Tag Archives: clouds

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: New England

Autumn Lake, New Hampshire

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Autumn Lake, New Hampshire
“Autumn Lake, New Hampshire” — Autumn colors reflected in a northern New Hampshire lake.

Since this year’s New England visit for fall photography was our first, we decided to combine some sure-bet locations with enough time to go out and explore. Our sure bet was in New Hampshire’s White Mountains region, and it was as spectacular as the descriptions suggested. With the help of good luck and good advice, we managed to be there at exactly the peak of fall color. After our first day visit to an obvious, iconic location, we started to push out the boundaries a bit, turning up various roads that took us elsewhere, and discovering interesting things in the process.

We stopped at this lake during a long, looping drive that took us further north. The tall ridges of the White Mountains aren’t seen here — this is a region of rolling hills that is appealing in a different way. We stopped at this lake because it provided open views and the water came right up to the roadway. Once we got out and went to work we saw more ways to photograph it. In addition to the obvious nearby trees and the reflection of those trees and the sky, the distant hills are also blanketed by autumn colors.

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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

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Photographs: Nature

An Ancient One

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An Ancient One
“An Ancient One” — An ancient bristelcone pine standing alone on a rocky ridge, White Mountains.

During my recent trip to photograph Eastern Sierra fall color I spent one day high in the White Mountains. This range (one of multiple “White Mountains” ranges in the USA!) lies to the east of the central Sierra Nevada, running south from roughly Boundary Peak, the tallest in Nevada, to Westgard Pass, which separates the range, somewhat arbitrarily, from the Inyo Mountains. It is a high, remote, dry, and largely unvisited range in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada. Although it rises as high as the Sierra, it lacks that range’s rugged, sculpted peaks — much of its high country is more of a rounded moonscape. It is one of the prime locations for bristlecone pines.

The bristlecone pines are remarkable trees. They are among the very oldest living things — some may be close to 5000 years old. Surprisingly perhaps, the oldest grow in some of the most rugged and least hospitable places. It seems that the struggle strengthens them, and these “old ones” are characterized by resistance to exposure and the appearance of being more dead than alive — the trees sacrifice the majority of their branches in order to sustain a few remaining living portions. Their remarkable character and great age always cause me to slow down and ponder.

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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: New England

Lake, Clouds, Floating Leaves

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Lake, Clouds, Floating Leaves, New England
“Lake, Clouds, Floating Leaves” — Fallen autumn leaves float on still water reflecting a cloud-filled sky

This photograph could probably generate a chapter of commentary, but I’ll keep to the traditional two paragraphs. Recently I was asked about making black and white photographs of autumn “color,” and I said that I do so on occasion, at least in part just to push myself to consider how it can be done — what, besides the color, can suggest the feelings of autumn? In addition, this photograph is also the result of the “wandering around” that I mentioned in the previous post — getting away from the obvious places, even when visiting unfamiliar locations. There’s also something technically different about this photograph, though I think I’ll leave that as a mystery. I’ll bet no one figures out what I’m referring to…

A few days into our October New England visit we left the iconic Kancamagus Parkway area behind and headed north and east on, more or less, a “random ride.” This took us away from the tall ridges of the White Mountains, and into different landscapes featuring lower hills, valleys, and more rivers, creeks, and lakes. Near the northern-most point of our route the roadway crossed a quiet lake. We stopped to make photographs of the leaves littering its surface and the reflections of beautiful clouds.

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.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Clearing Storm Clouds

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Clearing Storm Clouds
Blue sky appears as storm clouds dissipate above the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Clearing Storm Clouds. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Blue sky appears as storm clouds dissipate above the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Perhaps the most interesting skies are associated with transitions from one kind of weather to another. This includes not only the arrival of storms but also their departure. If the storm has been large and long, the first hints of its passage bring a feeling of home and light. Thinner areas appear in the cloud cover, in some places the sky becomes more blue than gray, perhaps a bit of sunlight shines through. The storm usually doesn’t depart all at once — more likely in fits and starts as lingering clouds move in and out.

After more than 24 hours of mostly rain, some of it heavy, the clearing finally began in the very late afternoon of the second day of our Sierra backcountry visit. At first we mostly just noticed that the rain had stopped, even though the clouds were thick and gray. We left our tents and wandered out to overlooks, hoping to make some photographs. Gradually the clouds rose higher, and gaps began to appear. Soon a bit of light came over the ridge to our west and the clouds over the lowlands to the east began to break up, revealing blue sky.

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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