Tag Archives: eastern

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

Autumn Meadow, Forest, and Peak

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Autumn Meadow, Forest, and Peak
A peak towers above colorful autumn aspen groves at the edge of a meadow in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Autumn Meadow, Forest, and Peak. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A peak towers above colorful autumn aspen groves at the edge of a meadow in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

When it comes to visiting the Sierra Nevada, the past couple of years have been a challenge! Travel was hard in general during the summer of 2020. I managed to get up there briefly in the late summer, but I ran into wildfire issues and had to cancel out of the one backpack trip I had planned. I got to the Sierra a couple of times this season, but on each visit something threw a monkey wrench into my plans and I had to improvise or leave early. During the past few days I managed to get to the east side to see the aspen color. But (yes, here it comes) I hit wildfire smoke south of Bridgeport, and when CalTrans started closing passes yesterday in anticipation of several inches of new snow, I high-tailed it back home.

However, I did see and photograph some aspen color. For the most part, I saw some pretty decent color, with the promise of more to come. There were quite a few colorful trees and plenty of others with hints of color to come over the next couple of weeks. If you can avoid the smoke, it should be good. (It was sad to see many newly-brown trees along Tioga Pass Road on my way home, trees that appear to be suffering from the drought.)

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

East Slope Aspens, Autumn

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East Slope Aspens, Autumn
A large grove of autumn aspen trees extends up the lower reaches of the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

East Slope Aspens, Autumn. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A large grove of autumn aspen trees extends up the lower reaches of the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Many of the autumn aspen photographs that we see feature extensive groves tall, straight trees with beautiful white trunks, and sometimes the groves seem to stretch across entire mountains. For the most part, those are not Sierra Nevada aspens! While you can find some similar examples in the Sierra if you look around a lot, most of “our” trees tend to be a bit smaller, and they are often a bit more twisted and gnarly. Some, in fact, are downright small. If you are used to seeing those straight and tall groves… the Sierra may teach you to appreciate different sorts of trees.

However in a few places there are some rather large groves. They frequently show up in places where the aspens have little competition from conifer forest trees — on the tops of some ridges and in some of the sagebrush high country on the eastern flank of the range. This scene is an example of the latter, and the interlocking groves spread across the rise of these hills toward the eastern side of the Sierra in terrain that is otherwise largely open and dry.

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: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Basin, Morning

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Mono Basin, Morning
A view of Mono Lake, Mono Basin, and surrounding peaks from the base of the Sierra Nevada.

Mono Basin, Morning. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A view of Mono Lake, Mono Basin, and surrounding peaks from the base of the Sierra Nevada.

This photograph is another long view of Mono Basin and Mono Lake, with Paoha Island centered in the frame. Paoha Island is, like its companion Negit Island, the product of volcanic activity where a long string of volcanic sites intersects the lake. You can find lots of other volcanic cones on this like both north and south of Mono, including the much taller and older Mono Craters just to the south.

When I first came to Mono Lake and photographed it many years ago, I typically tried to get very close to the edge of the lake, for example photographing tufa formations along its edge. But over the years I’ve become more fascinated by the longer views that take in the vast space in and above the Mono Basin. To really see this it helps to find an elevated location, and there are plenty of them to see if you poke around a bit in and around the Basin. This photograph was made near the base of the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada, and it looks across the lake and beyond to eastern mountains that belong to Nevada’s basin and range terrain.

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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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

Aspens and Boulders, Autumn

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Aspens and Boulders, Autumn
An intimate scene of small autumn-colored aspen trees and boulders, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Aspens and Boulders, Autumn. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An intimate scene of small autumn-colored aspen trees and boulders, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

When it comes to Sierra Nevada photographic subjects, I’m probably as susceptible as anyone to the lure of the big landscape — after all, the scale of these mountains is part of what we find so impressive. But I make fewer photographs of those large subjects and far more of odd little bits and pieces that suggest the feelings of the place to me. Many memorable moments in these mountains involve these anonymous places that others might not even stop to photograph. I’m always on the lookout for them, and they form the framework of my history with the range.

As we approach the Eastern Sierra fall color season, scenes from that part of the range are on my mind again. While there are aspens west of the crest, the largest and (to my mind) most impressive examples are on the east side. The color should already have begun, and by the beginning of October the transition will accelerate and spread across the range. For a few weeks the color spreads across the groves, gradually working its way south and to lower elevations before it ends late in the month, setting the stage for the arrival 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.

Blog | About | 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.