Tag Archives: eastern

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

Lean To The Left

Image Leave a comment
Lean To The Left
“Lean To The Left” — A conjunction of aspen groves, one with left-leaning small trees and red foliage and the other with large trees with yellow leaves.

My camera position may have a little something to do with the “lean” of the tree trunks in the middle of the frame, but they really were leaning significantly to the left. While our idealized aspen trees are tall and straight, the reality in the Sierra Nevada is often different. There are many groves of very small trees, and many others end up twisted and stunted after being pushed and broken by winter snows and winds.

This grove is huge, stretching from its wide, flat base far up mountain slopes toward a ridge high above. Here the color division — reddish versus yellow — marks the point at which the trees begin to ascend that slope. It is one of the sharpest divisions I know of between trees of different colors.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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: Sierra Nevada

Yellow And Green Aspens

Image Leave a comment
Yellow And Green Aspens
“Yellow And Green Aspens” — A row of small yellow and green aspen trees in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

This unassuming row of small aspens is in the high desert along the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. In this terrain, it is common to find small groves of aspen trees in sagebrush country, often along a stream course or other source of water. Because I first encountered aspens many years ago on high country backpacking trips, I used to think the three were trees of the subalpine zone, but they are actually quite common in other places in the Sierra.

These trees illustrate another important point about Sierra Nevada Fall color — and fall color just about anywhere for that matter. Certain specific spots get designated as “the best,” the places you really must see. It is true that at least some of them to have special features and characteristics, but eventually I learned that there are beautiful little groves all over the Sierra, often in places where you might not think to look for them.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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: Sierra Nevada

Layered Autumn Aspen Groves

Image Leave a comment
Layered Autumn Aspen Groves
“Layered Autumn Aspen Groves” — Groves of Sierra Nevada aspen trees at various stages of autum color transformation.

As I look back on this year’s autumn aspen photography one theme that emerges (which I wasn’t aware of when I was in the field) is groves that encompass a wide range of foliage color. At the right moments and in the right places you can sometimes see simultaneously all of the states of the autumn leaf transition, from green trees through yellow, orange, and red… and even some bare trees. (I suspect that the tall, leafless trees in this scene are old, dead snags.)

This photograph provides another opportunity to mention my preferred light for this subject. I tend to stay away from the bright midday sun, with the exception of a few photographs in which it backlights the trees. I much prefer somewhat soft light from slightly overcast skies or the shadows of morning and evening. I made this photograph under broken clouds, which retained a bit of the directional quality of the late-day light.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Leaves, Morning Frost

Image 4 Comments
Aspen Leaves, Morning Frost
“Aspen Leaves, Morning Frost” — Fallen aspen leaves covered in morning frost, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

I had been photographing long views of colorful aspen groves on mountainsides as the sun came up. Photography in quickly-changing early morning light can be intense, and ideal conditions only last a short time. As the sun rose the light soon become too intense for the photographs I was interested in, so I went for a stroll along the base of a nearby rocky hill where it was still shady.

The hill produced the conditions that made this photograph possible. The most obvious was that the shaded light remained soft, revealing subtle elements in this little scene. Because direct sunlight had not yet arrived, the fallen leaves were still covered in frost. Morover, it is likely that the leaves collected here in the first place because the hill provided some protection from wind.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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.