Tag Archives: grove

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

Aspen Grove, Dunderberg Road

October 20, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 2 Comments

A dense grove of aspens along Dunderberg Road in the eastern Sierra Nevada.

If you passed by this grove along the rough, gravel Dunderberg Road you might not even think to stop – in many ways it seems a lot like many other aspen groves along in this part of the Sierra and along this road. However, I once stopped in this spot the first time I drove this road and for some reason the location has become one of those that draws me back. This time I arrived very late in the afternoon, just as the sun was slipping behind Dunderberg Peak to the west, leaving the trees in shaded early evening light. This section of the grove is remarkable for the thickness of the trees – you might not guess from the photo, but trees are not all that tall. It also is more open than some groves of this size and it isn’t quite as cluttered with non-aspen plants that sometimes make it difficult to find a composition.

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.