Tag Archives: trunks

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.

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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

Layered Autumn Aspen Groves

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Layered Autumn Aspen Groves
“Layered Autumn Aspen Groves” — Groves of Sierra Nevada aspen trees at various stages of autum color transformation.

As I look back on this year’s autumn aspen photography one theme that emerges (which I wasn’t aware of when I was in the field) is groves that encompass a wide range of foliage color. At the right moments and in the right places you can sometimes see simultaneously all of the states of the autumn leaf transition, from green trees through yellow, orange, and red… and even some bare trees. (I suspect that the tall, leafless trees in this scene are old, dead snags.)

This photograph provides another opportunity to mention my preferred light for this subject. I tend to stay away from the bright midday sun, with the exception of a few photographs in which it backlights the trees. I much prefer somewhat soft light from slightly overcast skies or the shadows of morning and evening. I made this photograph under broken clouds, which retained a bit of the directional quality of the late-day light.

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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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Trunks and Needles

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Trunks and Needles
“Trunks and Needles” — Trunks and needles at the base of a small copse of Sierra Nevada backcountry trees.

It was early evening, and I had been working subjects along the shoreline of a subalpine Sierra Nevada lake. There’s lots to see in such places — the shoreline itself, meadows ringing the lake, boulders scattered here and there. As the light over the lake became less interesting my attention turned to the nearby lodgepole pine forest.

While the lake was fairly well-lit, with nothing to block the remaining light, the forest was dark and mysterious. As I poked around the forest’s edge I found several examples of twisting trees growing very closely together and catching the colorful reflected light.

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: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Forest and Pond

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Forest and Pond
“Forest and Pond” — Trees reflected in the still water of a subalpine pond, Yosemite.

I have had my eye on this little scene for a while. The trees stand along the far bank of a small subalpine pond in the Yosemite high country. During the daytime it is a tough photograph, with the sunshine becoming almost unbearably bright. My ideal might be to photograph it before sunrise or after sunset. But this time I found myself here a bit earlier in the day — so I went ahead and made some photographs.

A challenge with scenes like this is that the dynamic contrast between the highlights on the trees and the background shadows can be huge if there is direct sunlight — too big to capture in a photograph. That’s partly why the soft light helps —before sunrise, after sunset, or when something else shades the scene. I timed this so that the trees were entirely shaded, yet nearby subjects in brighter light cast some directional light into the scene.

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

2 responses to “Forest and Pond”

  1. Oscar Ramirez Avatar
    Oscar Ramirez

    I know nothing about photography but enjoy your art and techniques. Your dedication to the art is commendable!

    Reply
    1. G Dan Mitchell Avatar
      G Dan Mitchell

      Thanks, Oscar!

      Reply

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)