Tag Archives: green

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Sabrina Basin, Autumn Color and Rain

October 29, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 10 Comments

Brilliant fall aspen color on a morning of light rain in Sabrina Basin.

On the first weekend of October I had visited North Lake for some early morning photography, and on my way back to the main road I stopped just before a steep descent in a location where I knew of a ridge extending out toward the middle of the valley a bit. I had shot from this ridge before and imagined that with excellent aspen color scattered up and down the valley that it might provide a good perspective on the trees and the peaks of the Sierra crest beyond Sabrina Lake itself. So, in light rain I found my way out onto this ridge and bushwhacked around a bit to check out various possible shooting locations.

While my instinct to shoot from this general area was right, by initial instinct to go as far as possible out on the ridge turned out to be less right. It was a fun adventure, and it provided a very airy overlook… but things in the field of view just didn’t seem to line up quite right. (I did make some photographs at the first location, and I’m not writing them off yet though…) I decided that a better vantage poit my be a bit closer to where I had started since this would place the very large and very colorful aspen grove at the base of the hill a bit more centrally in the frame.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Grove, South Fork, Bishop Creek

October 25, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Brilliantly colorful fall aspens along the south fork of Bishop Creek.

I have been in this area many times in the past to search for aspens – and to backpack – but when I came into this part of the canyon this year I think I exclaimed, “Oh my God!” out loud, the colors were so intense and so widespread. While the trees in the lower portions of this watershed were still largely green, the colors in the upper canyon had gone fluorescent when I arrived – mostly brilliant yellow-gold with some orange and red, and stretching from the stream-side to the highest reaches of vegetation on the slopes above. I know that people from New England cannot imagine that aspen color displays can compete with their colors – and they are usually probably right – but this year I think they might have exclaimed as I did if they had seen this canyon.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Grove, Near Sabrina Lake

October 23, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Bright yellow-gold leaves of autumn Sierra Nevada aspen trees near Sabrina Lake, California.

I visited this small grove on a couple occasions during this weekend of eastern Sierra fall photography. I had primarily stopped to photograph a large nearby grove of very bright and colorful trees, but the arrangement of these tree trunks caught my attention and I spent some time shooting the subject in fading evening light and gentle rain.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Brown Aspen Leaves

October 19, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Closeup of a group of brown autumn aspen leaves against a background of yellow leaves.

While I like the brilliantly colored yellow, orange, red, lime green, and golden fall aspen leaves, this color isn’t the only thing that appeals to me about these trees. I enjoy photographing their trunks, too – sometimes when most or all of the leaves are gone. I’m also interested in photographing the brown and sometimes black leaves that seem to appear after a freeze. I found this grove along a slope not far from Mammoth Lakes, and I spent some time wandering up a hillside among the trees in the middle of the day. Although this is not typically the best time for photographing the intense aspen colors, by working under a canopy of leaves and by looking for a few backlit leaves I managed to find a few shots that work. This group of brown leaves ended up being almost colorful because light filtering through the overhead trees and leaves created backlight that was a bit softer and diffused that the “normal” midday light.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.