Tag Archives: trees

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Waterfall and Pond, Japanese Garden

Image 2 Comments
Waterfall And Pond, Japanese Garden
“Waterfall And Pond, Japanese Garden” — Waterfall, pond, and trees in a quiet Japanese Garden, Portland, Oregon.

Some years back we used to get to visit Portland, Oregon somewhat regularly when we had family in the area. (Our youngest son lived there for a few years.) Portland is a rather unique place, especially in the central core. I won’t try to explain except to point out that there is a rather unique fusion of cultures in the area. We like the place, though it has been a few years now since our last visit.

Portland seems to me to be a city off gardens. Two wonderful Asian gardens are in the area — the Chinese Garden in an urban setting close to the downtown area, and the Japanese Garden set in more rustic surroundings in the hills. We spent a day in the latter garden, and this photograph of a lush scene of water and vegetation is one of several photographs I made there during this visit.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Sunset Through the Copse

Image 2 Comments
Sunset Through the Copse
Winter sun setting beyond a thicket of Central Valley wetland trees.

Sunset Through the Copse. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter sun setting beyond a thicket of Central Valley wetland trees.

My last real photographic expedition (aside from the ongoing neighborhood walks) was to more or less this place. That was more than three months ago now, back on March 13. I recall the trip well. In California we were in that phase where we knew what was coming, though no one had actually issued the state-at-home orders yet. I made a one-day out-and-back trip to one of my favorite winter locations, packing so that I would not have to stop at all on the road. This place was nearly deserted — most of the birds had even departed!

This photograph comes from a few years earlier, before virtually any of us could even conceive of how our lives have now changed. It was a wonderful winter day, and as it came to and end and the sun dropped behind the distant ridge to the west of the Central Valley, I photographed through this dense stand of 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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

Aspen Layers

Image Leave a comment
Aspen Layers
Layers of autumn color in shaded aspen groves

Aspen Layers. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Layers of autumn color in shaded aspen groves.

Overall, the current Eastern Sierra Nevada fall color season has seemed less stunning than in the best years. The start was promising, with good high elevation color arriving on the expected schedule. But later on a number of areas that frequently offer up amazing color did not quite deliver. However, a few points are in order. Even in a less-than-astonishing year there is great color to be found if you just look around a bit. (And some of it is not in the usual iconic locations.) And a lot depends on the specific moment you arrive — the day and even the time of day.

This grove may serve as an example. We first spotted it while driving past in the early morning, when the sun had not yet arrived on this spot. We continued up the road a bit, thinking we’d turn around and photograph it a bit later. It turned out that “a bit later” produced some pretty uninspiring light on this subject… so we returned the next day and timed our visit more carefully. Photographing fall color in shaded light can produce a very different effect than photographing in full sun, with more color subtle and varied color with more shadow detail. This grove offered an additional compositional detail — the heights of both the small and large trees produced a sort of arch shape.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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 In Canyon Light

Image Leave a comment
Autumn Aspens In Canyon Light
Colorful autumn aspen trees in an Eastern Sierra Nevada canyon

Autumn Aspens In Canyon Light. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Colorful autumn aspen trees in an Eastern Sierra Nevada canyon.

The quality of the light, as we all know, is incredibly important in photography — where it comes from relative to the subject, its color, whether it is harsh or filtered, how it differs in various areas of the frame, and much more. In some cases great light can make a not-so-exciting subject “work” as a photograph, while poor light can make it difficult or impossible to make an effective photograph of a great subject. In landscape photography we don’t generally have much ability to control the light. But we can learn to anticipate what it may do, and we can try to time our photographs for when the light may be at its best.

The window of opportunity for this light on this subject is very small. The idea here was to photograph this grove during the very short period when shadows, created as the sun dropped behind high ridges in the upper canyon, moved across the frame. At this point the backlight would intensify the colors of the trees, yet it would be slightly muted. Additionally, the haze in the far upper canyon would glow in the backlight. When we arrived at this spot the light was far from ideal, and I think that the people who accompanied me may have wondered what I saw. But a few moments later we all experienced the brief transition of wonderful light that I came here to see.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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