Tag Archives: sagebrush

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

East Side Canyon, Autumn

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East Side Canyon, Autumn
“East Side Canyon, Autumn” — An east-side Sierra canyon with autumn cottonwood and aspen trees below snow-dusted slopes.

Well, I thought that I had shared the last of this fall’s Sierra Nevada aspen photographs. But then I took another look at my raw files and decided that a few more were worth working up. This is one of a set of four in that group. It features one of the steep canyons that rise along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra. There is a row of cottonwood trees in the foreground and larger groves of autumn aspens far up the canyon.

You can’t tell from the photograph, but it was almost impossible to make pictures here doe to high winds. I had parked along a rough gravel road and was alternately making photographs and cowering behind my vehicle as gusts swept through. Between that wind storm and the snow that came in a few days later it was a tricky year for aspen photography in the Sierra.

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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

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

Fall Color, Eastside Canyon

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Fall Color, Eastside Canyon
“Fall Color, Eastside Canyon” — Trees with fall foliage in sagebrush country at the base of an Eastern Sierra Nevada canyon.

Without naming this canyon, I’ll just say that it is one that you have likely visited if you spend much time on the east side of the Sierra Nevada. From the point where you first see the upper canyon, it offers one of the more spectacular views spanning the range from cottonwood country through aspen country to some very high, alpine ridges.

Ascending the eastern slopes of the range, which rise relatively steeply, I am always aware of transitions. In a relatively short distance you can pass though everything from high desert to alpine zones. In this canyon in autumn, the color at the lower elevations comes from cottonwood trees, but by the time you get to the trailheads aspens begin to join the show. I’ve often photographed the whole of the canyon, but this time I decided to limit the view to just the foreground trees and some lower canyon slopes.

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: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Ponderosa Pines, Mono Basin

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Ponderosa Pines, Mono Basin
“Ponderosa Pines, Mono Basin” — A group of ponderosa pines on slopes leading toward Mono Lake in distant haze.

Mono Lake is a remarkable place. Lying in a relatively high, desert basin, it covers a huge area. It is so big that it is just about impossible to get a solid impression of its vast size. While you can drive past its west side and access a few spots along the north and south shores, much of it is essentially inaccessible, at least without a lot of very difficult travel. Because its level has fluctuated over time, much of the surrounding area has been submerged in the past, and the evidence of this is everywhere.

The lake itself is set in an even larger basin surrounded by mountains — the Sierra to the west and various desert ranges to the north, east, and south. I made this photograph near the base of one of those, the Mono Craters. Here an extensive ponderosa pine forest spills down from the heights and spreads across the shallower slopes of the basin, eventually fading out within sight of the lake. These trees are some of the furthest vanguards of that forest. Beyond you see the final descent the lake, the lake itself, and in the far distance the faint outlines of distant desert mountains.

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: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

High Desert Aspens in Transition

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High Desert Aspens in Transition
A grove of high desert aspens in transition to autumn color.

High Desert Aspens in Transition. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A grove of high desert aspens in transition to autumn color.

Although my first inclination has always been to think of aspens as being trees of the high, subalpine zone, in fact they grow right down into the high desert, including along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. As such the trees are often found juxtaposed with what seem more like desert landscapes than the mountain scenes we might expect. I’m fascinated by these places, and I’ve long looked around for more examples.

This little winding grove sits near the bottom of a shallow valley that likely holds a stream during the spring melt. Here most of the trees are the typical small and sometimes stunted type, but the skeletons of a few taller trees are mixed into these little groves.

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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