Tag Archives: foliage

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

Autumn Path

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Autumn Path
“Autumn Path” — A trail, covered by fallen leaves, winds through autumn forest, Yosemite Valley.

Yosemite Valley can be uncomfortably crowded, but there are ways to find quiet and tranquility. One is to avoid summer, with its heat and oppressive crowds — all three of the other seasons are more interesting, and less busy. Or get away from the prime iconic sights and sites. Often it takes little more than a few minutes of walking to find yourself in a place with a tiny fraction of the number of people you see in the crowded places.

I have a few favorite such places, typically along quieter trails in less busy parts of the Valley. This one tracks along a peaceful section of the Merced River, and for a week or two in autumn it is filled with subtle autumn colors and the ground is covered with fallen leaves. Yes, there is a trail in this photograph, but you may have to look closely to spot it under all of those leaves!

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

Autumn Berry Plants

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Autumn Berry Plants
“Autumn Berry Plants” — A vining berry plant with autumn colors, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

This is a sort of accidental photograph. I had stopped along an Eastern Sierra road to photograph a grove of autumn aspen trees that were in soft light, shaded by a nearby hill. The subject initially looked promising — colorful trees, nice light, a creek flowing nearby. However, despite wandering slowly for some time I could not find an aspen subject that interested me. (Oddly, this happens sometimes with aspen trees — they can look great from a distance, but once I’m up close it can be very challenging to find interesting compositions.)

In any case, giving up on aspens I started looking around for other subjects. As I walked out of the grove and was ready to depart, I saw these berry vines growing close to the ground and winding around the trunks of trees. Taking care to avoid the thorns — yes, I’ve been “bitten” before — I moved in close and worked with the interesting colors and textures of the leaves in the soft 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.

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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.

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature

Poison Oak

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Poison Oak
“Poison Oak” — Poison oak leaves transition to fall colors in the deep shade of a redwood forest.

Aspens are not the only plants producing fall color here in California. The ubiquitous poison oak plants become even more red and start to pick up a bit of yellow/brown late in the season. The plant is widespread in wild areas of the state, ranging from coastal bluffs to oak forests to scrub brush, and California hikers soon learn how to identify it. The red leaves are a clue, but the oak shaped leaves in groups of three can mostly confirm it. (Though some wild berry plants have a similar appearance — but their stems have thorns, which are lacking on poison oak.)

The plant is flexible and grows in various ways. It can grow almost like a bush. Sometimes it is found in what amount to poison oak thickets. Low growing plants are sometimes found underneath other plants. It vines and can send runners up the trunks of trees, as is the case here. I photographed this example in a dark part of a forest at the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park in the town of Big Sur.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Leaves and Rain

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Leaves and Rain
“Leaves and Rain” — Lush green leaves with raindrops, Stirling Castle garden, Scotland.

We did not go to this location intending to photograph garden leaves, but sometimes opportunities just come up. This May we visited Stirling, Scotland for a few days. The plan was to spend time in a less-visited Scottish location — not just less known to tourists in general but specifically to us! We knew little about the town before visiting, but it turned out to be an enjoyable stop. I made the photograph at Stirling Castle, a site connected to a lot of history in Scotland and United Kingdom. It was a rainy day — this happens in Scotland! — and we found these water-sprinkled leaves in a lovely garden near the castle’s entrance.

It wasn’t my intention when I made the photograph, but in some ways this little picture exemplifies some impressions of Scotland. It is, by and large, a very green place! The closest analog that I have in the United States might be the Pacific Northwest, the more coastal sections of which share this lush quality. It is also, again like the Pacific Northwest, a wet place. We did, in fact, have some lovely and sunny weather, but we also had days of fog, mist, rain, and clouds.

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.