Tag Archives: eastern

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

Aspen Layers

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Aspen Layers
Layers of colorful autumn aspen trees ascend the slopes of the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Aspen Layers. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Layers of colorful autumn aspen trees ascend the slopes of the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

We spent time in the Eastern Sierra Nevada this past week, mostly searching for autumn color up and down the range. It seemed like a good year for fall color. If 2023 has a “fall color personality” it might be that the colors seemed to take off all at once across a broader range of locations and elevations than is typical. While things may have peaked this past week, at least by some measures, there should still be fine color for another week or so, especially at lower elevations and in more sheltered areas with larger trees.

I made this photograph in soft evening light, generally my favorite type for this subject — along with soft morning light of course. While intense sunlight can produce extremely saturated colors, especially when the trees are back-lit, soft light tends to reveal details, especially in the shadows. Here layers of trees march up the slopes of the Eastern Sierra toward the crest.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Ridgeline Trees, Incoming Storm

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Ridgeline Trees, Incoming Storm
A late-summer storm sweeps over high mountain terrain, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Ridgeline Trees, Incoming Storm. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A late-summer storm sweeps over high mountain terrain, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

My favorite time of year in the Sierra Nevada high country is right now — roughly between mid-September and mid-October or a bit later. I love the place all year, wonderful stuff happens during this season. The overbearing crowds of summer are mostly gone — and I can just show up and get a campsite! The sun is often still warm, but its intensity has diminished. The light trends toward warm and soft and golden. Fall colors arrive and, of course, we sense winter out there on the seasonal horizon. These last easy, warm days seem even more precious as they come to an end yet again.

On the other hand, this transitional period brings surprises including cold, rain, graupel, hail, wind, snow… all of which I experienced on a few recent late-September days. I made this photograph from my camp at 9000’+ of elevation just outside Yosemite’s eastern border. Shortly after I set up my tent the sky darkened and soon rain, hail, and graupel arrived. The trees on this rocky prominence we in the last bit of soft light before the storm arrived and I took cover.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Eastern Escarpment

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Eastern Escarpment
A section of the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada.

Eastern Escarpment. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A section of the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada.

This is another in a short series of photographs I made of a section of the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada this fall. I had spent several day photographing aspen color — with a side trip up to the White Mountains to visit the bristlecone pine forest — and as I started home I noticed somewhat unusual conditions for midday that seemed like they might just work for photography. Specifically, there were high, thin clouds muting the harsh sun just a bit. So I wandered off the main route a bit and poked around looking for interesting views pack up toward the peaks.

This scene encompasses a range from the lowest hills right above the valley all the way to the peaks at the summit of the range. This particular cross section is a bit unusual, as it really includes hills and mountains from bottom to top — desert hills in the foreground and the alpine zone far above.

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.

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

Valley to Summit

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Valley to Summit
Basin Mountain, as seen from the base of the Sierra Nevada.

Valley to Summit. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Basin Mountain, as seen from the base of the Sierra Nevada.

This is a vertical-format view of one of my favorite eastern Sierra mountains, Basin Mountain. It isn’t the tallest in the range or even on this section of the crest, and others have more storied reputations. But I’ve spent quite a bit of time in places where I could see it — both directly beneath its eastern face and passing by on the way to other locations. Although it isn’t very clear from this angle, that eastern face features a striking “basin” that opens toward Owens Valley. I’ve long been intrigued by an obvious trail ascending into that basin, though I’ve never gotten around to taking it.

I made the photograph from the base of the Sierra along the western edge of what we might broadly consider to be part of Owens Valley. (Technically, the exact spot has a different name, but close enough!) The view illustrates some typical features of the “East Side” mountains. They rise from desert-like terrain in many places, and even when it isn’t actually desert it is dry. The foothills rise through what I refer to as “sagebrush country,” often on material deposited by flowing water or old glaciers, and eventually meet the rugged base of the rocky Sierra itself. From there the terrain becomes much more alpine and often much steeper as it rises toward the highest peaks.

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.