Tag Archives: trees

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

Autumn Aspens Leaves and Trunks

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Autumn Aspens Leaves and Trunks
“Autumn Aspens Leaves and Trunks” — Yellow leaves and white bark on autumn aspen trees, Sierra Nevada.

I have noted before that many Sierra Nevada aspen trees do not quite correspond to our classic expectations — rather than tall, straight trees we often see shorter, broken and bent aspens. I think this may be a consequence of things like very rocky terrain, lower precipitation, and steep slopes. But the classic trees with straight trunks and tall canopies do exist.

My decision to photograph in this spot was, to some extent, a practical one. Late in the day very strong winds developed. (And they would continue on into the next two days, as well.) Unless you like motion blur — and it has its place — wind and aspen leaf photography don’t mix well. Not only are the leaves (and branches and trunks!) in constant motion, but the wind strips leaves from the trees So I headed to this relatively sheltered spot with bigger trees, found some compositions, and waited for breaks in the gale to make a few photographs.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

River of Aspen Color #2

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River of Aspen Color #2
“River of Aspen Color #2” — A band of colorful autumn aspen trees follows a gully down a Sierra Nevada slope.

If you follow the fall color transition in the Eastern Sierra Nevada you have almost certainly seen photographs of this grove. (Hint: there other groves like it that are less well known, and I’ll do my part to help it stay that way!) The trees descend from a high ridge along a gully, then spread out in a larger grove at the bottom at the edge of a subalpine lake. The form of the grove is fascinating, as is its color transition between the upper orange and red trees and the yellow trees below.

We often photograph this and similar groves using the vertical “portrait” orientation for obvious reasons. In this case I thought that going with the wider “landscape” format might emphasize the “spreading” effect at the lower end of this grove. You might also notice that I intentionally photographed in soft light before the morning sun arrived — this light is less likely to oversaturate the colors to the point of blowing them out, and it also spreads a bit more light onto shadow details.

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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

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

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

All Of The Colors

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All Of The Colors
“All Of The Colors” — An Eastern Sierra Nevada aspen forest showing every autumn color from green through yellow and orange to red.

One challenge when photographing Sierra Nevada aspen color, at least if you want large scale views of groves, is finding a suitable vantage point. Some groves are beautiful… but a long distance from any easy access. Others would make lovely photographs, but there is no clear, unobstructed view of them. (In those cases, going inside the grove works, but with a different outcome.) The trees in this photograph solve both problems — they are easy to access, and there is a clear view from a nearby elevated position.

Notice how the bands of trees seem to take on different colors as the fall transition progresses. The foreground group and one in the distance are still mostly green. At the left you can see the end of a bright yellow band of trees. The group in the middle has the less common orange/red coloration. Groves of aspens can essentially be a single genetic specimen interconnected via their root systems and each grove can essentially be a single organism.

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

Lean To The Left

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Lean To The Left
“Lean To The Left” — A conjunction of aspen groves, one with left-leaning small trees and red foliage and the other with large trees with yellow leaves.

My camera position may have a little something to do with the “lean” of the tree trunks in the middle of the frame, but they really were leaning significantly to the left. While our idealized aspen trees are tall and straight, the reality in the Sierra Nevada is often different. There are many groves of very small trees, and many others end up twisted and stunted after being pushed and broken by winter snows and winds.

This grove is huge, stretching from its wide, flat base far up mountain slopes toward a ridge high above. Here the color division — reddish versus yellow — marks the point at which the trees begin to ascend that slope. It is one of the sharpest divisions I know of between trees of different colors.

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.