Tag Archives: season

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

Autumn Reflections

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Autumn Reflections
“Autumn Reflections” — Autumn colors reflected on the surface of an Eastern Sierra Nevada pond.

There are several things I like about this little scene, even though it is perhaps not the most shocking and dynamic photograph you have ever seen. For one, I like the range of autumn colors it contains. Yes, there are intense aspens, but there are also the subtle colors of the smaller plants along the shoreline of the pond. The reflection also pleases me — it becomes a sort of geometric abstraction of the detailed forms in the upper half of the image.

This is not a particularly wild or inaccessible location. In fact, the pond is at an intake for a hydropower system, and it is frequented by anglers, who fortunately were not in my photograph! But the fact is that autumn color is nearly everywhere in the Eastern Sierra, and the trees can be just as colorful in place like this as anywhere else.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Trees and Smoke

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Trees and Smoke
“Trees and Smoke” — Smoke from a managed fire drifts among Yosemite Valley autumn trees.

I have told the story of this series of photographs before, but here is a reminder in case you missed it. I was in Yosemite for a day of autumn color photography, but when I arrived I found the Valley full of smoke from a managed fire, set to burn off accumulated undergrowth. The Park Service does this regularly these days in autumn. It isn’t pleasant for visitors, but it makes for a healthy forest that is less likely to be destroyed by wildfires in the future. But it does pose some challenges for photographers!

Fortunately, with the right subjects and light it is possible to make photographs in smoky conditions. This isn’t the first time I’ve photographed in smoke, and I have shot actual wildfires in the past. I decided that here the drifting smoke was actually moody, almost like fog except with bright sunlight streaming down from above. Here I centered a tree with autumn leaves inside and arch of thicker trunks.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Wetlands, Winter Sky

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“Wetlands, Winter Sky” — Pre-dawn light colors the sky and clouds above Central Valley wetlands on a winter morning.

Happy holidays on this Christmas morning! This is an older photograph, made on a winter morning a few years ago. I had arrived at this location well before sunrise to photograph migratory birds with a group of fellow photographers. Soon light started to come to the sky, and high, thin clouds started to pick up color in the brilliant early sky. The clouds and colors were reflected in a nearby wetlands pond as birds flew overhead.

I mentioned that I was there to photograph migratory birds, but sometimes I must admit that the birds may be, in part, an excuse to photograph the winter landscape. I certainly do photograph the birds out here — a lot — but I often photograph them in the landscape rather than as individuals. In fact, we’ve coined a term for these photographs of the landscapes of the birds: “birdscapes.”

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 | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

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

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.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

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

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