Tag Archives: colors

Ladies Pavilion, Central Park

Ladies Pavilion, Central Park
The historic Ladies Pavilion at the Lake on an autumn day in Central Park, Manhattan.

Ladies Pavilion, Central Park. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

The historic Ladies Pavilion at the Lake on an autumn day in Central Park, Manhattan.

Discovering that this place is called the “Ladies Pavilion” was a bit of a surprise. I have been to this spot quite a few times, and I had seen the small building. But as I worked on the photograph I decided to find out more. It was originally constructed over 150 years ago as a shelter for carriage riders in a different location, then moved here in the early 1900s. Over the decades it languished and was in ruins before it was restored in the 1970s. It is has a beautiful view of The Lake and the Manhattan skyline.

The photograph was almost an afterthought. When we arrived here I went around to the other side of Hernshead, the rocky feature on the left side of the frame, where I photographed the lake. Then I came back this direction and walked past the pavilion to photograph some nearby foliage. But this little structure kept calling to me, and I finally stopped to photograph it with The Lake and the urban skyline beyond.


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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Aspens, Peaks, and Evening Shadows II

Aspens, Peaks, and Evening Shadows II
Autumn aspen groves, lengthening early evening shadows, and snow-dusted peaks in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Aspens, Peaks, and Evening Shadows II. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Autumn aspen groves, lengthening early evening shadows, and snow-dusted peaks in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Seeing a photograph here with the Roman numeral “II” attached you may wonder if there is a version “I.” There is, of course, and the first of the pair was posted a few days ago. In this case, the only significant difference is that this is a “landscape” orientation view of the scene and the other version used the “portrait” orientation. When the subject allows it I often photograph in both orientations — partly for practical reasons and partly because they both seem to work!

The scene is a type that I like a lot, at the elevation where the forests we expect in the high country meet high desert sagebrush country. The aspen trees seem to like both, and they are frequently a bridge between the two types of terrain. Here it is late in the afternoon (or perhaps early in the evening?) and long shadows are starting to stretch across the 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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Aspens in a Row

Aspens in a Row
A row of colorful autumn aspen trees against a backdrop of rugged rocks.

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

A row of colorful autumn aspen trees against a backdrop of rugged rocks.

Along the base of this rocky face, which parallels the shoreline of a subalpine eastern Sierra lake, aspen trees try to grow with the classic tall and straight form. They almost succeed, but the rocky soil seems to hold them back, and while they are fairly straight they are not that tall. However, because they are in the shadow of a ridge yet open to the light on the other side, they pick up lovely soft and reflected light.

Our initial plans did not work out on this morning. We arrived at a high-country lake hoping to find reflections of aspens and the surrounding peaks. Instead we encountered strong winds and rough water on the lake. There were no good reflections and leaves were coming down in the wind. However, there are almost always alternative subjects, and by using a long lens I was able to photograph these trees across the valley.


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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Aspens, Peaks, and Evening Shadows #1

Aspens, Peaks, and Evening Shadows I
Autumn aspen groves, lengthening early evening shadows, and snow-dusted peaks in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Aspens, Peaks, and Evening Shadows #1. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Autumn aspen groves, lengthening early evening shadows, and snow-dusted peaks in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

This is probably a familiar scene to Eastern Sierra aspen color hunters who poke around in harder-to-reach areas. I had been traveling through this high terrain, where one crosses the boundary between aspen country and conifer forests. It was late in the day, and soon the long shadows cast by peaks near the Sierra crest began to fall across the landscape.

I looked back and saw these sunlit groves… and the rapidly expanding and approaching shadow. I quickly set up and made a few exposures as the shadows began to mute the colors of some of the brilliantly yellow groves. Yet the foreground trees remained in the sunlight, glowing in its warm light.


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 | FacebookEmail

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.