Tag Archives: tall

Autumn Aspen Forest

Autumn Aspen Forest
“Autumn Aspen Forest” — Tall aspen trees with white trunks and autumn leaves, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Returning to the same locations has its pluses and minuses. I suppose that one negative could be the danger that the subject becomes overly familiar — there is an argument that it would be a better use of one’s time to head off to new places. But there are a lot more positives in my experience, including becoming more intimately familiar with a place you thought you knew. I find new subjects on every return visit to the Eastern Sierra, despite having photographed there for decades.

This photograph (along with a few others from the same location) is a case in point. I had passed this spot for years, barely stopping to give it a look, and to the best of my knowledge never photographing it. On this visit I spotted a lovely little creek nearby that I had overlooked, and once I started paying attention to its surroundings I became aware of these beautiful trees.


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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Shoreline Trees, Loch Lochy

Shoreline Trees, Loch Lochy
“Shoreline Trees, Loch Lochy” Tall shoreline trees at Loch Lochy, Scotland.

To this Californian, familiar with rugged Sierra Nevada landscapes and the dry and golden terrain of Western summer, Scotland was a surprising contrast. With the exception of the high, open terrain, much of the country we visited was lush and green and downright bucolic. The closest American analog that comes to mind for me is some of the coastal sections of Washington state or even some areas of southern Alaska.

The Great Glen Way follows a historic system connecting long lakes (or “lochs’) with sections of the Caledonian Canal. This provides a water route between Inverness and Fort William. In this photograph we see Loch Lochy, the first of the three lochs along our northward walk. (The other two are the much smaller Loch Oich and the gigantic Loch Ness.)


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

Ponderosa Pines, Mono Basin

Ponderosa Pines, Mono Basin
“Ponderosa Pines, Mono Basin” — A group of ponderosa pines on slopes leading toward Mono Lake in distant haze.

Mono Lake is a remarkable place. Lying in a relatively high, desert basin, it covers a huge area. It is so big that it is just about impossible to get a solid impression of its vast size. While you can drive past its west side and access a few spots along the north and south shores, much of it is essentially inaccessible, at least without a lot of very difficult travel. Because its level has fluctuated over time, much of the surrounding area has been submerged in the past, and the evidence of this is everywhere.

The lake itself is set in an even larger basin surrounded by mountains — the Sierra to the west and various desert ranges to the north, east, and south. I made this photograph near the base of one of those, the Mono Craters. Here an extensive ponderosa pine forest spills down from the heights and spreads across the shallower slopes of the basin, eventually fading out within sight of the lake. These trees are some of the furthest vanguards of that forest. Beyond you see the final descent the lake, the lake itself, and in the far distance the faint outlines of distant desert mountains.


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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Orvieto House

This Orvieto house caught my attention during one of our walks around this lovely Italian hill town last summer. The town is on a high tableland surrounded by green hills and valleys. It is bounded by steep inclines, so steep that most visitors take a funicular from the railroad station. Because of the town’s geography, a walk of any distance involves some up and down. Here the road two splits around this house, with one route rising and the other descending.

Orvieto is a day trip from Rome, though we arrived from the opposite direction and stayed for a couple of nights. This meant that we got to enjoy diminished crowds in the evening and morning, and we saw few people on this walk away from the town center toward a spot with a view of the surrounding countryside.


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 | PostEmail

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.