Tag Archives: high

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

Dunderberg Meadows

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Dunderberg Meadows
“Dunderberg Meadows” — Autumn aspen stretch across the landscape beneath Eastern Sierra Nevada peaks.

Transition zones in the mountains fascinate me — places where one sort of landscape runs into another. In this photograph from the Eastern Sierra Nevada, aspens extend across high desert sagebrush terrain and right into the lowest conifer forests. The demarcation between sagebrush and forest is fairly sudden, but the aspens live in both.

Decades ago my entire notion of the Sierra Nevada revolved around the forest and alpine zones. For that reason, and because I usually approached the range via its gentle west slope, I did not know about this high desert terrain. It is possible that the first time I encountered this zone was when exiting on the east side after a long walk in the high country — and it was a shock to me.

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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

All Of The Colors

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All Of The Colors
“All Of The Colors” — An Eastern Sierra Nevada aspen forest showing every autumn color from green through yellow and orange to red.

One challenge when photographing Sierra Nevada aspen color, at least if you want large scale views of groves, is finding a suitable vantage point. Some groves are beautiful… but a long distance from any easy access. Others would make lovely photographs, but there is no clear, unobstructed view of them. (In those cases, going inside the grove works, but with a different outcome.) The trees in this photograph solve both problems — they are easy to access, and there is a clear view from a nearby elevated position.

Notice how the bands of trees seem to take on different colors as the fall transition progresses. The foreground group and one in the distance are still mostly green. At the left you can see the end of a bright yellow band of trees. The group in the middle has the less common orange/red coloration. Groves of aspens can essentially be a single genetic specimen interconnected via their root systems and each grove can essentially be a single organism.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

Yellow And Green Aspens

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Yellow And Green Aspens
“Yellow And Green Aspens” — A row of small yellow and green aspen trees in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

This unassuming row of small aspens is in the high desert along the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada. In this terrain, it is common to find small groves of aspen trees in sagebrush country, often along a stream course or other source of water. Because I first encountered aspens many years ago on high country backpacking trips, I used to think the three were trees of the subalpine zone, but they are actually quite common in other places in the Sierra.

These trees illustrate another important point about Sierra Nevada Fall color — and fall color just about anywhere for that matter. Certain specific spots get designated as “the best,” the places you really must see. It is true that at least some of them to have special features and characteristics, but eventually I learned that there are beautiful little groves all over the Sierra, often in places where you might not think to look for them.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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: Central California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Sea Stacks and Surf, Big Sur

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Sea Stacks and Surf, Big Sur
“Sea Stacks and Surf, Big Sur” — Rough surf and rugged sea stacks along the Big Sur coastline.

California’s coast is quite varied — in places you can find classic wide beaches, but there are impossibly rugged, inaccessible areas, too. (One section in far-northern California is so rugged that engineers were forced to divert the route of Highway 1 far inland.) This photograph comes from a section of the upper Big Sur coast that combines that ruggedness with a degree of accessibility.

I visited on the late-June morning because friends and fellow photographers were visiting the area — so it was a chance both to photograph and to meet up with them. We arrived very early, before the tourist crowds, and photographed soon after the sun cleared the coastal hills and light arrived on the rugged, rocky shoreline and surf.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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.