Tag Archives: lake

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Two Shores, Autumn Light

Image Leave a comment
Two Shores, Autumn Light
Autumn light and atmosphere above water and California mountains.

Two Shores, Autumn Light. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn light and atmosphere above water and California mountains.

Have I mentioned that I like atmospheric haze? Light coming from straight in front of the camera position? Reflections? The large landscape? Strong contrasts between light and dark? Well, I do.

I made this photograph while driving back from an early morning visit to California’s Central Valley. I’ve probably passed this location hundreds of times, and while I always look I rarely stop. I have mixed feelings about the place. On one hand it provides some monumental vistas and at times — such as spring, when the hills are emerald green — the scene is beautiful. On the other hand, it is a reservoir, formed by damming a lovely and, some would have argued, historic valley. (I have a long history with this place. I recall traveling across the now-submerged valley with my father in the pre-reservoir days when we took trips to Yosemite.) This time the light and atmosphere caught my attention, and I had to find a way to reverse course and get back to this overlook to make a few exposures.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

Autumn Aspen Leaves Cluster

Image 2 Comments
Autumn Aspen Leaves Cluster
A cluster of Eastern Sierra Nevada aspen leaves in full autumn color.

Autumn Aspen Leaves Cluster. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A cluster of Eastern Sierra Nevada aspen leaves in full autumn color.

Here it is — finally — what I expect to be my final photograph from this year’s autumn aspen color in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. Like many of the others, I made this photograph while wandering about in a little grove that happened to be showing exceptional color this year. To some extent that color was because my timing was just about right, but it also seemed like a more colorful year than usual, with more of the red and orange leaves that I usually see.

When I’m in the field I often line up a sequence of potential photographic opportunities to explore as the light evolves. I might start with a subject that will work in pre-dawn light, then move to one that focuses on the first light of sunrise, and then be ready to photograph things that work in the light that arrives a bit later. That’s what happened with these leaves. The light on a major landscape subject that I was photographing had mostly run its course a half hour or so after sunrise, so I moved to this grove which was still in the shadow of a nearby hill. That light was perfect for making close up photographs of leaves, since the soft light reveals details in everything from shadows to highlights.

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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 Leaves and Branches

Image Leave a comment
Aspen Leaves and Branches
A cluster of colorful autumn leaves on the branches of an Eastern Sierra aspen tree.

Aspen Leaves and Branches. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A cluster of colorful autumn leaves on the branches of an Eastern Sierra aspen tree.

The fall color countdown continues with this (likely) second-to-last aspen color photograph from this year’s crop. To recap, this was a very strange year for California autumn aspen photography, with the pandemic and the historic wildfires both disrupting the usual plans. I was on the east side of the Sierra exactly twice this season. The first trip was pre-autumn, when I went over to try to join friends for a short socially-distanced backpack trip… but ran into extreme wildfire smoke and decided to cancel after two nights of roadside camping. The second was a short trip in early October to visit the aspens. The aspen colors were exceptional during this visit, but it was also cut short by wildfire smoke.

This photograph is a bit unusual among my series of close-ups of aspen leaves in that it includes more or the branches than usual. This branch is quite dark, but the notion that aspen bark is white isn’t quite correct. It can be, in the right situations and in the right groves. But it can also be yellowish or brownish, and young branches can have some rather un-aspen-like bark, at least as measured against our preconceptions.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Nature

Mountains, Lake, Autumn Sky

Image Leave a comment
Mountains, Lake, Autumn Sky
Luminous autumn atmosphere above California mountains and lake.

Mountains, Lake, Autumn Sky. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Luminous autumn atmosphere above California mountains and lake.

While this may not seem like a typical “fall photograph,” that is how I’m describing it here. Allow me to explain. For decades I have been intrigued by autumn light — perhaps even longer than I’ve been attentive to fall foliage colors. Many years ago I recognized that there was something different about it, though I could not quite put my finger on it. Although I still don’t claim to fully understand it, something (or some things) change in the the autumn atmosphere in my part of the world — something about the luminous quality of the slightly hazy atmosphere, likely complemented by the lower angle of the sun creates an unmistakable effect.

On the day I made this photograph I had arrived before dawn in California’s Great Central Valley to visit some favorite locations and subjects. It was early (perhaps too early) in the season for them, so after enjoying a morning there I eventually decided to head home early, not sticking around until sunset. As a result I passed this location in the early afternoon instead of in the dark… and I could not resist stopping to make a few photographs.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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