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News, Publications, Sierra Nevada Fall Color, Site News

I’m A Contributor To B&H “Pro Tips” Article On Fall Color

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Thank you to B&H Photo for including me in their new article on photographing fall color: Photo Tips and Favorite Gear for Successful Fall Foliage Pictures.

Autumn Color Transition
Brush and aspens undergoing the autumn color transition in the eastern Sierra Nevada

Excerpt:

“California-based G. Dan Mitchell notes that the color season can last months in California’s Eastern Sierra, given the large variations in elevation, precipitation, range of north/south latitude, and other factors. He explains, “When color is absent in one location, it may be great not far away. In the Eastern Sierra, this often means going to a higher or lower elevation. While aspens can start changing color at higher elevations in the second half of September, some trees at lower elevations may be colorful a full month later.”

“Author of the 2015 book, California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra, Mitchell notes that the Sierra offers a range of fall foliage opportunities far greater than many people realize.”

(About the “color season can last months…” comment. I can often find the first hints of coming autumn color early in September, and even in late August sometimes. I can still find low elevation color in the last half of October.)

Also included in the article – G Dan Mitchell, Bryan Carnathan, Moose Peterson, Dan Bailey, Matt Payne, and Chad DiBlasio

Enjoy!

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 and Amazon.
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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

Within The Aspen Grove

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Within The Aspen Grove
An eastern Sierra Nevada grove of small aspen trees with fall color

Within The Aspen Grove. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 9, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An eastern Sierra Nevada grove of small aspen trees with fall color

This little grove is a sort of special place for me. I have photographed there quite a few times in the past, and on one or two occasions with a great deal of success. If I described its location, even those who would then recognize the spot might be surprised to hear that I think of it as being special — it is in a location that we generally drive right past on our way to other better known locations. Often when I walk into this grove I find myself at a loss for photographs — the light can be tricky, and it isn’t always easy to find a composition there. But it was one of the locations where I learned that the big, iconic locations are far from the only ones other photographing, and that it can be far more rewarding — photographically and personally — to slow down and start paying attention to the rest of the landscape!

In fact, on this morning I was, once again, on my way from one other place to a different location further away when I drove past. We almost didn’t stop, but there was something about the light and the grove that persuaded me to get out and look around. I wandered (quite literally) into the grove and at first I didn’t really see anything. I almost walked back out to go look elsewhere. But then I stopped myself and thought about slowing down and simply looking around to see what the grove had to offer. I decided that the density of the trees might make a very wide-angle lens useful, and once I started to “see” that way the potential become clearer.

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 and Amazon.
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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

Autumn Aspen Grove

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Autumn Aspen Grove
An eastern Sierra Nevada aspen grove beginning to change colors

Autumn Aspen Grove. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 3, 2015. © Copyright 2015 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An eastern Sierra Nevada aspen grove beginning to change colors

How about a bit of fall color on this early summer morning? Every summer I begin to think about fall. There are wonderful things about summer — schedules, warmth, easier access to mountains, and more — but I prefer autumn. It is partially something as mundane as my preference for cooler temperatures, but it is also that I like times of obvious transition and times when nature has a slightly sharper edge. I’ll enjoy this summer, but I’m sure that every aspen tree I see in the Sierra in the next few months will make me look forward to autumn.

This aspen color vignette is a small scene from a much larger grove that runs up a hillside in the eastern Sierra Nevada. I prefer to photograph it early and late in the day when the surrounding peaks cast shadows across the trees, both softening the light and opening up the shadows a bit. Among the larger grove are many small scenes where straight trunks (not the norm in the Sierra) are visible among the leaves. On this very early October day most of the grove was still green, but the seasonal change was beginning with some of the smaller trees.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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

Aspen Trees, Valley

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Aspen Trees, Valley
A grove of autumn aspen trees follows the path of a Sierra Nevada valley

Aspen Trees, Valley. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. September 19, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A grove of autumn aspen trees follows the path of a Sierra Nevada valley

I’ve had this one sitting on my virtual desktop for some time now, and I suppose it is time to share it! Some who photograph a lot in the eastern Sierra may know the location, though the specifics are probably not all that important. Here, as in other locations on the “East Side,” a river of aspen trees runs down a shallow water-course that drops from a ridge to a lake through sage brush country.

The photograph was made a bit earlier than usual for this location, in this fifth (and, as I write this, hopefully final?) year of California’s recent great five-year drought. This has affected the entire state, including the patterns of fall color along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra, where (to make a long story short) some trees have changed much earlier than usual and others have died. This familiar spot changed early, and I was fortunate to be there on this date when I would usually not be looking to photograph aspen color.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

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