This is another “quiet” photograph — no brilliant colors, not really an iconic location. It simply captures, I hope, something of the feeling of being in the High Sierra as the day winds down, the light warms as sunset approaches, and begin to stretch across the landscape. It is a beautiful time of day — everything slows down, it gets quieter as people go to camp for dinner.
Continue reading Subalpine Meadow, Evening Light
This is a type of autumn aspen photograph that I think of as a “wall of color.” Here there are more of the tall and straight trees than we see in many places in the Sierra, and the entire grove is at or near its fall peak. It helps that I had a somewhat elevated vantage point to make the photograph, part of what lets me fill the frame with color.
To look at this photograph you might imagine a scene almost like New England fall colors. However, while such colors there can go on for miles and cover successive mountains (hills, really) and valleys, in the Sierra the color is more concentrated. Groves, many of which are small, can stand out brilliantly against the predominant background of dark conifer trees or rocks or sagebrush.
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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
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I photographed this scene on my recent trip to the Eastern Sierra Nevada to photograph autumn color. Though they are not the only source of fall color — look closely to see others in the photo — the aspen trees are the stars of the show. I arrived at just about the right moment, as there were lots of very colorful trees. But the trip was cut short when extremely strong winds arrived, bringing down many of the peak color leaves. I made this photograph after waiting patiently for a lull between the gusts!
Since this is my first 2025 fall color photo I will add a brief general update. (You can find more detailed information about Sierra fall color here.) While you can find aspen color, mostly on the eastern side of the range, from late September into the third week of October or so, the peak color tends to be during the first two weeks of the month. It generally works its way from high elevations to lower elevations and to some extent from north to south during this period. Although there is good color this year — better than average in my view — the weather is creating some challenges. The wind event I experience was one. Wind strips the most colorful leaves from the aspen trees, but the color ofter comes back a few days later as green trees transition. However, the forecast is for a somewhat unusual early-season winter-like storm this coming Monday through Wednesday, and the current prediction is for more than a foot of snow down to 7000′ or lower — which will likely close a number of the trans-Sierra passes.
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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.
Sometimes when I visit the Sierra I cover surprising distances to get from location to location. But I devoted the entirety of my mid-September visit to the Yosemite high country to locations between Tuolumne Meadows and Tioga Pass. I made this photograph from as far east as I went, right at the pass, where small tarns dot a landscape of meadows and small trees.
This can be a green and even lush place early in the season, but by the end of summer the meadows dry out and turn “California golden.” I made the photographer relatively early in the morning, when clouds were just beginning to build above Mammoth Peak and the Kuna Crest.
Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.
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.