Tag Archives: canyon

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.

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

Autumn Aspen Forest

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Autumn Aspen Forest
“Autumn Aspen Forest” — Tall aspen trees with white trunks and autumn leaves, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Returning to the same locations has its pluses and minuses. I suppose that one negative could be the danger that the subject becomes overly familiar — there is an argument that it would be a better use of one’s time to head off to new places. But there are a lot more positives in my experience, including becoming more intimately familiar with a place you thought you knew. I find new subjects on every return visit to the Eastern Sierra, despite having photographed there for decades.

This photograph (along with a few others from the same location) is a case in point. I had passed this spot for years, barely stopping to give it a look, and to the best of my knowledge never photographing it. On this visit I spotted a lovely little creek nearby that I had overlooked, and once I started paying attention to its surroundings I became aware of these beautiful 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 | 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

Aspens in Green and Yellow

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Aspens in Green and Yellow
“Aspens in Green and Yellow — A grove of tall aspen trees in transition from summer green to autumn gold, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Recently I wrote that I have not been able to visit the Eastern Sierra this season (as of this writing) while I work through a health issue. It is disappointing to miss the aspen color season this year, but I’m fortunate to have a huge archive of photographs from previous autumns. Recently I dug back into that archive and found some older photographs that I never worked up for public presentation. This is one of them.

Sometimes the trick with aspen photography, and fall color photography in general, is finding ways to make some kind of compositional sense out of wild colors and abundant details. I often stop and stare at forests like this one, trying to find the section in which some sense of order may emerge. It is usually there, but it can take a while to find it. Here I think that the combination of the large gesture of yellow leaves and the underlying patters of vertical trunks makes it work.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lake, Ridges, and Haze

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Lake, Ridges, and Haze
“Lake, Ridges, and Haze” — Hazy morning light on ridges, cliffs, and a subalpine lake, Sierra Nevada.

It is fair to say that I got a lot of photographic mileage out of this view during our stay here a few years back. I’ve shared numerous photographs of it, though in different formats, times of day, and conditions. Despite the presence of so much other visual material, it dominated our consciousness. I suppose that part of the reason is that it was within minutes of our campsite, but it is a remarkable setting, too.

I photographed this version in the morning. At the start of our visit we had quite a lot of rain, but that diminished later on, and the sky was mostly clear on this day. The view looks roughly northeast, so the sun was just clearing the ridges out of the frame to the right. This light, coming in at an angle, illuminated the atmospheric haze and emphasized the atmospheric recession of more distant ridges. It also produced what almost looks like rim light on the exposed places on the face at the left.

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.