Tag Archives: grove

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Trees and Sandstone Cliffs

Image Leave a comment
Trees and Sandstone Cliffs
“Trees and Sandstone Cliffs” — Trees near the base of sandstone cliffs, Zion Canyon.

There is a lot going on here related to textures and colors. Color first: the cliff and tree colors are almost complementary. The green trees at the base of the cliff are in full shade. The further cliff face is getting both direct and reflected light. The cliffs seem massive and solid, but the surfaces are surprisingly varied. We see lighter and redder sections contrasting with almost-blue darker areas.

I was a little surprised to see trees growing so close to the base of he cliff. Often these areas are littered with accumulated rockfall debris, but here the trees don’t show any signs of that. It isn’t easy to tell from the photograph, but some of the trees are actually growing from cracks in the rock wall.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (Click the title to see the full article and to comment if you are viewing it on the home page.)

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Utah Aspen Grove

Image Leave a comment
Utah Aspen Grove
“Utah Aspen Grove” — An extensive forest of tall Utah aspen trees with autumn foliage.

This is another of those photographs from a distinctly non-iconic location. Once again, while driving a main route I spotted a little gravel road heading off in the general direction of a shallow valley filled with aspens. Being of a mind to explore, turned off and followed it into large groves of tall, colorful autumn aspen trees.

This scene illustrates something I have mentioned before: the California aspens in the Sierra Nevada are much different from what you see in the Southwest and any other places. I’m used to smaller groves and smaller trees, often growing so densely that it is hard to walk among them. But these trees grow tall and remarkably straight, and are spaced widely enough to allow plenty of light on the forest floor.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (Click the title to see the full article and to comment if you are viewing it on the home page.)

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Autumn Hillside

Image Leave a comment
Autumn Hillside
“Autumn Hillside” — A Utah hillside with autum color from aspens and brush.

The range of colors in this photograph reminds me a little bit — but only a little bit — of the widely diverse autumn colors of New England forests. It is a bit subtler, with lots of softer tones, ranging from the marginal coloration of some of the green plants to the ghostly quality of the leafless brush in the foreground.

The location would usually be considered unremarkable. In fact, we ended up here more or less by accident. While driving a better known route through part of Utah I saw a gravel side road and spontaneously decided to see where it led. We started in a beautiful aspen grove, then climbed up and around a large ridge to west-facing slopes, where we found this autumn color.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (Click the title to see the full article and to comment if you are viewing it on the home page.)

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

High Desert Aspen Trees

Image Leave a comment
High Desert Aspen Trees
“High Desert Aspen Trees” — Aspen trees with autumn foliage ascend a high desert gully in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

These sage-covered foothills are at an elevation of 8000′ and higher, but they are brown and dry, especially this late in the season. Technically this spot is part of the Sierra Nevada — it certainly seems so when you look at these peaks. However, it feels more like high desert than part of the mountain range.

The little grove of aspens grows in the bottom of the canyon that drains the nearby highlands. These trees were approaching their peak color, but with changing light I had to work quickly. Cloud shadows were moving across the landscape, and the shadow of the low hill at bottom right was starting to intrude on the colorful trees.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (Click the title to see the full article and to comment if you are viewing it on the home page.)

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.