Tag Archives: sierra

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Eastern Escarpment

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Eastern Escarpment
A section of the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada.

Eastern Escarpment. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A section of the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada.

This is another in a short series of photographs I made of a section of the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada this fall. I had spent several day photographing aspen color — with a side trip up to the White Mountains to visit the bristlecone pine forest — and as I started home I noticed somewhat unusual conditions for midday that seemed like they might just work for photography. Specifically, there were high, thin clouds muting the harsh sun just a bit. So I wandered off the main route a bit and poked around looking for interesting views pack up toward the peaks.

This scene encompasses a range from the lowest hills right above the valley all the way to the peaks at the summit of the range. This particular cross section is a bit unusual, as it really includes hills and mountains from bottom to top — desert hills in the foreground and the alpine zone far above.

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

Valley to Summit

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Valley to Summit
Basin Mountain, as seen from the base of the Sierra Nevada.

Valley to Summit. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Basin Mountain, as seen from the base of the Sierra Nevada.

This is a vertical-format view of one of my favorite eastern Sierra mountains, Basin Mountain. It isn’t the tallest in the range or even on this section of the crest, and others have more storied reputations. But I’ve spent quite a bit of time in places where I could see it — both directly beneath its eastern face and passing by on the way to other locations. Although it isn’t very clear from this angle, that eastern face features a striking “basin” that opens toward Owens Valley. I’ve long been intrigued by an obvious trail ascending into that basin, though I’ve never gotten around to taking it.

I made the photograph from the base of the Sierra along the western edge of what we might broadly consider to be part of Owens Valley. (Technically, the exact spot has a different name, but close enough!) The view illustrates some typical features of the “East Side” mountains. They rise from desert-like terrain in many places, and even when it isn’t actually desert it is dry. The foothills rise through what I refer to as “sagebrush country,” often on material deposited by flowing water or old glaciers, and eventually meet the rugged base of the rocky Sierra itself. From there the terrain becomes much more alpine and often much steeper as it rises toward the highest peaks.

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, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Autumn Aspens, Rocky Ledge

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Autumn Aspens, Rocky Ledge
A line of aspen trees, with backlit peak color, on a rocky ledge, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Autumn Aspens, Rocky Ledge. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A line of aspen trees, with backlit peak color, on a rocky ledge, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

These trees defied one of my working assumptions about Eastern Sierra Nevada autumn aspen color, namely that the high-elevation clusters of smaller trees growing in challenging surroundings usually turn and then drop their leaves earlier in the season. I know that’s often true, because I have seen it for myself in many locations. But this year seemed different, and in places where I have seen bare trees before the middle of October there were quite colorful groves this time. This line of trees was up very high in very rocky terrain, yet it managed to produce enough color to glow like flame in the morning back-light.

This wasn’t the only location where I saw this surprising change. I’m pretty familiar with groves along the June Lakes Loop, including some that are well above the loop and only accessible in some relatively difficult ways. I have photographs of those trees from previous years, and they peaked and then dropped leaves early. Yet this year, as I drove that loop on the last day of my visit, at the end of the third week of October, the same trees were producing vibrant gold colors. All of this reminds me that while the trees tend to follow the same general schedule from year to year, each season has its own personality.

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, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Hillside Aspen Grove

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Hillside Aspen Grove
Tall aspens in peak fall color growing on an Eastern Sierra hillside.

Hillside Aspen Grove. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Tall aspens in peak fall color growing on an Eastern Sierra hillside.

You may wonder if this stream of autumn color photographs will ever end. While this year’s aspen photographs will likely conclude soon, here in Central and Northern California there will still be other kinds of “fall” color into the new year! So don’t be surprised if this is a continuing thread right on into 2023. By then the trees will not be aspens — we will see maples, cottonwoods, and various other hardwoods from the urban environment, the nearby hills, and from California’s Central Valley.

This photograph features a grove I visit every year, thinking there’s not a lot left to do with the subject. But then, inevitably, I find a way to photograph it and it ends up as one of my subjects again the following year. This year I have a somewhat different explanation, as my third-week-of-October visit was later than usual for me. It turned out that conditions this year favored later aspen color in the Eastern Sierra. Consequently, this grove had some of the most striking color that I have seen in this spot, even though I was a good week later than usual.

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.