Tag Archives: leaves

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

Dense Aspen Grove

October 12, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Small aspen trees, packed closely together, with golden autumn leaves, Eastern Sierra Nevada

While the exuberant colors of large groves of autumn aspens are attractive, there is something about the trunks that is hard to resist, even when the colors may have diminished a bit — or perhaps because the colors are less striking. I know I’m not the only photographer who returns to this “take” on the subject. It is fun and more than a bit challenging to make compositions out of such complexity. Frequently I’ll stop and look at a grove, think “that will make a great photograph,” and then gradually discover that some subtle element is not quite right and the whole thing won’t work. I’m continually surprised that a subject that seems so simple often isn’t.

To a great extent it is a question of balance of several sorts. The complex patterns of trunks cannot be completely uniform or there will be no form to the image. There must be some differentiation in the ways that trunks are grouped and among the angles of branches. But too much differentiation is also a problem. There is a “just right” quality to these compositions that is hard to explain, but which I know when I see it. A bit of “dissonance” can help, too — a little bit of something that seems to step outside the predominant patterns. In this photograph that could be the diagonal branches at coming across from the right, or it might be the group of closer leaves along one side. There is also some sense of depth, and if you look closely you may see a good distance into the more distant and darker areas of the small grove. And aside from the obvious vertical lines, there are three horizontal layers — brush at the bottom, trunks in the middle, and yellow leaves at the top.

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

Photographs: Nature

Poison Oak

October 11, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A vining poison oak plant grows on the bark of a coastal tree, Point Lobos

Californians learn about poison oak at an early age. I recall that in elementary school occasionally a fellow student would come to school suffering from an awful rash from this plant. From my earliest hikes in the California hills (but not the Sierra Nevada, to the relief of many!) I learned that the plant is everywhere and, like all hikers here, I learned to quickly identify it. It is known to most by the reddish-brown colors of the leaves, but the “leaves in threes” pattern is a more certain feature since it is also dangerous during its completely green phase.

Despite the danger, the plant can be quite beautiful — though I find it difficult to photograph. The red to brown tones of the plant is summer are striking, and it can actually appear quite lush during its winter growth period. I found this growth on the side of the tree at Point Lobos last winter, and was fortunate to be able to photograph it in partial shade and on a day when the sun’s intensity was muted a bit by haze and fog.

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 Aspens and Boulder

September 23, 2016 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A boulder in the midst of early autumn aspen color in the Eastern Sierra Nevada

Besides being an example of relatively bright color, this little aspen scene may reveal a few other things to close viewers. The colors range almost across the entire spectrum of aspen color, from the green or trees that have not yet turned, through the typical brilliant golden-yellow, and in between some orange and even a bit of red. These are rather small trees, growing on very rocky soil, the environment where the trees frequently begin to turn first.

The slope is perhaps not remarkable among many other similar slopes that are also covered with aspens. But for some reason — it may be an accidental turn I took near here years ago — this little section of an east side valley seems special to me, so much so that I have to make a sort of ritual passage past and through it when I’m in the area. This photograph was made close to the middle of September, which seems early for Eastern Sierra aspen color. But after several drought years the trees are not behaving according to the familiar plan. Yet, there is still a lot of green, too, which promises several weeks of developing color to come.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Central Valley Trees and Fog

December 21, 2015 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Late autumn trees and fog, San Joaquin Valley

I have had my eye on these trees for several years now. In fact, I have photographed them a few times, though I wasn’t quite happy with the results. They stand near a spot that I frequently visit during the late fall through winter months, when migratory birds live in the nearby wetlands and fields. In fact, that is why I was there on this December day. After a couple of hours of bird photography I looked over in the direction of the trees and thought that the light might be right for a photograph.

The light in this part of the Central Valley is astonishingly variable, especially in the winter and near-winter months. There can be high thin clouds, a Pacific weather front, general haze, or fog so thick that you can’t see 100 feet… unless you look up to see the stars and the moon! This day was quite variable, and that was part of the fun of photographing it. Fog was forming when we arrived before dawn. It stuck around a while, thinned and morphed into a sort of general atmospheric haziness. Above the fog there were high clouds that also muted the light a bit. Here and there, actual fog banks formed. This photograph has a little of all of these things: the light on the trees is muted, fog banks stand in the distance with high clouds overhead.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: leaves

Dense Aspen Grove

Poison Oak

Autumn Aspens and Boulder

Central Valley Trees and Fog

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