Tag Archives: south

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Wildflowers, South Death Valley

Image 2 Comments
Wildflowers, South Death Valley
“Wildflowers, South Death Valley” — A flower-covered landscape with a hill and the lower panamint Range.

Is this a so-called “super bloom” year in Death Valley? The term seems subjective, and there does not seem to be a clear demarcation between a really great bloom (which this season is certainly providing) and a super bloom. From what we saw in late February, I think there’s a case for calling 2026 one of the exceptional super bloom years.

There were lots of wildflowers where I photographed this scene at the southern end of the valley. Extensive fields of desert gold stretched across gravel fans and up hillsides. Pinkish sand verbena covered lower, sandy areas. (It is subtle, but if you look closely you can see the pink-purple color between the foreground yellow flowers and the shadowed hill.) Colorful clumps of purple phacelia were everywhere.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (Click the title to see the full article and to comment if you are viewing it on the home page.)

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Tall Aspens, Fall Color

Image Leave a comment
Tall Aspens, Fall Color
“Tall Aspens, Fall Color” — A large grove of big aspen trees with autumn color, on an Eastern Sierra Nevada hillside.

This is a type of autumn aspen photograph that I think of as a “wall of color.” Here there are more of the tall and straight trees than we see in many places in the Sierra, and the entire grove is at or near its fall peak. It helps that I had a somewhat elevated vantage point to make the photograph, part of what lets me fill the frame with color.

To look at this photograph you might imagine a scene almost like New England fall colors. However, while such colors there can go on for miles and cover successive mountains (hills, really) and valleys, in the Sierra the color is more concentrated. Groves, many of which are small, can stand out brilliantly against the predominant background of dark conifer trees or rocks or sagebrush.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (Click the title to see the full article and to comment if you are viewing it on the home page.)

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

Sierra Stream, Aspen Color

Image 2 Comments
Sierra Stream, Aspen Color
“Sierra Stream, Aspen Color” — An Eastern Sierra Nevada stream lined with autumn aspen trees.

I photographed this scene on my recent trip to the Eastern Sierra Nevada to photograph autumn color. Though they are not the only source of fall color — look closely to see others in the photo — the aspen trees are the stars of the show. I arrived at just about the right moment, as there were lots of very colorful trees. But the trip was cut short when extremely strong winds arrived, bringing down many of the peak color leaves. I made this photograph after waiting patiently for a lull between the gusts!

Since this is my first 2025 fall color photo I will add a brief general update. (You can find more detailed information about Sierra fall color here.) While you can find aspen color, mostly on the eastern side of the range, from late September into the third week of October or so, the peak color tends to be during the first two weeks of the month. It generally works its way from high elevations to lower elevations and to some extent from north to south during this period. Although there is good color this year — better than average in my view — the weather is creating some challenges. The wind event I experience was one. Wind strips the most colorful leaves from the aspen trees, but the color ofter comes back a few days later as green trees transition. However, the forecast is for a somewhat unusual early-season winter-like storm this coming Monday through Wednesday, and the current prediction is for more than a foot of snow down to 7000′ or lower — which will likely close a number of the trans-Sierra passes.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (If you are reading this on the home page, click the article title to see the full article and the comment form.

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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

First Light — Tufa, Clouds, Mountains

Image Leave a comment
First Light — Tufa, Clouds, Mountains
“First Light — Tufa, Clouds, Mountains” — The first dawn light on Mono Lake tufa towers, with desert mountains and morning ing clouds in the distance.

The landscape of Mono Lake and Mono Basin seems reduced to essentials: rocks, mountains, water, sky, light. And all of this is in a place of uncommon quiet and immense space — it is difficult to truly comprehend the scale of the basin. These qualities seem especially strong if you come down from the peaks and intimate landscapes of the nearby Sierra Nevada.

I was out there early on this July morning — having literally “come down” from those peaks near the Sierra crest in predawn darkness. Rather than getting close to the famous tufa formations, my goal was to photograph the lake and its surroundings from a distance, using long lenses to bring together some of the close features and distant elements of the landscape.

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

Join the discussion — you are welcome to leave a comment or question. (Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)