Tag Archives: grove

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Sierra Pines

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Sierra Pines
“Sierra Pines” — Dense forest of small, high elevation pine trees in the Sierra Nevada.

These lodgepole pines could be anywhere in a wide range of places in the Sierra Nevada — it is a very common tree found at higher elevations. Its form ranges from tall and upright, through slightly bent (like these trees at the edge of a high forest) to twisted and warped trees growing in rocky annd exposed locations. In the Sierra, lodgepoles are your friends, and you see them everywhere. You have undoubtedly walked among them and camped beneath them.

I photographed this scene in a high valley just outside Yosemite National Park, near the eastern entrance at Tioga Pass. I was up there during autumn to photograph aspens when I got sidetracked by some new snow above this area. Intimate photographs of these trees are often difficult in bright light since the contrasts can be harsh. But shadow light is softer and more forgiving, muting highlights and filling the shadows.

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

Autumn Aspen Forest

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Autumn Aspen Forest
“Autumn Aspen Forest” — Tall aspen trees with white trunks and autumn leaves, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Returning to the same locations has its pluses and minuses. I suppose that one negative could be the danger that the subject becomes overly familiar — there is an argument that it would be a better use of one’s time to head off to new places. But there are a lot more positives in my experience, including becoming more intimately familiar with a place you thought you knew. I find new subjects on every return visit to the Eastern Sierra, despite having photographed there for decades.

This photograph (along with a few others from the same location) is a case in point. I had passed this spot for years, barely stopping to give it a look, and to the best of my knowledge never photographing it. On this visit I spotted a lovely little creek nearby that I had overlooked, and once I started paying attention to its surroundings I became aware of these beautiful trees.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Peaks and Autumn Aspens

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Peaks and Autumn Aspens
“Peaks and Autumn Aspens” — A forest of autumn aspen trees in the Eastern Sierra Nevada leads toward mountain peaks.

For years I have felt that the best light at this Eastern Sierra Nevada location comes in the late afternoon, just before the sun drops behind the crest of the mountains. Here the high desert and mountain terrains intermingle, and aspen groves alternate with dry “sage brush country.” In the late-day light, the aspens are illuminated from behind and from the side, and this accentuates the autumn colors and makes them glow.

As usual, I arrived here an hour or so before the shadows of the peaks would “turn out the lights” on the fall color show. I photographed from various locations here during that hour, and as the light started to fade I picked out a few remaining well-lit groves against the darker shadows. Eventually the shadows, along with some developing clouds, eliminated the intense backlight and left the soft, gentle evening light on these trees.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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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

Aspen Transitions

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Aspen Transitions
“Aspen Transitions” — A small stand of old aspen snags surrounded by young trees transitioning to autumn colors, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Photographers sometimes debate the “best” moment to photograph autumn aspen color. Some say it is when the first trees start to show golden color. Others prefer the stage where every color from green through yellow, orange, and red is visible. Then the green leaves fall and only the wild autumn color remains. But there’s also something compelling about the post-peak stage when leaves have fallen and stark white trunks are more visible. This photograph is from the “every color”stage. You can follow the “aspen color rainbow” from the closest green trees to intensely colorful trees farther up the valley.

This color range is not the only “transition” in this photograph. Aspens do not last forever — old trees die and new ones quickly spring up. I’ve gone back to burned groves months after a fire to see new shoots already emerging from the roots of the burned trees. Look closely at this photograph and you’ll see a row of old aspen snags near the front of the scene. Perhaps they were burned in a fire years ago, but now they are almost obscured by the colorful new trees.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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