Tag Archives: road

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Storm Clouds, Trees in Silhouette

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Storm Clouds, Trees in Silhouette
East slope Sierra Nevada trees silhouetted against clouds and rain of a passing autumn storm.

Storm Clouds, Trees in Silhouette. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

East slope Sierra Nevada trees silhouetted against clouds and rain of a passing autumn storm.

This is the wonderful sort of weather that wasn’t in the forecast and which catches you by surprise. It had been a sunny day with just a few clouds floating around when this cell appeared to the east of the Sierra crest. I hadn’t really been paying attention to it until I stopped here and looked toward basin and range country to see streamers of virga (rain that doesn’t reach the ground) falling from the building clouds.

It was late in the day when I made this photograph. The sun was at my back as I looked east, and long shadows from Sierra crest peaks were already falling across my position and these nearby trees. I was in this spot mostly to photograph aspen trees, but this panorama of desert mountain terrain beyond the east slope of the Sierra was arresting.

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: Europe, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Souvenir Vendor, Lisbon

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Souvenir Vendor, Lisbon
Vendor in front of his shop along a street below the Sao Jorge Castle, Lisbon.

Souvenir Vendor, Lisbon. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Vendor in front of his shop along a street below the Sao Jorge Castle, Lisbon.

We walked a lot during our 2023 visit to Lisbon, Portugal. Hey, walking is what we do when we travel! It may limit the distance you can cover a bit, but we think that we see a lot more of the places we go to when we walk. Lisbon is an interesting walking city. It is easy to walk many places, though there are two things to think about. First, it is a big city, and some of the more far-flung attractions are far away. (There is decent transit however.) Second, there are a lot of hills! Some are steep enough that even going down them can be a test.

On this day our goal was the St. George Castle, on the top of one of the hills overlooking the city. From our lodgings we walked down to central Lisbon and then started up the climb on the other side. Soon, as we reached the base of the hill we were to ascend, we encountered lots of ways to avoid the climb — if you were willing to pay for a lift up the hill. We pondered for maybe five seconds and then decided to walk. Walking is harder, for sure, and it is slower. But the latter is actually a benefit. When walking we see lots of things that we would miss on a tram or a tug-tuk ride. I photographed this little souvenir shop along the walk toward the castle.

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: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature

Aspen Forest, Mono Basin

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Aspen Forest Mono Basin
A thick forest of small autumn aspen trees near a ridge on the edge of Mono Basin.

Aspen Forest, Mono Basin. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A thick forest of small autumn aspen trees near a ridge on the edge of Mono Basin.

I first encountered this aspen forest perhaps a decade ago while poking around in places other than the usual aspen locations. After a few visits I started to figure out the rhythms of the place and when the colors peak — which is not typically at quite the same time as in much of the Sierra. I’ve wanted to photograph the carpet of aspen trees here, but conditions were never quite right… until this morning of peak color with clouds softening the light and sky.

Many of these trees are small compared to the idealized tall, straight aspens that many have seen. But there are few places in California where as may grow so densely in uninterrupted groves. This must be a very old grove, as there are bare, dead snags mixed in among the living trees. Also unusual: the trees ascend to virtually the summit of this ridge.

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 | Twitter | 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.

Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature

Dense Autumn Aspens

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Dense Autumn Aspens
A grove of dense and colorful autumn aspen trees, to the east of the Sierra Nevada.

Dense Autumn Aspens. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A grove of dense and colorful autumn aspen trees, to the east of the Sierra Nevada.

This dense grove of autumn aspen trees, perhaps just past the peak of their seasonal color, provided an opportunity that isn’t easy to find in these groves — a slightly elevated position looking down into and across an aspen forest that stretched away up a nearby hillside. I was actually here to photograph something else, a distant landscape. But once I finished that task I moved on and spent some time with these trees.

Unlike many of the trees in my aspen photographs, these are not technically in the Sierra Nevada. Instead they are in a smaller range located east of the Sierra. The range may be smaller, but it is still high, with peaks over 11,000′. Being in the rain shadow of the Sierra, these mountains are rather dry, but there’s enough moisture to sustain very large stands of aspen trees.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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