Tag Archives: golden

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

Autumn Aspens, Rocky Face

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Autumn Aspens, Rocky Face
A small group of autumn aspen trees grows against an Eastern Sierra Nevada rock face.

Autumn Aspens, Rocky Face. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A small group of autumn aspen trees grows against an Eastern Sierra Nevada rock face.

Aspen trees present in all sorts of fascinating ways — individual trees, huge groves, short, tall, straight, bent, in full color, still partially green, almost bare, in valleys, on ridges, among other trees. I think they are all photographable, but I am especially attracted to colorful trees set against rocky slopes. The contrasts are fascinating — the bright yellow of the trees and the blue-gray of rocks, the slender fragility of aspens and the solid character of stone.

This photograph was almost — but not quite — an afterthought. I had gone to a location to photograph a different subject, but conditions were not favorable for that original plan. So I looked around and saw small groups of trees across the valley, each of them standing at the base of rocky slopes. Working quickly before the bright direct sun arrived, I photographed them in the soft, shadow 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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Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature

Dense Autumn Aspens

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Dense Autumn Aspens
A grove of dense and colorful autumn aspen trees, to the east of the Sierra Nevada.

Dense Autumn Aspens. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A grove of dense and colorful autumn aspen trees, to the east of the Sierra Nevada.

This dense grove of autumn aspen trees, perhaps just past the peak of their seasonal color, provided an opportunity that isn’t easy to find in these groves — a slightly elevated position looking down into and across an aspen forest that stretched away up a nearby hillside. I was actually here to photograph something else, a distant landscape. But once I finished that task I moved on and spent some time with these trees.

Unlike many of the trees in my aspen photographs, these are not technically in the Sierra Nevada. Instead they are in a smaller range located east of the Sierra. The range may be smaller, but it is still high, with peaks over 11,000′. Being in the rain shadow of the Sierra, these mountains are rather dry, but there’s enough moisture to sustain very large stands of aspen 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, 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

Aspens and Cliff, Autumn

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Aspens and Cliff, Autumn
A small copse of autumn aspens, surrounded by green plants and brush and backed by a rocky cliff.

Aspens and Cliff, Autumn. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A small copse of autumn aspens, surrounded by green plants and brush and backed by a rocky cliff.

This photograph comes from a location that I have visited for years, initially mostly for one particular view that I would rarely try to photograph these days. But it turns out — as always! — that there are other things to see and photograph close to this “one thing,” and I continue to enjoy going back and photographing them. Every time I go I discover something new.

This little group of trees, however, doesn’t really fit into that “something new” category, since I have photographed them before. Years ago, intrigued by the juxtaposition of trees and rocks, I tried to photograph them from very close up. I had some success, but it was eventually unsatisfying. The main issue was with camera angles — I ended up with two choices: either photographs of small elements in the scene (somewhat successful) or angling up to take in the whole tree (less successful!). But it turns out that I can work from a much greater distance and narrow the amount of cliff included behind the 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, 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: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Mono Shoreline, Autumn

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Mono Shoreline, Autumn
A spring morning along the shoreline of Mono Lake.

Mono Shoreline, Autumn. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A spring morning along the shoreline of Mono Lake.

After all these years of visiting and photographing the Sierra Nevada, I start to think I know the place. Actually, I do for the most part. However, there is so much there that it is impossible to really “know” all of it in a single lifetime. This fall’s two autumn-color visits to East Side reminded me of this. Although it happens regularly, I was surprised by the number of things I “discovered” for the first time in places that I thought I knew really well. I’ve shared a few of the resulting photographs recently, and now I add this one to the collection.

I had decided to look away from the aspens and head to Mono Lake on this autumn morning, and I had a specific place and photograph in mind elsewhere along the shoreline. I photographed that subject before dawn, and after finishing I decided to move on. But as often happens, while I watch the road enough to avoid getting into trouble, while scanning the passing landscape I caught sight of this little scene in a spot that I usually pass quickly in route to something else.

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 | Twitter | 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.