Tag Archives: orange

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

Aspen Leaves and Morning Frost

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Aspen Leaves and Morning Frost
“Aspen Leaves and Morning Frost” — Fallen aspen leaves rimmed with frost, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

I ended up doing something a bit unusual with this subject. Instead of selecting one version from the several images I captured, I have now shared three of the same subject. Usually I arrive at a favorite when this happens, but in this case I’m actually torn about which version that is! ( You can find the other two among my recent posts.) Two are, like this one, in landscape orientation and the other uses portrait format.

The tyical fall color photograph focuses on peak color leaves, with their red, orange, and yellow colors. This photo goes in a bit of a different direction. While a few of the fallen leaves exhibit classic fall colors, overall this photograph features much “cooler” light and a different color palette that includes frosty blue and other dark leaf colors.

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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

River of Aspen Color #2

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River of Aspen Color #2
“River of Aspen Color #2” — A band of colorful autumn aspen trees follows a gully down a Sierra Nevada slope.

If you follow the fall color transition in the Eastern Sierra Nevada you have almost certainly seen photographs of this grove. (Hint: there other groves like it that are less well known, and I’ll do my part to help it stay that way!) The trees descend from a high ridge along a gully, then spread out in a larger grove at the bottom at the edge of a subalpine lake. The form of the grove is fascinating, as is its color transition between the upper orange and red trees and the yellow trees below.

We often photograph this and similar groves using the vertical “portrait” orientation for obvious reasons. In this case I thought that going with the wider “landscape” format might emphasize the “spreading” effect at the lower end of this grove. You might also notice that I intentionally photographed in soft light before the morning sun arrived — this light is less likely to oversaturate the colors to the point of blowing them out, and it also spreads a bit more light onto shadow details.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

All Of The Colors

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All Of The Colors
“All Of The Colors” — An Eastern Sierra Nevada aspen forest showing every autumn color from green through yellow and orange to red.

One challenge when photographing Sierra Nevada aspen color, at least if you want large scale views of groves, is finding a suitable vantage point. Some groves are beautiful… but a long distance from any easy access. Others would make lovely photographs, but there is no clear, unobstructed view of them. (In those cases, going inside the grove works, but with a different outcome.) The trees in this photograph solve both problems — they are easy to access, and there is a clear view from a nearby elevated position.

Notice how the bands of trees seem to take on different colors as the fall transition progresses. The foreground group and one in the distance are still mostly green. At the left you can see the end of a bright yellow band of trees. The group in the middle has the less common orange/red coloration. Groves of aspens can essentially be a single genetic specimen interconnected via their root systems and each grove can essentially be a single organism.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

Layered Autumn Aspen Groves

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Layered Autumn Aspen Groves
“Layered Autumn Aspen Groves” — Groves of Sierra Nevada aspen trees at various stages of autum color transformation.

As I look back on this year’s autumn aspen photography one theme that emerges (which I wasn’t aware of when I was in the field) is groves that encompass a wide range of foliage color. At the right moments and in the right places you can sometimes see simultaneously all of the states of the autumn leaf transition, from green trees through yellow, orange, and red… and even some bare trees. (I suspect that the tall, leafless trees in this scene are old, dead snags.)

This photograph provides another opportunity to mention my preferred light for this subject. I tend to stay away from the bright midday sun, with the exception of a few photographs in which it backlights the trees. I much prefer somewhat soft light from slightly overcast skies or the shadows of morning and evening. I made this photograph under broken clouds, which retained a bit of the directional quality of the late-day light.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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.