Tag Archives: sage

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspen Grove, North Bishop Creek

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Aspen Grove, North Bishop Creek - An aspen grove along North Bishop Creek in late afternoon light.
An aspen grove along North Bishop Creek in late afternoon light.

Aspen Grove, North Bishop Creek. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 3, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An aspen grove along North Bishop Creek in late afternoon light.

While I like huge, expansive groves of aspens, I also like small, isolated groups, especially when set against the background of what I think of as sage brush country. This group of trees is actually part of a long, thin grove that stretches along a small dirt side road up in the Bishop Creek drainage. The grove and the road are on my “must visit” list for my annual aspen-chasing trips to the eastern Sierra, so by now I’ve learned a lot about the “personality” of this particular spot. Like a number of other spots to which I return each year, you might not notice anything spectacular about this grove – but by means of repeated visits I have learned where to look for certain little subjects: a creek that flows past boulders beneath colorful trees, a particular thick grove of very thin-truck trees, groves of trees that seem barely taller than I am.

I made this photograph in what might seem like unlikely lighting conditions. It was late afternoon, and the trees were back-lit. The sun was close to dropping behind the very tall ridge that lies above and beyond the border of the photograph, so the light was angling across the several background ridges running down into the valley, and lighting their upper edges. And, of course, the leaves glow when the light come through them from behind.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: The Southwest, Photographs: Utah

Sandstone Canyon Walls and Brush

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Sandstone Canyon Walls and Brush - Brush including some autumn foliage stands against a bright red sandstone cliff, Capitol Reef National Park
Brush including some autumn foliage stands against a bright red sandstone cliff, Capitol Reef National Park

Sandstone Canyon Walls and Brush. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Forest, Utah. October 7, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Brush including some autumn foliage stands against a bright red sandstone cliff, Capitol Reef National Park

This area was yet another surprise – though perhaps only because I’m a California guy still very much in the early stages of discovering the landscape of Utah. We had driven a long route down a good part of the length of Capitol Reef National Park, climbed over the higher portion of the north-south ridge, and were heading back to our lodgings some distance away. As we drove across this new (to us!) landscape we descended into a long, narrow canyon that had some of the most beautiful red rock walls I had yet seen.

Such canyons provide a wealth of photographic opportunities and require some slightly different thinking about timing and about light. In so many situations, we look for the “good light” at the edges of the day, in the very early morning and then again in the evening. However, in these canyons that is not the only good time to search of the light. At times that are later in the morning and earlier in the afternoon, the higher sun strikes the upper walls of such canyons and reflects beautiful light down into the canyon bottoms, like that may be colored by the rocks from which it reflects. In this spot it was not very bright, but the light was beautiful! Because we were “on our way” from one place to another we almost didn’t stop, if you can believe that!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspens and Sage

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Aspens and Sage - Aspens grow against sage covered hills near Conway Summit in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California
Aspens grow against sage covered hills near Conway Summit in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California

Aspens and Sage. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 16, 2011. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Aspens grow against sage covered hills near Conway Summit in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California.

If you want colorful aspen photographs, there are several things that may help. First, you need to be where the aspens are when they turn colors! (Obvious, huh?) In the eastern Sierra Nevada, this means roughly the first two weeks of October in a typical year, though you can often find some color a week or so either side of that period – but be aware that every aspen season is different, so there are no guarantees. And where are they? They can be found all up and down the east side of the Sierra. At their peak, you can find them by simply driving along highway 395 along the eastern slope of the range and looking west. For somewhat more specific information, take a look at this post of mine. Second, you’ll need to look around a bit for great trees. Photographs of aspen color can often make it seem like there is astonishing color everywhere – but the reality is often a bit more complicated. Trees will often be in various stages of transition, and the timing varies according to such things as elevation and local soil moisture. On top of that, not just any aspen trees will do – so you can count on doing a bit of searching to find that perfect tree or grove or colorful slope. Third, it helps a lot to consider the light. Often grove of trees that may look fairly drab when front lit can turn into an amazingly colorful wonder when the light comes toward you from behind the trees.

That is precisely what is happening in this photograph, taken at one of the well-known aspen color spots near Conway Summit just north of Lee Vining. On the right few days each fall, there are huge swaths of wonderful aspen color on the eastern slopes of the Sierra here. I often shoot here in the late afternoon, just before the sun drops behind the crest. This may mean that I’m shooting almost directly into the sun, but it also means that the leaves are brilliantly lit by light that comes from behind and passes through the leaves. This photograph captures a type of grove that always intrigues me, namely one that sits apart from the iconic alpine scenery and instead is in rangeland and sage brush country.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Fall Color, Parker Bench and Parker Canyon

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Fall Color, Parker Bench and Parker Canyon - Fall color from aspens, brush, and lowland trees on Parker Bench below Parker Canyon, eastern Sierra Nevada
Fall color from aspens, brush, and lowland trees on Parker Bench below Parker Canyon, eastern Sierra Nevada

Fall Color, Parker Bench and Parker Canyon. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 16, 2011. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fall color from aspens, brush, and lowland trees on Parker Bench below Parker Canyon, eastern Sierra Nevada.

Parker Bench is an area above the northern portion of the June Lakes Loop, lying below Parker Lake and the canyon topping out at Parker Pass. The area is visible from highway 395, though driving up closer reveals a lot more details. The canyon itself appears to be very rugged, and I’m not even certain that a trail climbs it to the pass. I do know that the main route over the pass does not descend the canyon, instead turning south and climbing higher after it crosses the pass to exit Yosemite National Park. I’ve hiked to the pass quite a few times, and explored the country on the Yosemite side of the pass extensively.

This can be a good area to view almost the full transition of aspen color as it moves gradually downward from the highest elevations and out into Owens Valley and similar sage brush country areas. In this photograph extensive groves of aspens in full seasonal color are visible on the slopes to the right of the creek draining the canyon, and in a location that is not far from Parker Lake. When this photograph was made in mid-October of 2011, the color had worked its way down below the forest and out into the relatively low areas along the creeks descending from the higher peaks. Right in front of the camera there are bright colors from brush and a few aspens. Also note the unusually heavy snow up near the pass. October 2011 was an unusual month in that it started with a series of three relatively strong winter-type storms sweeping across the Sierra, closing a number of passes and dropping a foot or more of snow in places.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.