Tag Archives: trees

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Sierra Pines

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Sierra Pines
“Sierra Pines” — Dense forest of small, high elevation pine trees in the Sierra Nevada.

These lodgepole pines could be anywhere in a wide range of places in the Sierra Nevada — it is a very common tree found at higher elevations. Its form ranges from tall and upright, through slightly bent (like these trees at the edge of a high forest) to twisted and warped trees growing in rocky annd exposed locations. In the Sierra, lodgepoles are your friends, and you see them everywhere. You have undoubtedly walked among them and camped beneath them.

I photographed this scene in a high valley just outside Yosemite National Park, near the eastern entrance at Tioga Pass. I was up there during autumn to photograph aspens when I got sidetracked by some new snow above this area. Intimate photographs of these trees are often difficult in bright light since the contrasts can be harsh. But shadow light is softer and more forgiving, muting highlights and filling the shadows.

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

Autumn Aspen Forest

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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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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Aspens and Conifers, Autumn

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Aspens and Conifers, Autumn
“Aspens and Conifers, Autumn” — A small stand of conifers surrounded by scrub aspen in autumn colors, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

In our search for the biggest, most spectacular aspen trees and the biggest and most expansive groves, we sometimes overlook these smaller “scrub aspen” trees. At least I do. But often they are just as colorful as the bigger trees, and they can be quite fascinating when draped across the right kinds of terrain. Their color is every bit as vibrant as that of the bigger trees, and sometimes they are the earliest to turn fall colors. I have even photographed them in September, the month before the main October peak of color.

The trees in this photograph might not be all that impressive up close. They are, after all, quite small — probably no taller than you are. But from a distance they form a more unified subject, a sort of blanket of color lying across this gentle landscape and surrounding a small group of conifers in early evening light.

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 | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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

Aspens, Last Light

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Aspens, Last Light
A few final beams of light illuminate Eastern Sierra autumn aspen trees.

The light in this location is unusual for the Sierra — for geographic reasons that I’ll explain below. This forest of autumn aspen trees is on the east slope of the range, at what I think of as a middle elevation. Here the high desert sage country meets aspens and a few conifers, then transitions as the terrain rises until the forest is mostly conifers. The shallow angle and steady rise let us view one of the bigger aspen stands in the Sierra.

About that special geography… In many places the eastern front of the Sierra is quite steep, and some of the most precipitous mountain faces in the range are along this side. But in this location the rise is more steady and gentle and it begins at a higher elevation. Consequently, late in the day when I made this photograph the light streaming between peaks to the west comes in at about the same angle as the slope — and long shadows and beams of late-day sunlight spread across 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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

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.