Tag Archives: forest

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

Golden Aspen Forest, Autumn

Image Leave a comment
Golden Aspen Forest, Autumn
A dense forest of golden Sierra Nevada autumn aspen trees.

Golden Aspen Forest, Autumn. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A dense forest of golden Sierra Nevada autumn aspen trees.

After sharing a bunch of very colorful red and orange aspen leaf photographs recently, someone asked me about those colors, wondering if they were a stage in the color development that led to the yellow/gold leaves with which this person was familiar. In response I pointed out a couple of things. First, those other colors — the reds and oranges — are actually the terminal colors of those leaves before they fall, and they do not go through a yellow stage. Secondly, those colors are, at least in the Sierra, the exception to the more familiar rule, which is the yellow colored leaves — those are by far the most common type.

The grove in this photograph is perhaps of the more typical sort. For the most part, the tall, thick-trunk trees of Colorado and similar places are quite rare in the Sierra. They do exist here and there, especially in some sheltered and well-watered locations. But more often we see smaller trees and trees that do not grow straight and tall. Many lovely Sierra aspen groves include trees that are only one or two times the height of a person. This is one of those groves. Note the typical yellow color, the small and slender trunks, and the surrounding vegetation representing fairly dry conditions.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

The Last Leaves

Image Leave a comment
The Last Leaves
A few sparse leaves in a high elevation grove of slender aspens in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

The Last Leaves. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A few sparse leaves in a high elevation grove of slender aspens in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

For some reason this little grove and I have a long-standing relationship. Quite a few years ago I noticed it while exploring a slightly less-visited spot in an Eastern Sierra canyon that can be quite popular. As I crossed a creek I happened to look up and notice a grove of small and very densely-spaced aspens, then as this year already mostly bare of leaves even as the surrounding trees were in full autumn color. The trees are a bit inaccessible, so I usually photograph them with a long lens, most often from almost the same angle, since obstructions interfere with almost any other. But I return every year.

I suspect that most of us who spend a lot of time in a particular place eventually end up developing a personal collection of odd little spots that we connect with, places that others might not even notice. In various locations around the Sierra there are a few flat rocks, a couple of boulders, a high flat spot along a popular trail, a turn-off from a trail, a bit of meadow, a creek crossing , a little clump of aspens and more that feel like old friends every time I come back to them.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Fern Vortex

Image Leave a comment
Fern Vortex
A spiraling arrangement of fern fronds in Northern California redwood forest.

Fern Vortex. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A spiraling arrangement of fern fronds in Northern California redwood forest.

We did not get back to the Redwood National and State Parks this past year — the time we would have gone coincided with that period when we were all locking down in response to the pandemic. In retrospect, it was perhaps starting to look like camping might have worked, but things were still in too much of a state of flux at that point. So this photograph comes from the previous season, back in June of 2019.

Late in the day we decided to head to a spot where I knew from experience the tit might be possible to find rhododendron blossoms growing among the redwood trees, a place where the normally dark forest tends to pick up a bit more light from the west in the late afternoon. We wandered a trail and eventually descended into an area full of ferns. Here I turned my attention away from the huge trees and looked downwards to find compositions among the ferns.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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 Slope

Image Leave a comment
Aspen Slope
Autumn aspens descend from a ridge to the shore of an Eastern Sierra Nevada subalpine lake.

Aspen Slope. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn aspens descend from a ridge to the shore of an Eastern Sierra Nevada subalpine lake.

This spot is probably familiar to you, especially if you use the version of the Mac OS that used a different photograph of the feature as its branding. This aspen forest or grove — which someone once aptly referred to as the “Cheetos Forest” — is an example of something you can find in many Sierra locations, namely aspen groves that follow a watercourse as it descends from the heights. The result can be the appearance that the grove itself seems to flow over the landscape.

This grove also provides a notable example of other transitions that may take place within a single aspen grove. The color variation from top to bottom here is striking, with red autumn leaves up high, a distinct orange band in the middle, and then yellow/gold trees as the trees fan out just above the lake. The size of the trees also evolves within the grove from very small “scrub aspens” higher up to larger (though still not gigantic) trees lower down.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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