Tag Archives: nature

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Autumn Hillside

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Autumn Hillside
“Autumn Hillside” — A Utah hillside with autum color from aspens and brush.

The range of colors in this photograph reminds me a little bit — but only a little bit — of the widely diverse autumn colors of New England forests. It is a bit subtler, with lots of softer tones, ranging from the marginal coloration of some of the green plants to the ghostly quality of the leafless brush in the foreground.

The location would usually be considered unremarkable. In fact, we ended up here more or less by accident. While driving a better known route through part of Utah I saw a gravel side road and spontaneously decided to see where it led. We started in a beautiful aspen grove, then climbed up and around a large ridge to west-facing slopes, where we found this autumn color.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Dormant Wetlands Plants

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Dormant Wetlands Plants
“Dormant Wetlands Plants” — Dormant and dried wetlands plants reflected in the still water of a quiet pond.

My first “real” visit of the season to my favorite migratory bird photography location did not go as planned. (Actually, I did stop briefly a month ago and a half earlier, but things were still slow back then.) I was hoping for luminous tule fog and lots of geese and sandhill cranes. Instead I got thick gray elevated overcast and fewer birds than expected. Ah, well, it happens… and when it does I look for something else to photograph.

This is one of the “something else” photographs. This area is full of shallow seasonal ponds, and when they fill the summer’s plants still emerge from the still water and make fascinating reflections. For this subject the very soft light from the overcast worked well and revealed a more of the plants’ details.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

High Desert Aspen Trees

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High Desert Aspen Trees
“High Desert Aspen Trees” — Aspen trees with autumn foliage ascend a high desert gully in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

These sage-covered foothills are at an elevation of 8000′ and higher, but they are brown and dry, especially this late in the season. Technically this spot is part of the Sierra Nevada — it certainly seems so when you look at these peaks. However, it feels more like high desert than part of the mountain range.

The little grove of aspens grows in the bottom of the canyon that drains the nearby highlands. These trees were approaching their peak color, but with changing light I had to work quickly. Cloud shadows were moving across the landscape, and the shadow of the low hill at bottom right was starting to intrude on the colorful trees.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Aspen Path

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Aspen Path
“Aspen Path” — A path winds through a grove of autumn aspen color, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

I had been thinking about photographing in this grove for two days prior to making this photograph. I had looked it over while driving past, and had even gotten out and wandered through it without taking pictures. What finally brought me back was wind — a tremendous wind storm that was making it difficult to photograph out in the open.

My first idea about this location and the wind was that I would photograph the fallen leaves. But as I entered the grove I did not see the shot I was looking for, so I kept walking. I finally came to what looked like the end of the path at the base of a tree-covered hill. Still not seeing a photograph, I turned around and started back. It was only then that I saw the glow of the backlit canopy of leaves and found this composition.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.