Tag Archives: meadow

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

Wilderness Lake, Late Season Light

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Wilderness Lake, Late Season Light
Hazy, late-season light at a Yosemite backcountry lake showing signs of autumn color.

Wilderness Lake, Late Season Light. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Hazy, late-season light at a Yosemite backcountry lake showing signs of autumn color.

On this first day of autumn I am queuing up this photograph to appear on my website a day later. (Some of you may see it on social media on the equinox.) The photograph provokes the question: When does fall actually start, anyway? It might seem like the objective answer would be obvious, but perhaps not as much as we would think. One definition — the most common one — says that fall, or autumn, beings on the date of the autumnal equinox when the sun is again directly overhead at the equator. However, I’m aware of at least two other ways of looking at this. One refers to so-called “meteorological fall,” which I understand to be the months of September, October, and November. (I’ve always felt that these were the months of autumn.) Another method, which also makes a lot of sense, starts and ends the seasons on so-called “cross quarter days,” the days midway between equinox and solstice.

This photograph falls into this gap and illustrates the conundrum. I made the photograph a few years ago when a group of use spent a few days photographing this backcountry Yosemite Lake and its surroundings… near the start of September. The astronomers will tell you it was still summer, but the meteorologists and backcountry travels will note that the scene had a distinctly autumnal quality, especially from the lovely red bilberry plants in the foreground. Whatever system you follow, there was no question that this was a day more full of the sensations of autumn than of summer.

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

Conifers and Autumn Aspens, Snow-Dusted Peaks

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Conifers and Autumn Aspens, Snow-Dusted Peaks
An early season dusting of snow above colorful aspen groves surrounding conifers.

Conifers and Autumn Aspens, Snow-Dusted Peaks. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An early season dusting of snow above colorful aspen groves surrounding conifers.

Some of you may be starting to feel a sense of loss as summer comes to an end, a nostalgia for those slow days of the warm season. I, on the other hand, am happy to see summer go. My two favorite seasons are coming! I love autumn with its sense of continuous change and the remarkable shows of fall color. And while winter may not be the most comfortable season, in many ways it is the most interesting, a time when we are reminded that sometimes the climate is a challenge.

This photograph comes from a few years back on a day that features one of my favorite sorts of early autumn days in the Eastern Sierra. This would be a day when the aspens are changing color and when an early winter-like weather front passes through and drops a dusting of snow on the highest peaks. (My other favorite type of Sierra autumn day is entirely different — the kind of sunny day when the sun retains some warmth, the light is soft, the colors are golden, and the backcountry is nearly deserted.) This photograph looks across a large grove of (mostly) aspen trees that leads up the eastern slopes toward high peaks with some of the newly fallen snow.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Eastern Sierra Stream, Smoky Light

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Eastern Sierra Stream, Smoky Light
Smoky haze mutes the outlines of Eastern Sierra foothills above a small stream.

Eastern Sierra Stream, Smoky Light. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Smoky haze mutes the outlines of Eastern Sierra foothills above a small stream.

Recently I spent a few days in the Eastern Sierra, mainly to readapt to altitude before a potential backcountry trip. The plan was to car camp in some Forest Service campgrounds, take a few high-elevation hikes while laden with a full load of camera equipment, and to make some photographs. This photograph comes from a location that I’ve known for years, near the base of one of the trans-Sierra passes along the east side of the range. Late in the day I had noticed the interesting haze and remembered some meadows and stream side country a few miles away. So I headed that way just. before the sun dropped behind the Sierra crest and photographed straight into the late-day light.

Since I haven’t written about any recent Sierra trips lately, I’ll use this post as an excuse to share some observations about conditions. And, of course, this year “conditions” is hard to separate from the effects of heat and drought. On the positive side, some of the high country locations I visited were not (yet) as dry as I had feared. I saw green meadows, wildflowers, corn lily fields in full bloom, and some water. On the other hand, it is only the middle of July — the moisture levels looked more like what I’d expect to see in August. Aside from the early season wildfires and the smoke they spread, one of the most worrisome signs was in the foothills on the west side, where it looks like huge numbers of oak trees are turning brown and dying.

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

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Coastal Forest and Clouds

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Coastal Forest and Clouds
Rain clouds begin toi build above coastal forest hills near Ferndale, California.

Coastal Forest and Clouds. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Rain clouds begin toi build above coastal forest hills near Ferndale, California.

On the last full day of our early-June foray into redwood country in far Northern California, we did a longish loop drive out to the Lost Coast via an uncrowded route on narrow and winding roads. It took us from a small town in farm country over forested ridges, eventually dropping to the coast, where if following the coastline south for some miles before turning inland, passing through rural country (and the location of California’s, uh, “newest agricultural area) and emerging through redwood groves near US 101.

This was our first time traversing this route, so there were new things to discover all day and at almost every turn. The beginning of the route leaves typical flat farmland and rises into high coastal hills, where it alternately twists through forest, follows high ridges, and drops into deep valleys. We stopped along one of those ridges in a place where meadows opened the view. The photograph looks to the northwest and the barely visible Pacific Ocean, as clouds began to build toward a few light afternoon showers.

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.

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