Tag Archives: eastern

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

Last Beam of Light

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Last Beam of Light
A final beam of sunset light falls across groves of Eastern Sierra aspen groves on an autumn evening.

Last Beam of Light. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A final beam of sunset light falls across groves of Eastern Sierra aspen groves on an autumn evening.

This is one of those locations that I feel like I should have been done with years ago. It is a somewhat iconic spot with easy access, and I have photographed it many times. But this year’s color transition seemed to follow a different trajectory than I have seen before — perhaps due to the preceding wetter-than-normal year or possibly related to relatively quiet autumn weather. In any case, it seemed like high elevation color came a bit later and overlapped the lower elevation transition more than usual. As a consequence, the color here was unusually interesting during the third week of October, so I reserved an evening to go there and photograph once again.

My plan was pretty simple. I would first visit a nearby area where I expected to find lots of bare trees, and after finishing there I would get myself in position for this location well before the best light arrived. The plan worked, and I photographed these and other nearby groves in the low angle light before the sun dropped below the Sierra crest. As more and more of the scene fell into shadow I began to think of packing up and moving on… but then I saw this one final beam of light slanting across the groves. I had literally only seconds to frame the scene, configure the camera, and make three exposures before the light was gone. In the first the beam was too bright, in the third it was nearly gone… but the middle exposure worked.

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

Bare Aspen Trees

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Bare Aspen Trees
A grove of Sierra Nevada aspen trees that have lost their autumn leaves.

Bare Aspen Trees. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A grove of Sierra Nevada aspen trees that have lost their autumn leaves.

This is not the first time I have photographed this little cluster of aspens growing very high up on a rocky hillside, though I think I finally found a way to photograph it the way I had in mind. Perhaps because the trees grow in rocky terrain, they seem to lose their leaves before other nearby trees. At the right time of day, given their elevated position, they are brightly lit by backlight as the sun tops the ridge beyond. The good light doesn’t last long here, and this time I think I hit it just right.

While I’m on the subject of aspens, I still have a pretty good number of Eastern Sierra fall color photographs to share from this year’s explorations. Over the next week or two I’ll mix them in with more photographs from our summer in Europe… and it won’t be all that long before I focus again on some of my other favorite cool season subjects: birds from the Central Valley, low elevation color from the western slopes of the Sierra and elsewhere… and perhaps a few surprises.

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

Aspen Grove, Autumn

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Aspen Grove, Autumn
Evening light on an autumn aspen grove in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Aspen Grove, Autumn. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Evening light on an autumn aspen grove in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

This is another photograph made near the end of the day, perhaps within minutes of sunset and it a deep valley where tall mountains had blocked the sun before that. This is a busy time of the year in these places, and there are often a lot of photographers chasing the fall colors — but most of them seem to leave before this most-beautiful time of day when the light softens and everything tends to become quiet and still. (OK, the wind was blowing more that I wanted on this evening…)

There are little scenes like this all over the place anywhere that aspens or other fall foliage trees grow. (I made similar photographs last year in New England.) It is easy to chase the big name iconic locations — and you probably should visit them, too — but I’ve come to feel that there are photographs to be made almost everywhere if you look around, even in little unnamed places like this one.

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

All The Colors

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All The Colors
A large grove of multi-colored autumn aspen trees in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

All The Colors. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A large grove of multi-colored autumn aspen trees in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

When aspen trees transition from their summer green to their brief autumn show they can produce a diverse range of colorful foliage. Most of the trees turn yellow/gold, but the other colors can range between orange and several shades of red. I know some photographers look for the uniform golden colors — and they can certainly be spectacular — but I’m drawn to scenes that include the full spectrum. This is one of those scenes. In fact, here the orange trees predominate, along with green shades on trees that are yet to change. But look closer and you’ll find plenty of gold… and a few bits of red foliage, too.

Soft, shaded light with a bit of directionality is my favorite for photographing this subject. I made this photograph late in the day, just after the sun had dropped behind mountains to the west, but while the sky (and a few white clouds) still provided that slightly directional light. In these conditions the colors may not be quite as saturated, but the soft light fills that shadows and renders more of the details visible.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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