Tag Archives: lake

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

Shoreline Aspen Color

October 4, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A variety of colorful autumn aspen trees line the rocky shoreline of an Eastern Sierra subalpine lake

While understatement can often be a good thing, sometimes when making photographs of Sierra Nevada autumn aspen trees one simply has to go with the colors. This was one of those times. I was fortunate to arrive at this spot on close to the ideal color day for this section of the lake. Not only were nearly all the trees showing their fall color, but quite a few trees showed the less common shades of red and orange, along with the more typical golden-yellow. These are not big trees, but what they lack in stature they make up for in color.

This photograph is also an example of one good kind of light for photographing this subject. I began photographing a bit earlier in the soft, shaded light. This sort of light can be very “friendly” to intensely colorful subjects and to subjects that include lots of shadows. But it can also be quite blue — except here I photographed just before the sun reached this spot, and much of the ambient light was acquiring a warmer quality. The soft light doesn’t push the intensity of the colors so far that they may blow out — it tends to make the colors more vibrant, but gives a bit more control.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

East Side, Morning

September 24, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Early morning light on the hills and peaks of the eastern Sierra Nevada near June Lake

I’ve occasionally written about my “discovery” of the Sierra Nevada east side perhaps two decades ago. Like so many from Northern California, my orientation to the range came from arriving by driving east across the Great Central Valley and then making the long, gradual ascent from the Valley to the summit of the range, a summit whose peaks are often not even visible from that Valley. (But when they are, what a sight!) I thought of the Sierra as being a place of mostly forested mountains, rising gradually, and only topped by the rugged granite peaks at is furthest point. Then a friend, whose orientation was from Southern California and who had approached the range from the South, got me (finally!) to visit the east side of the range.

What a difference! Here the mountains begin in semi-arid high desert sage brush country. They mostly rise abruptly along the eastern escarpment, with rocky ridges and summits exposed to view. The range immediately has an alpine quality that is quite different from the gentle forested slopes of the west side. Yet it, too, is varied. In some places the abrupt and rugged steepness is real — some of the ridges just above Round Valley, for example. But in other locations that “abrupt” escarpment is more subtle, the result of starting at even higher desert elevations (in the 8000′ range in some places) and due to some very large canyons cutting toward the summit of the range. For examples, visit the huge valley that rises above Bishop, or consider these sage and tree covered slopes gradually ascending toward the inevitable granite cliffs in the vicinity of June Lake.

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

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Basin, Wildfire Smoke, Dawn

September 22, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Late summer and early fall are the wildfire season in California and especially in the areas around the Sierra Nevada. (That statement used to be more accurate than it is these days, as drought and anthropic climate change have now extended the fire season in the state.) Like most people who spend time in the outdoors I have complicated responses to wildfire. I hate to see forests and wild lands destroyed, especially by some of the recent super-hot fires that have done more serious damage. At the same time I fully understand that fire is a natural and even necessary component of the natural life in these areas. In recent years I have tried to find beauty alongside the destruction, and it has opened my eyes to seeing fire in different ways.

During my recent mid-September Sierra Nevada photography jaunt, mainly focused on visiting a few high places and scouting early aspen color, a very smoky fire broke out in the Owens River area. I first spotted in while driving down from Yosemite in the evening after a backcountry hike, and the next morning there was a big cloud of smoke over the lands southeast of Lee Vining. Mono Lake was still mostly clear, except at the south end, but beautiful layers of smoke were beginning to drift across the lake before and during sunrise, muting details and rendering more clearly some of the larger elements of the landscape. I moved around the lake and surrounding areas looking for vantage points for several hours, until eventually the smoke-filled Mono Basin so much that I decided to leave.

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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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Summer’s End

September 11, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Late summer meadow and forest, Yosemite National Park

I missed much of summer in the Sierra this season since we were traveling. Soon after we came back to California I managed to squeeze in a few “going home” days in the Yosemite high country during the week following the exit of the Labor Day Holiday crowds. Following my midday arrival and camp setup (and a nap to compensate for my early wake up call that morning) I decided that I’d head out a familiar trail toward an alpine lake that I’ve frequently visited in the past. As it turns out I started a bit too late, and when I hit my predetermined halfway time I hadn’t made it the goal — so I just found a rock and sat quietly for a while before turning around.

Every summer, far before autumn actually begins, I see the early signs of the coming seasonal change. I missed the first hints since I wasn’t there in August. (Though I did see a few early leaves change color in Italy at that time.) But on this early September day the signs were all there. The meadows have turned that familiar golden brown color. Red bilberry plants glow in the low angle backlight. Corn lily plants have lost their green lushness and now turn brown and topple over. A few yellow leaves begin to appear on willows, and here and there it is even possible to find a few aspen trees with premature yellow leaves. Less concretely, there is something I’ve never quite been able to define about the light and the atmosphere, though it is plainly obvious to me that it has changed. Summer is ending in the Sierra, and the inevitable arrival of autumn and winter is just around the corner.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: lake

Shoreline Aspen Color

East Side, Morning

Mono Basin, Wildfire Smoke, Dawn

Summer’s End

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.