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

Fallen Aspens, Canyon Light

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Fallen Aspens, Canyon Light
An autumn aspen grove in late afternoon light, with some trees that have fallen over.

Fallen Aspens, Canyon Light. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An autumn aspen grove in late afternoon light, with some trees that have fallen over.

As I posted this photograph it occurred to me that “leaning aspens” or “falling aspens” might better describe what is going on here — but I’m sticking with the original title. This is a somewhat different view of a subject that I shared previously, photographed on an autumn day when the sun was just about to drop behind high ridges to the west and the hazy air glowed in the backlight. The primarily photograph I came away with included a larger portion of the scene, but I also grew to like this one that narrows its focus to a group of small-trunk trees. The trees at right on on the edge of a pond, and I suspect that they are leaning as a result of growing in wet, unstable soil.

This will almost certainly be my final aspen photograph of 2021, so I’ll add a few general comments about photographing this subject in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. One feature of the Sierra aspens is that they grow in wildly different niches. Some trees find large, flat areas with good soil, ample water, and protection from the elements, and they may grow into tall, straight, massive trees. Many others seem to struggle in rocky soil, drier locations, high elevations, limited light, exposure to wind, and these trees — the majority of Sierra aspens, in my experience — often show the effects. They can be twisted, stunted, knocked over by avalanches, and more. Superficially you might think that this reflects poorly on “our aspens.” But the reality is that we can find a great variety of aspen forms — more, I think, than in some areas known for these trees.

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.

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

Autumn Aspens In Canyon Light

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Autumn Aspens In Canyon Light
Colorful autumn aspen trees in an Eastern Sierra Nevada canyon

Autumn Aspens In Canyon Light. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Colorful autumn aspen trees in an Eastern Sierra Nevada canyon.

The quality of the light, as we all know, is incredibly important in photography — where it comes from relative to the subject, its color, whether it is harsh or filtered, how it differs in various areas of the frame, and much more. In some cases great light can make a not-so-exciting subject “work” as a photograph, while poor light can make it difficult or impossible to make an effective photograph of a great subject. In landscape photography we don’t generally have much ability to control the light. But we can learn to anticipate what it may do, and we can try to time our photographs for when the light may be at its best.

The window of opportunity for this light on this subject is very small. The idea here was to photograph this grove during the very short period when shadows, created as the sun dropped behind high ridges in the upper canyon, moved across the frame. At this point the backlight would intensify the colors of the trees, yet it would be slightly muted. Additionally, the haze in the far upper canyon would glow in the backlight. When we arrived at this spot the light was far from ideal, and I think that the people who accompanied me may have wondered what I saw. But a few moments later we all experienced the brief transition of wonderful light that I came here to see.

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.

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

Eastern Sierra Stream, Autumn

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Eastern Sierra Stream, Autumn
Autumn colors line the banks of a small Eastern Sierra Nevada stream

Eastern Sierra Stream, Autumn. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn colors line the banks of a small Eastern Sierra Nevada stream

Perhaps because I wrote a book on the subject of photographing fall color in the Sierra Nevada, people often want to know what spots to go to in order to see and make photographs in the autumn. I will name a few places, mostly those that are quite popular already, easy to find (as in right next to the road!), and not subject to much danger from overuse. However, the truth is that there are great photographic opportunities in the fall all over the Eastern Sierra and elsewhere. For every iconic spot there are hundreds or thousands of others that also have great potential for photographs. You just have to slow down and look a little bit.

This photograph is of one of those little places — you could easily pass right by it and miss it. I have, and I’ve even stopped nearly and not seen a photograph. This time I was heading up a canyon in cloudy conditions and light rain, and perhaps the unusual conditions helped me to see differently. In any case, as I drove past the area I noticed the red plants growing close to the ground, even though there were largely obscured by intervening trees. I quickly turned around and came back, parked, and then spent some time poking around and looking. I finally ended up down along the bank of the stream, the closest I could get to the red plants, and I found a composition looking upstream toward more colorful plants and the white trunks of an aspen grove.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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.
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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

Leaning Aspen Trees, Reflections, Autumn

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Leaning Aspen Trees, Reflections, Autumn
Leaning aspen trees with autumn colors, reflected in an Eastern Sierra Nevada pond

Leaning Aspen Trees, Reflections, Autumn. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 8, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Leaning aspen trees with autumn colors, reflected in an Eastern Sierra Nevada pond

On the first day of this short trip to the Sierra Nevada, with photographs of fall color our objective, we followed a long driving route to the east side so that we could take a look at a wide range of locations. We began by crossing the range quite far to the north at Carson Pass, then headed south over Monitor Pass to US 395, and from there we continued toward our eventual destination in Bishop. Along the way we made quite a few stops and a few side-trips to look at and photograph fall color. By the middle of the day it became clear that we were going to be dealing with wind. (In fact, by the time we arrived in Bishop after dark it was so windy that driving was starting to be an “interesting” experience.) Wind is not generally regarded as being helpful when photographing aspen trees — though there are some ways to deal with it — so eventually we sought out locations where it was moderated a bit.

One way to get out of the worst of the worst winds is to leave the wide-open country east of the range and head up into the narrower canyons. While this typically doesn’t eliminate wind completely, it often does block the worst of it. That’s just what we finally did, turning up into a familiar canyon and driving almost to the end of the road. Here we arrived at a location with quiet ponds surrounded by all kinds of trees, including some with fall foliage. Along the edge of one pond and its boggy surroundings we found large aspen trees leaning away from the water. My assumption is that the soggy ground was no longer solid enough to hold the trees and something, probably even stronger wind than we were dealing with, pushed them toward the nearby grove. Many of the trees were still alive, though you have to wonder whether their current lean angle is the end of the story!

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