Tag Archives: green

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

Aspens and Conifers, Autumn

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Aspens and Conifers, Autumn
Aspen and conifer trees grow up the slopes of an Eastern Sierra Nevada valley.

Aspens and Conifers, Autumn. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Aspen and conifer trees grow up the slopes of an Eastern Sierra Nevada valley.

If you look closely you may find aspens in just about every state of autumn color transition — nearly bare trees, brightly colored yellow and orange trees, and a few that are early in their transition or even still entirely green. This is a reminder that when you visit the Eastern Sierra aspens in the fall, if the color isn’t what you were looking for in one spot there is a good chance that you can find color by moving north or south or heading to a different elevation. While you take that close look, also notice some taller trees (a bit tricky to find) that are entirely bare but surrounded by smaller, very healthy aspens. When aspens are disrupted by fire or other problems, new growth frequently springs up from their extensive root systems, sometimes in weeks, and before too many years those trees engulf the old snags.

The view here encompasses terrain that rises from sagebrush highlands in the Eastern Sierra toward conifer forests at higher elevations. Aspens often grow in this sage country, in places as essentially the only large trees. Here we’re right at the lower boundary of the conifers, beginning with the single large specimen in the center of the frame, with a larger grove halfway up the slope, and hints of much larger forested areas near the top margin.

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 Groves, Peaks, and Clouds

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Aspen Groves, Peaks, and Clouds
Clouds move in above Eastern Sierra peaks and autumn aspen groves.

Aspen Groves, Peaks, and Clouds. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Clouds move in above Eastern Sierra peaks and autumn aspen groves.

The fall color was the objective of my recent visit to the Eastern Sierra Nevada — and I did find it — but the weather and related conditions were perhaps the bigger story. Every fall we start to watch the forecasts, hoping to see the first early Pacific weather fronts arrive. They signal the advent of winter conditions, can bring rain and snow, and can sometimes last a day or more. In most years they begin in October, though the really big storms are still a ways in the future. During my visit early in the month, several weak fronts arrived and affected the weather. It turned cold, clouds lingered over the crest, and a small amount of rain and snow fell.

I made this photograph in a valley along the eastern front of the Sierra, where the sagebrush country rises toward higher peaks, and aspens and eventually conifers begin to predominate. Mixed sun and clouds moved varying light across this landscape, and clouds were settling in over the more distant peaks of the high country.

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: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Redwood Forest Trail

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Redwood Forest Trail
A trail winds through redwood forest, past ferns and rhodendrons, Del Norte State Park.

Redwood Forest Trail. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A trail winds through redwood forest, past ferns and rhodendrons, Del Norte State Park.

As I write this post, it has been a 100+ degree day with wildfire smoke drifting across the Bay Area and mostly forcing us inside — and I know it is much worse in many other parts of California and the West. Barely more than two months ago we walked this coastal trail through redwoods on a cool June morning as fog drifted overhead and rhododendrons bloomed. How long ago that seems now! But looking forward an equal amount of time we can hope that this nasty, dry, hot summer will be behind us and, with luck, autumn rains will return.

Photographing redwood forests can be a tricky thing. Deep in the forest the light can be so low that exposures as long as a second or more a necessary. Meanwhile, even on the most still days there is always a slight bit of air motion, and the long palm fronds and hanging plans are virtually never still. And when the sun rises higher in the sky and sends a few beams of light to the forest floor, the difference between the sunlit spots and the shadows can be huge. In this photograph, in order to produce something that reflects what we see when we look around such a scene, I had to carefully control the brightness of the bits of sky at the top of the photograph and the stray beams of light along the trail… and then ensure that the dark areas were bright enough to make details visible.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Travel

Coastal Bluffs and Trail

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Coastal Bluffs and Trail
A trail crosses springtime coastal bluffs to approach the rugged Big Sur coast south of Carmel, California.

Coastal Bluffs and Trail. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A trail crosses springtime coastal bluffs to approach the rugged Big Sur coast south of Carmel, California.

This is a fairly “straight ahead” photograph of a popular section of the Big Sur coastline. There are several reasons for is popularity, not the least of which is the impressive number of sea stacks and the rocky junction of sea and land. It is also in the upper section of this area, not that far from locations like Carmel and Monterey. In addition, it provides fairly close access to the coast, including the trail crossing the bluff in the lower section of the photograph.

Most of the time I would hesitate to photograph a scene like this one, instead preferring something a bit more unusual — perhaps some dramatic light or maybe some fog. But it occurred to me that in many ways this scene on this spring day embodies the ideal of “normal” along this coast with the green hills, blue sky, and darker blue water. Oh, and about that trail… should you ever decide to try it or one like it, may I remind you that a lot of poison oak grows here?

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.