Tag Archives: mountains

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

Meadow and Autumn Trees

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Meadow and Autumn Trees
“Meadow and Autumn Trees” — Autumn trees and haze glowing in sunlight, Yosemite Valley.

Smoky conditions, a bit to my surprise, produced some really lovely light o this autumn day. I arrived in The Valley on a fall morning to find that managed fires were filling the air with smoke. After driving four hours to get there, starting way before sunrise, I cannot say that I was happy to arrive to this! However, after a moment I remembered that smoke has the potential to produce some lovely effects. I headed toward this meadow, attracted by its large black oak trees and the potential for backlight.

The smoke thinned a bit, but there was just enough left in the air to glow when the sun hit it, including the beam of light in this photograph that came through a gap in the upper canyon walls of Yosemite Valley. With that haze and the backlight the trees really glowed.

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

Tall Autumn Aspens

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Tall Autumn Aspens
“Tall Autumn Aspens” — A tall grove of aspens with bright autumn colors, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

This grove showed an interesting pattern — most of the color in the frame comes from short trees along the edge of a clearing, while the white trunks of older and taller trees extend on up toward the top of the frame. Straight trees like these are the exception in much of the Sierra, and we often see shorter aspen trees that are twisted and bent. I suspect that the extra light from the nearby clearing is one reason that these trees grew taller.

Once again, this is a photograph made in the soft light. I came into this canyon late in the afternoon, and soon the shadows from very tall ridges in the west moved across the landscape. The soft light allows the details in darker areas to emerge a bit, and that nearby clearing diffused a bit more reflected light into the scene.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Ponderosa Pines, Mono Lake

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Ponderosa Pines, Mono Lake
“Ponderosa Pines, Mono Lake” — A few ponderosa pines near the shore of Mono Lake.

I reached this spot on a lonely gravel road that branched off from the main route heading southeast from Mono Lake toward some slightly higher sections of the basin. This group of ponderosa pines includes the last trees that manage to grow here, and beyond this point it was all dry sagebrush country. In the distance you can make out Mono Lake and distant mountains beyond its far shore.

There is an immense ponderosa pine forest in this area. It is my understanding that it may even be the biggest stand of these trees. They extend from here all the way over to highway 395 far to the south of the lake. Near the spot where I made the photograph I found many dead trees, apparently the victims of a long ago wildfire.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Drifting Clouds, Eastern Escarpment

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Drifting Clouds, Eastern Escarpment
“Drifting Clouds, Eastern Escarpment” — Clouds drift across the rugged slopes of the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada.

If my memory is correct, I made this photograph as I started my long drive back to the Bay Area from the Eastern Sierra. My typical final day over there starts early with some photography at “one last spot,” after which I pack up and get on the road. But almost invariably I spot some distraction during the drive and end up pulling out the photography equipment along the way.

There is a lot of seasonal autumn stuff in this photograph if you know what to look for. Some is obvious, like the golden-brown grasses and high desert plants in the foreground. Some is a bit harder to spot, including the aspen groves on the lower slopes where the high desert meets the first conifers. Those soft, drifting clouds are another hint – they can happen at any time, but at this time of day they are much less common in the summer. Finally, way up on the high ridge there is a dusting of snow from an autumn storm.

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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