Tag Archives: tall

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

Tall Aspens, Fall Color

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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.

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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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Overhanging Canyon Narrows

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Overhanging Canyon Narrows, Death Valley National Park
“Overhanging Canyon Narrows” — Tall cliffs overhang a section of winding canyon narrows, Death Valley.

I make (at least) one annual photography trip to Death Valley National Park, and I’ve been doing so for something like two decades. My favorite time to visit is in the winter. This year’s trip was during the final days of February — the calendar said winter but a heat wave made it feel more like summer, with temperatures up to ninety degrees. Many areas of the park were inaccessible due to washed out roads and to construction, so I visited a few familiar places and went to a couple of new ones.

This slot canyon is an old favorite, and I have hiked and photographed it several times in the past. The “slots” are great destination on days, like this one, when it is both windy and hot. Death Valley slot canyons are different than the better-known Utah-style slots. They often feature rather dark rock, and the slots are often shorter. In this canyon there are several sections of these narrow passages, but in between there are longer sections of open canyon.

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.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Old Tree at Dawn

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And old wetlands tree at dawn
“Old Tree at Dawn” — An old wetlands tree silhouetted against winter dawn sky and dissipating fog.

This may be the last in the string of photographs from my three days in the Central Valley landscape around New Year’s Day. But no promises — there could be more if I dig back into the raw file archives from that trip. Funny story: When I return from shoots like that I often fear that I didn’t come back with much interesting work. But then, after I start digging into the material, I inevitably find quite a bit of work that I like. I have some theories about why this happens, and at some point I’ll expand on them.

This was a really beautiful morning. Pre-dawn tule fog was not too thick – just present enough to soften the atmosphere. High clouds picked up the colors of the coming sunrise. This old tree sits on the edge of a wetlands pond, and I’ve grown to like it as I’ve photographed it over the years. This time I used a wide angle lens so that I could place it more clearly in the context of the larger landscape and skyscape.

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” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Central Park, Trees, Snow

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Photo of Central Park, Trees, Snow — Manhattan
“Central Park, Trees, Snow” — Tall trees silhouetted against a backdrop of Manhattan buildings on a snowy day in Central Park.

I seem to attract “interesting” weather when I visit New York City. Part of this may be my predilection for visiting in August when, as any New Yorker knows, the weather is atrocious. (There’s a reason that August is a traditional vacation month for residents of the city.) For years we also tended to visit over the holiday break, when the weather can be very cold, at least by California standards. I made this photograph during our recent December visit.

I have been told by people who live there that snow isn’t that common until after the New Year. But we had a morning of light snow just before Christmas. To be honest, it was a treat for us, and we went for a couple of long walks in Central Park to enjoy the wintry scene. The photograph looks through a grove of winter-dormant trees towards the tall buildings of Manhattan.

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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