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

Solitary Aspen, Dark Forest

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Solitary Aspen, Dark Forest
A small autumn aspen tree in the light in front of dark forest.

Solitary Aspen, Dark Forest. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small autumn aspen tree in the light in front of dark forest.

There is something about solitary trees standing against some sort of background. A friend has referred to them as “brave little tree” photographs — something I now think about every time I make one or see one. Landscape photography doesn’t always come quite this close to eliciting metaphorical associations, but I can certainly understand how one could make this association with these subjects. On a more prosaic note, from a purely compositional perspective, a single central subject posed against a larger and contrasting background often works visually, too.

This photograph was also an extra reminder to me about why I like to photograph non-iconic subjects. (Though I do have to admit that the solitary tree is a sort of generic icon, if that makes sense.) I rediscovered this photograph recently while reviewing some raw files from a couple of years ago. I usually record location information as I work on photographs, but with this one I could not even determine exactly where I made it! By sequencing the files before and after this exposure I was able to narrow it down to one very large drainage, but I don’t actually recall making the photograph! I I had worked with the file back when it was new, but I wasn’t fully satisfied with the result. When I came back to it I saw it in a somewhat different way, and I saw how to apply some newer post-processing tools to get the result I was after.

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, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Grove and Rocky Hill

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Aspen Grove and Rocky Hill
A small aspen grove and a rocky hill, high in the Buttermilks.

Aspen Grove and Rocky Hill. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small aspen grove and a rocky hill, high in the Buttermilks.

This photograph comes from “Buttermilk Country” (also known as “The Buttermilks”) in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, an area perhaps best know to climbers for its innumerable bouldering opportunities. I’ve long wondered about the name, but in the past I had only speculated idly that something about the formations here somehow suggested “buttermilk” to visitors… though it is very hard to see any logic in that. I finally looked it up, and apparently the name goes back to the 1870s when a dairy supposedly operated in the area. (It seems like an odd place for a dairy, but I confess that my dairy experience is… limited.)

The area interests me photographically on a number of counts. Perhaps most obviously, it sits right beneath one of the most magnificent sections of the Sierra crest, and open views of these mountains are available throughout the region. Additionally, the rounded boulders and other formations that attract climbers are plentiful and quite different than the usual east side terrain. It also is one of those wonderful Eastern Sierra interfaces between the high desert and the beginnings of the more alpine world. That latter is what we were looking for when we visited recently, navigating far enough on some of the rough roads that we got to where the small aspen groves begin. It was a lovely morning — a dusting of new snow was on the nearby mountains, brilliant sun was shining, and a bit of haze accentuated the distance between near and far subjects.

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, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Shades of Autumn

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Shades of Autumn
A scene of dense vegetation with fall color, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Shades of Autumn. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A scene of dense vegetation with fall color, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

On this day I came upon a dense grove of small aspen trees mixed with some autumn-colored mountain willows with their slightly less flamboyant brownish fall color. At the time I arrived the trees were in the shadow of the tall mountains nearby, and the light had a bit of a blue quality. It was also soft and diffused, leading to an absence of very bright highlights and filling the shadows with light, too. The aspen leaves stood out a bit from the background with they yellow color.

Looking for some kind of order and structure in such dense subjects is a challenge, one that forces the photographer to look beyond the obvious ways of seeing. Subtle lines in the dense and complex texture can be enough to direct the eye. Slight contrasts in luminosity or color become important. And the lack of a single strong central subject lets the eye wander about the frame and take in the complexity of the scene.

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

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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

Aspen Grove in Back Light

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Aspen Grove in Back Light
Bright back-light accentuates the colors of autumn Sierra Nevada aspen trees.

Aspen Grove in Back Light. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bright back-light accentuates the colors of autumn Sierra Nevada aspen trees.

This grove of small aspens presented a photographic problem. Due to Sierra Nevada wildfires, smoke had drifted across the entire range from west to east. There was an ugly haze in the sky that obscured any distant features and which discolored the light. Often in such conditions I will photograph with black and white in mind since that can actually take advantage of the haze in some situations. However, although it is possible to photograph fall color in black and white, this grove’s intense colors called for, well, a color photograph.

The solution had two parts. First, I used a longer lens to exclude the larger landscape, leaving only the small grove of trees in a little valley below my position. Second, I positioned myself where the sun was directly behind the grove, and the back-light lit the leaves from behind, almost making them glow and intensifying the autumn colors.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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