Tag Archives: trunks

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel

Forest and Fog at the Pena Palace

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Forest and Fog at the Pena Palace
“Forest and Fog at the Pena Palace” — Thick fog engulfs the forest surrounding the Pena Palace near Lisbon, Portugal.

The morning weather was not promising when we took the train from Lisbon, to visit the Pena Palace in the mountains above Sintra. By the time we arrived at the entrance to the palace grounds we we under cloudy skies and soon engulfed by low clouds and fog. I made this photograph as we walked through the forest near the palace.

At first I think we may have been a bit disappointed by this weather — and challenged to keep dry and warm! But as the day wore on my attitude changed. While a warm and sunny day might have felt pleasant, this challenging weather produced a lot more visual drama and mystery.

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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

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

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.

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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

Small Aspen, Trunks, and Rocks

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Small Aspen, Trunks, and Rocks
“Small Aspen, Trunks, and Rocks” — A small aspen tree grows along a rock face beneath taller trees.

As a fall color photograph, this is a bit subtler than some of the others I have recently shared. Instead of walls of brilliantly colorful aspen groves we have a single small tree along with a few other even “quieter” bits of autumn color. But the truth, of course, is that autumn in the Sierra is mostly not about those aspens, as spectacular as they are. The arrival of autumn with drying meadows, old leaves on the ground, and more is subtle but undeniable.

This little vignette is along a rock wall high in an Eastern Sierra canyon. The route is, for a distance, lined with rocks and with aspens that grow at their base and from cracks in the rock. I pass by here every autumn and inevitably stop to photograph — so these trees and rocks are “old friends” of mine at this point.

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.