Tag Archives: mountains

California Fall Color

Quick note regarding Sierra Nevada fall color

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Fall color? In July? Apparently I’m not the only one who starts thinking about this well before the colors appear – there were a number of search engine hits here today for the subject. I’ll likely write more about this subject when we get closer to fall, but I thought I’d post just a bit of basic information today.

When – The exact time for peak aspen (and other) fall color in the Sierra can vary a bit depending upon a variety of factors, but right around the first week of October is a good bet. Truly crazed Sierra aspen photographers are on alert from the last week of September through the middle of October.

Where – All over the eastern Sierra. (There are aspens west of the Sierra crest – such as near the tops of Monitor and Carson passes – but most of the color is on the “east side.”) You can find them up almost any eastern Sierra roadway that head up into the range. One of the best areas is around North Lake, South Lake, and Lake Sabrina above Bishop, California.

There is a lot more to say about this… later.

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.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

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

Tree Trunk and Boulder

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Tree Trunk and Boulder

Tree Trunk and Boulder. Yosemite National Park, California. July 8, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A tree trunk catches the light in front of a boulder in the Tuolumne Meadows campground, Yosemite National Park, California.

I did not have to go far to make this photograph – I spotted it from my picnic table in site G4 at the Tuolumne Meadows Campground! I saw this nearby boulder surrounded by young trees shortly after setting up camp, and over the next three days I photographed it several times in varying light.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: tree, trunk, bark, lodgepole, pine, vertical, pattern, rock, boulder, lichen, black and white, light, sun, illuminate, nature, texture, flora, plant, nature, landscape, travel, scenic, tuolumne, meadows, campground, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, sierra nevada, mountains, range, site, g4, stock

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Clearing Storm, Eastern Sierra Nevada

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Clearing Storm, Eastern Sierra Nevada

Clearing Storm, Eastern Sierra Nevada. Near Mono Lake, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The clouds of a late-spring storm along the Sierra Nevada crest clear as evening light illuminates sage-covered high desert slopes near Mono Lake.

Another photograph in this brief series of black and white images, this one was made very close to Mono Lake. If you have been to the famous (at least among sunrise photographers!) South Tufa area at Mono, you may know the road that departs highway 395 and heads east to that wonderful photo location. Between highway 395 and where the road drops down to the lake shore, it crosses a low ridge with good views in every direction but directly south. It was from here that I made this photograph – and a few others that may turn up here eventually.

Shooting Mono Lake late in the day can be a bit tricky since the light disappears behind the Sierra crest earlier than one might think. If the conditions are right an evening shot from Mono can be fine, but often the light is less challenging in the morning. On this afternoon I had first headed out to South Tufa, but decided that it wasn’t looking right – so I headed back up towards the June Lake loop. Once there the clouds over the crest began to break up, so after shooting some images in that area I headed back towards Mono. As I topped this hill before the descent to South Tufa I saw this wonderful back-light on the sage-covered foreground hills so I stopped right at the top of this hill and photographed this scene.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: sierra, nevada, range, mountains, eastern, slope, escarpment, crest, cirque, valley, snow, yosemite, mono, lake, south, tufa, recession, atmospheric, storm, clouds, flurry, field, sage, high, desert, hill, gully, valley, california, usa, scenic, travel, landscape, sky, evening, light, stock, black and white, clearing, spring, slope, forest

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Owens Valley, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Evening, Eastern Sierra Near Lee Vining

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Evening, Eastern Sierra Near Lee Vining

Evening, Eastern Sierra Near Lee Vining. Sierra Nevada Mountains, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening light and afternoon clouds over the high desert of the eastern Sierra Nevada range near Lee Vining, California.

I’m finally finding a bit of time to go back to some photographs I made in June this year, including a series from the eastern Sierra that I’ll present in black and white. I made this photograph on an early June trip, the first of the year on which I was able to cross the Sierra on the newly opened Tioga Pass Road. It was something of a “random trip,” as I initially thought I might end up shooting spring subjects in Yosemite Valley – until I figured out that it was going to be way too crowded there and just headed over Tioga Pass instead to camp in Lee Vining Canyon. On this evening I drove out toward Mono Lake and “chased the light” as a storm broke up over the Sierra crest. Not finding quite what I was looking for at this exact hour at Mono I headed back toward highway 395 and took a little gravel road towards the upper end of the June Lakes Loop. As I came to the top of the hill I saw this wonderful view looking north across the high desert and sagebrush towards the hills around Lee Vining with the light shining onto the valley floor below the clouds that were just starting to thin.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: eastern, sierra, nevada, range, mountains, lee vining, california, usa, sage, high, desert, hills, road, pole, utility, telephone, electric, clouds, owens valley, june lake, loop, gravel, brush, afternoon, evening, sierra, nevada, range, eastern, escarpment, lee vining, stock, light, overcast