffic jams, the increasingly necessary rules and regulations are jarring, it can be smoky and smoggy. Honestly, I avoid the place as much as possible udring the summer months. And yet…

… it IS “in my bones.” And I keep going back. Autumn may be my favorite season, and on the right day and in the right places it is possible to escape the impediments to the enjoyment of the Valley’s beauty — perhaps during a quiet moment along a mostly-deserted trail that passes big trees, with the space between them filled by delicate branches of maples and dogwoods transitioning to autumn colors.

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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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

Autumn Aspens in a Row

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Autumn Aspens in a Row
A row of autumn aspens in evening light, Eastern Serra Nevada.

Autumn Aspens in a Row. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A row of autumn aspens in evening light, Eastern Serra Nevada.

After years of photographing near her, this row of tall and straight aspens is almost an old friend. I visit every fall, trying to time my arrival for the best color — well into the colorful phase, but with most leaves still intact. I also time it for late in the day, when this canyon falls into shade and the light softens, revealing colors and shadow details that are lost in bright midday light.

This group of trees is a welcome exception to the typical Sierra patterns of aspen growth. In photographs from other parts of the American West you may see extensive groves of tall straight aspens extending into the distance. That sort of thing is extremely rare here. The trees are often much shorter and they are frequently twisted and bent. But occasionally, where the conditions are right, the Sierra manages to produce some of the tall and straight specimens… like those seen here.

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.