Tag Archives: evening

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

Aspens In The Shadows

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Aspens In The Shadows
“Aspens In The Shadows” — Extensive autumn aspen groves in evening shadows, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

If you have been following along this fall, by now this general area may start to look familiar to you. I was fortunate to be there when the colors were at their peak — that brief interval when almost all of the leaves have turned but before too many of them fall. Finding trees in this condition is partly a matter of local knowledge, but it is also a matter of luck — autumn storms and wind can quickly take down a lot of leaves when they are at this stage, and seeing an intense display like this requires a few prior days of calm conditions.

I know that the typical inclination is to photograph these trees in daylight. After all, the most intense colors appear when the sun is behind the groves, creating a glowing backlight on the leaves. But the color can also be quite intense in softer light, such as this light in the early evening.

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: Sky

Mono Craters, Evening Cloudscape

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Mono Craters, Evening Cloudscape
“Mono Craters, Evening Cloudscape” — Dissipating afternoon storm clouds above Mono Craters.

I made this photograph at the end of a beautiful afternoon of aspen photography that was enhanced by the passage of impressive thunder storms. I had completed the day’s aspen photography and dropped back down into the high desert along US 395 in the Mono Lake area when the clouds began to thin and break up and glow in evening light. Here some lenticular clouds were forming over the Mono Craters.

The Mono Craters comprise an interesting bit of geology that we might not automatically associate with the Sierra Nevada. We tend to think of the range being built by the uplift of gigantic “blobs” of granite, with deeply eroded overlaying material above. But volcanic processes were at work out here, too. Mono Craters are a particularly obvious example that you cannot miss as you drive south from Mono Lake — and part of a chain of volcanic cones extending from the north short of the lake to south of Mammoth Mountain.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Community, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Mt. Dana, Sunset Clouds

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Mt. Dana, Sunset Clouds
“Mt. Dana, Sunset Clouds” — Clouds glow in the final sunset light above Mt. Dana.

There is a special autumn feeling in the Sierra high country that I love. It is hard to describe, and it may be the sum of a variety of seasonal features. Summer is a time of wild abundance as the plants (and the mosquitos!) take advantage of the short growing season. Within a couple of months it comes to an end and things go dormant in preparation for the coming winter. There are fewer human visitors, too — though sadly it isn’t quite as deserted as it used to be. The intense light of summer is gone, replaced by softer, golden, and often hazy light.

This was one of those evenings. I was traveling through the Yosemite high country between Tioga Pass and Tuolumne Meadows, and the place was nearly deserted. Clouds low enough to obscure peaks were drifting about, and the last sunlight turned the west edge of the cloud bank bright red/orange. I stopped here, made a few photographs, and watched as the color faded from the sky.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Aspens and Conifers, Autumn

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Aspens and Conifers, Autumn
“Aspens and Conifers, Autumn” — A small stand of conifers surrounded by scrub aspen in autumn colors, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

In our search for the biggest, most spectacular aspen trees and the biggest and most expansive groves, we sometimes overlook these smaller “scrub aspen” trees. At least I do. But often they are just as colorful as the bigger trees, and they can be quite fascinating when draped across the right kinds of terrain. Their color is every bit as vibrant as that of the bigger trees, and sometimes they are the earliest to turn fall colors. I have even photographed them in September, the month before the main October peak of color.

The trees in this photograph might not be all that impressive up close. They are, after all, quite small — probably no taller than you are. But from a distance they form a more unified subject, a sort of blanket of color lying across this gentle landscape and surrounding a small group of conifers in early evening 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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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