Tag Archives: fall

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Late Season Aspen Groves

February 25, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Late season aspens with sparse leaves on Boulder Mountain

This wasn’t my first visit to Utah, but it was my first visit during fall. We started in the west, where we knew we might find aspens, and we managed to catch the tail end of the aspen color in the high country around Cedar Breaks National Monument. From there we bypassed the obvious visit to Zion Canyon (that came later, on our homebound trip) and headed east, past Bryce and then Escalante and the small town of Boulder. Past Boulder, in terrain I had not visited before, the road began to climb as we drove on into the approaching sunset.

The first time I had driven past this place it was very early in the spring, and I was stunned by the number of aspen trees gathered in huge groves extending far up the slopes of these mountains. I remember making a mental note to visit them some fall, and this was that return visit. Being accustomed to the schedule of eastern Sierra aspen color, however, we arrived after the prime color — it comes earlier here in Utah. But in some ways, the few scattered trees with their wild late-season colors turned out to be more dramatic. What we thought might be a quick drive over Boulder Mountain to Torrey turned out to take a long time as we kept stopping and photographing these trees until there was no light left.

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: Utah

Utah Aspen Grove, Fall

February 23, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

This is another photograph of those beautiful, tall, nearly straight aspen trees — a growth pattern that I don’t see so often here in the California Sierra Nevada, but which is very common in Utah. These trees are probably near the end of their autumn color phase, even though I made the photograph near the beginning of October. It seems that the fall color comes a bit sooner here! (At higher elevations, almost all of the aspen color was already gone by the end of the first week of October.)

The photograph suggests several thoughts to me. First, that photographing aspens during so-called peak color is not the only option. The trees actually pass through a transition that can be photographed at almost any point, from the first hints of color, through the peak, and right on through to the time when few leaves are left. In fact, it may be possible to work the light a bit more later on. Second, while the early and late light is often best, it is possible to photograph this and other subjects during the main part of the day. I made this photograph in the afternoon as some high clouds passed overhead and softened the light. Finally, Utah’s public wild lands are under threat today, including from some misguided Utah legislators who seem to think that the profits of a small group of extraction industry corporations are more important than ensuring the protection of these features — to the extent that they are calling for reducing the area of existing national lands and the take-back of others. One group that works to protect such places is the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. Consider supporting their work.

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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: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Aspen Forest

February 21, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Tall autumn aspen trees stretch across mountain landscape of Dixie National Forest

Generally speaking, aspen trees don’t grow like this much in my home state of California. On a two-week visit to Southern Utah’s beautiful wild and protect lands back in 2012 we entered the state from the west and drove up into the mountains around Brian Head and Cedar Breaks National Monument, where we spent a few early October days poking around, exploring, and discovering autumn color. (Utah aspen color comes a bit earlier than Sierra Nevada aspen color, and it was reaching the end of its run when we arrived.) One afternoon we simply decided, for no particular reason that I can recall, to investigate a gravel road that headed of to the south from a main route, and before long we ended up among the tall, straight trees of this beautiful aspen forest.

For all of its beauty, much of which has been preserved in national parks, monuments, and forests, there are political forces in Utah that want to destroy these beautiful places that belong to all Americans. Rather than saving and protecting the beauties of their state, they want to give the resources away for the short-term benefit of special interests who will use up the land and walk away. (Take a look at the legacy of the Uranium mining around Moab if you need example of a precedent.) There are many ways to fight back and work to protect these lands. One group doing good work on behalf of the Utah wild land resources is the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. They could use your support right about now.

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

Autumn Tree, Broken Branches, Ground Fog

January 19, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A tree with autumn leaves, surrounded by broken branches, with thinning ground fog below

When we think of Yosemite Valley the first things that come to mind are likely to be towering cliffs, waterfalls, peaks, domes, and other monumental things. The Valley is a place built on a grand scale, but more subtle surprises await if you are there at the right time. Especially between late fall and early spring, when the conditions are right beautiful ground fog frequently appears in meadows, drifting back and forth and gradually thinning as the morning warms.

On this morning I intended to be in the Valley early, but other things distracted me on my way there from Oakhurst (including fog in another valley!), and I arrived in the Valley a bit later than planned. At that point I had more or less written off my plan to go fog-hunting, so I was thrilled to catch the very tail end of the morning fog in a few spots here and there. This tree, a somewhat well-known elm, was just out of the fog that still lay across the surface of the meadow beyond.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: fall

Late Season Aspen Groves

Utah Aspen Grove, Fall

Aspen Forest

Autumn Tree, Broken Branches, Ground Fog

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.