Tag Archives: green

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

Slender Aspens

October 15, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Slender aspen trees with leaves transitioning from green to yellow

I made this photograph quite a bit earlier in the season that usual — just past the middle of September. More typically I photograph these trees a couple of weeks later. However, this fall I made a reconnaissance trip to the Eastern Sierra at this early date and discovered quite a bit of good color, especially at higher elevations. (The typical pattern has the earliest color starting at higher elevations and in the smaller trees, then progression downwards and into the larger trees over the next few weeks.)

When it comes to the possible ways to photograph aspens, there are too many to count: front, side, or backlit; while there are still green leaves, when everything is golden-yellow (and orange and red), or when the trunks are bare; in sunlight or shadow; big trees and small; up close or from further back. I photographed this beautiful little grove of slender trees from some distance, using a long focal length to flatten the perspective a bit and to create a tighter composition. The leaves were at a typical early stage, with a few having turned yellow and others still quite green. But I think it was the slender and stark white trunks and the patterns they created that drew me to this grove.

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

Photographs: Nature

Poison Oak

October 11, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A vining poison oak plant grows on the bark of a coastal tree, Point Lobos

Californians learn about poison oak at an early age. I recall that in elementary school occasionally a fellow student would come to school suffering from an awful rash from this plant. From my earliest hikes in the California hills (but not the Sierra Nevada, to the relief of many!) I learned that the plant is everywhere and, like all hikers here, I learned to quickly identify it. It is known to most by the reddish-brown colors of the leaves, but the “leaves in threes” pattern is a more certain feature since it is also dangerous during its completely green phase.

Despite the danger, the plant can be quite beautiful — though I find it difficult to photograph. The red to brown tones of the plant is summer are striking, and it can actually appear quite lush during its winter growth period. I found this growth on the side of the tree at Point Lobos last winter, and was fortunate to be able to photograph it in partial shade and on a day when the sun’s intensity was muted a bit by haze and fog.

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

Shoreline Aspen Color

October 4, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A variety of colorful autumn aspen trees line the rocky shoreline of an Eastern Sierra subalpine lake

While understatement can often be a good thing, sometimes when making photographs of Sierra Nevada autumn aspen trees one simply has to go with the colors. This was one of those times. I was fortunate to arrive at this spot on close to the ideal color day for this section of the lake. Not only were nearly all the trees showing their fall color, but quite a few trees showed the less common shades of red and orange, along with the more typical golden-yellow. These are not big trees, but what they lack in stature they make up for in color.

This photograph is also an example of one good kind of light for photographing this subject. I began photographing a bit earlier in the soft, shaded light. This sort of light can be very “friendly” to intensely colorful subjects and to subjects that include lots of shadows. But it can also be quite blue — except here I photographed just before the sun reached this spot, and much of the ambient light was acquiring a warmer quality. The soft light doesn’t push the intensity of the colors so far that they may blow out — it tends to make the colors more vibrant, but gives a bit more control.

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

Small Aspens, Boulders

September 26, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Early autumn color comes to small aspen trees among Eastern Sierra Nevada boulders

There are many ways to “see” aspens, especially during the season when they briefly take on their transitional fall colors. Whole slopes filled with masses of their color are always an impressive sight. Larger views in which the aspens appear scattered within the landscape produce a different effect. The shapes of the white trunks might be the subject. We can move in close and focus on branches or even individual leaves. In some cases, the trees can act as a foil to other elements of the mountain landscape — conifer trees, the sky, flowing water. In this case, the color is, I think, a foil to the shapes, colors, and textures of granite boulders.

I made this photograph quite early in the Sierra color season, when the first trees were changing — somewhat earlier than usual this year, or so it seemed. While the largest trees were still nearly uniformly green, smaller trees and those growing in more marginal dry and rock areas were already taking on fall color. These trees are small, growing among rocks, and comprise just a few trees growing in an area that is mostly filled with conifers. In some ways, this makes their coloration even more striking than if they had been simply two trees among hundreds of aspens.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: green

Slender Aspens

Poison Oak

Shoreline Aspen Color

Small Aspens, Boulders

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