Tag Archives: sierra

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Post-Storm Clouds

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Post-Storm Clouds
“Post-Storm Clouds” — A great variety of clouds and fog as a summer storm clears over the Eastern Sierra.

No, I am still not quite finished with this spectacular evening in the Sierra backcountry. In early August our group spent a week base-camped in the wilderness, heading out each day (starting before sunrise and concluding after dark) to photograph our spectacular surroundings. We experienced challenging weather during the first 24 hours, but on the evening of the second day the storm dissipated, and just at sunset things opened up and alpenglow briefly lit up the sky.

There was no guarantee of this happening — which is often the case when chasing such subjects. Not long before this things were pretty gray, and fog drifted just overhead, obscuring trees and peaks, al though we could see that the sky was lightening up a bit. Then a bit of pink showed up on the higher clouds, gradually working its way down though the various layers left by the departing storm. I had been photographing the fog, but I quickly turned my attention to this developing scene! As the sky became more and more colorful, a bank of lighter fog enveloped the top of a ridge on the other side of the valley beyond the lake. A few minutes after this spectacular finale… the show was over.

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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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Morning Shoreline

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Morning Shoreline
Early morning light on the shoreline of a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake.

Morning Shoreline. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Early morning light on the shoreline of a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake.

There is a lot to see along the edges of virtually any backcountry Sierra Nevada lake. As I go though my mental inventory from many past trips I think of mornings and evenings looking straight into low sunlight, campsites (from back in the days when we still thought it was OK to camp near the water), hours spent sitting quietly among rocks and plants, slow circumnavigations of lakes, the marshy areas near inlets and outlets, the mountains rising above them, and more. We spent a week at this lake, which gave me a chance to see it in almost all of its moods.

This particular location has some significance to me. In a previous time, it was still acceptable to camp on the top of the rocky ledge at the left, and it was our “go to” spot to set up tents and bivy sacks back then. These days, the authorities have (wisely) placed that spot off limits for camping — too close to the water, too likely that colorful tents draw attention, and too little area. But we can still visit, and on this trip I used the spot to get an elevated perspective on the lake. I made this photograph in the morning, as the first direct light of the day was working its way across the landscape. Although the nearby face was still almost entirely in shadow, the further trees were catching that morning sun.

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

The Ridges Beyond

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The Ridges Beyond
“The Ridges Beyond” — A series of Eastern Sierra ridges leads to the east beyond a backcountry lake in morning light.

Because variations on this particular scene comprise a significant portion of the photographs I made during our August Sierra backcountry sojourn I have been trying to release them somewhat gradually. However, even though I shared a quite different version of the view from this camera position just a few days ago, here’s another. This one is, obviously, a near-panorama rendition that takes in the far edge of “our” little lake, its outlet, surrounding ridges, the more distant scene, and some beautiful morning clouds. The whole scene is softened by a bit of backlit morning haze.

Sometimes I’m immediately certain of what a photograph will look like as I make the exposure. But other times I’m less sure and I reserve judgment, perhaps making multiple exposures that will work for any of several possible directions I might take with the subject. That was the case with this scene — multiple “takes” were required not only for that reason but also to ensure that I’d be able to work with some rather extreme light contrasts between the shadowed foreground and the very bright clouds and sky.

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.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

California Fall Color, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Sierra Nevada Fall Color

2022 Fall Color

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It is that time of year again — my favorite season! This past week on walks here in the San Francisco Bay Are I have noticed the signs of the seasonal change. The sun is setting an hour earlier, our first (early!) Pacific weather front is arriving this weekend, some trees are starting to change colors, and the sound of old leaves skittering along the ground in the breeze is everywhere.

Autumn Aspens, Lake, Wildfire Smoke
Wildfire smoke drifts over the Sierra Nevada crest above a lake surrounded by autumn aspens. @ Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Fall color is more prevalent here in California than many realize. The earliest hints come to the high country of the Sierra Nevada in late August, when something in the air changes, corn lily plants turn yellow, the bilberry starts to pick up a bit of red, and you might even find an odd yellow aspen leaf here and there. Things pick up as we progress through September, and by the very end of the month it is often possible to start finding a few examples of good aspen color up high. Then the color works its way down to lower country, the valleys, and the coast over the following months. I’ve sometimes photographed “fall color” in the Central Valley as late as… January!

The main aspen color season in the Sierra peaks during the first half of October. It tends to start at higher elevations as early as the very end of September, becoming quite pronounced early in October, and working down to lower elevations into the third week of the month. If you can only go once, targeting your visit for about one week into the month is a good plan.

No one knows for sure how the season will evolve. Some things stay relatively constant from year to year, while others vary quite a bit based on temperature fluctuations, the amount of precipitation that fell during the year, whether or not early storms sweep through, and more.

I share annual updates on my Sierra Nevada Fall Color page at this website. I just posted this years first message there today — it is mostly some early thinking about how the season may evolve, along with a record of what has happened in some previous seasons. The latter may be useful as you plan your autumn color search in California.

One more thing: I may have something new to write about regarding fall color in a few weeks. Stay tuned…

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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