Tag Archives: canyon

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

Autumn Aspen Thicket

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Autumn Aspen Thicket
“Autumn Aspen Thicket” — A thicket of dense aspen trees with autumn leaves, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

This photograph comes from near the end of the autumn aspen color transition. Although one can stretch the season out to about one month, eventually the leaves all fall and we’re left with bare trunks. Generally speaking, the leaves fall first at higher elevations, and that’s where I found this grove. While the fully colorful trees are exciting, I also like this stage when the white trunks start to become the stars of the show.

There are many ways to photograph aspen trees, but I’m particularly fond of softer light. I find this when there is some thin overcast, or very early or late in the day, or even in light rain to snowfall. In this case I photographed at a time when nearby tall ridges blocked the direct sunlight, and the soft light filled the shadows.

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

Aspen Color, Bishop Canyon

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Aspen Color, Bishop Canyon
“Aspen Color, Bishop Canyon” — A group of aspen trees in peak autumn color, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

All over the Sierra there are little bits of the landscape with which I have somehow developed a long term relationship — places I return to year after year. They are all different. There’s a particular boulder along the trail into Lyell Canyon, a small grove of aspens in the June Lake area, a granite slab in Tuolumne Meadows, a camp spot in the Yosemite high country, this little group of aspens — and, of course, many more. How each of them came to have these connections for me is a bit hard to explain, though some do have particular stories.

Perhaps these trees got my attention because they stand against an interesting background, but also because they seem like they should be an easily photographed subject — yet I have found them tricky to photograph over the years. Sometimes the color isn’t quite right, or else I arrive after too many leaves have fallen. But I inevitably walk the little use trail past them and make a few photographs every fall.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Aspen Grove and Pond

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Aspen Grove and Pond
“Aspen Grove and Pond” — Autumn aspen trees on the shore of a small Eastern Sierra Nevada pond.

I came to this spot rather late in the day, though that was partially intentional. I knew that rows of aspens here can glow in backlight in the late afternoon, and there is a short window of opportunity between the time that the sun moves behind them and when it drops behind the surrounding peaks. I arrived and quickly went to work, since I had my eyes on several of the groves.

These trees grow in a row on the far side of a beaver pond. You wouldn’t know it from the photograph, but it can be a bit difficult to find a camera position with a clear view across the water — lots of stuff grows along the near shoreline, and much of it is so wet and muddy that it isn’t easy to get to the water’s edge. When I made the photograph the far slopes of the upper valley had already fallen into shadow, and before long the light would disappear from these trees, too.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Eastside Canyon

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Eastside Canyon
“Eastside Canyon” — Fall color in a steep and rugged Eastern Sierra Nevada canyon.

This might be one of the most classic Eastern Sierra canyons. A short spur road off of US 395 quickly climbs old glacial moraines, and before long high desert and cottonwoods transition to the first aspen trees. There is a parking lot at the end of the road, and from there a trail heads straight up the canyon, passing through this transitional high desert terrain, then through aspen groves, and before long entering conifer forest beneath stunning alpine ridges and peaks.

On this occasion I photographed from areas along the road, since I was scouting fall color. It had been cold and the highest peaks were dusted with the light snow from an early season storm. Aside from the conifers, the vegetation was in that beautiful, late-fall golden state that signals the arrival of autumn and the impending onset of winter.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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