This is, in several ways, kind of an odd Death Valley photograph. The fine-grained gravel covering the slopes and hills here are not widespread in the park — in most places the ground tends to be lighter in color. On the other hand, the curving shapes and runoff erosion channels are seen elsewhere, as are the plants. (If you look very closely, you will see not only the larger green plants but lots of small wildflower shoots just emerging.)
Continue reading Eroded HIlls
One of the strongest impressions from our visit to Scotland in May was the color green. Lush, green growth was everywhere, at least by our California standards. Right now, with this summer’s heat in our state, those cool, damp, green days in Scotland are a very pleasant memory! This little section of the trail between Fort Augustus and Invermoriston is typical — green on the ground, dense green forest on either side, and fog and mist in the air.
This day’s Great Glen Hike hike was a bit surprising in that much of the first part was on alternate routes. One thing we learned about the “Way” is that it isn’t really a single trail like, say, our John Muir Trail. It is more of a general route, with lots of variations and sections that are closed for various reasons — always with alternatives provided.
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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Acanthus Leaves and Stem. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.
Macro photograph of leaves and stem.
These plants were abundant in a public garden we visited back at the end of spring. Remember spring? Back when California was still green, and before our summer golden brown arrived? That aside, in this San Francisco Peninsula garden something is always green no matter what the season.
Most of my photography on this visit focused on flowers, but here it is more about the plant itself — sturdy stem with thick leaves growing upwards and with thorn-like appendages along their edges. The faint purple coloration at the edges of the leaves sets of the bright green.
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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This vignette of one small bit of White Mountains autumn color is somewhat indicative of the intensity and variety of the color there. My baseline for considering autumn color is California, which means the aspens (and a few other things) of the Eastern Sierra, the maples and oaks and dogwoods of the west slope of the range, and the mixture of native and non-native trees another areas of the state. It is rare to fine large, continuous hardwood forests with a mix of trees in California — almost unheard of, in fact. Yet that seems to be the norm in New Hampshire and other parts of New England we visited. It seems like the period of time with best color may be shorter here, but during the window the variety and intensity is remarkable.
The circumstances of the photography often seemed different in New England, too. (In fairness, this was my first visit, and I can see how my process might adapt to this different landscape over time.) Once I found color in New Hampshire — and, believe me, it was not hard! — in some cases photographing it was almost too easy. Here, for example, I had stopped at a popular roadside pull-out to photograph an open landscape view to the north. When that view turned out to be problematic I turned around and basically looked for colors and patterns to photograph in a large “tree wall” across the roadway!
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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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