Tag Archives: valley

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

Aspen Branches

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Aspen Branches
Winding branches of an aspen tree, Sierra Nevada.

Aspen Branches. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winding branches of an aspen tree, Sierra Nevada.

For some reason this tree sticks in my memory. I had been scouting and photographing in the Lake Tahoe area as part of the work on my fall color book. On my way back to the San Francisco Bay Area I decided to leave the Tahoe area and head south so that I could drive through Hope Valley and over Carson Pass. By the time I got here it was late and the light was fading. There was a solid wall of aspen leaves behind this exposed tree, but they were very early in the autumn transition and still mostly green. I did not seem like the typical “fall color” photograph, but I stopped and made a few exposures anyway.

Some time later I “found” this file in my archives and, unlike when I made the photograph, it somehow seemed obvious that it could be a black and white image. Sometimes I know (more or less) when I make the exposure that a photograph is going to end up in a monochromatic rendition. But I confess that I sometimes reserved judgment until I see the raw file later on… and that on some occasions a photograph that I initially conceived of as a color image only reveals its potential in black and white during the post processing phase.

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 Color, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspens and Conifers, Autumn

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Aspens and Conifers, Autumn
Aspen and conifer trees grow up the slopes of an Eastern Sierra Nevada valley.

Aspens and Conifers, Autumn. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Aspen and conifer trees grow up the slopes of an Eastern Sierra Nevada valley.

If you look closely you may find aspens in just about every state of autumn color transition — nearly bare trees, brightly colored yellow and orange trees, and a few that are early in their transition or even still entirely green. This is a reminder that when you visit the Eastern Sierra aspens in the fall, if the color isn’t what you were looking for in one spot there is a good chance that you can find color by moving north or south or heading to a different elevation. While you take that close look, also notice some taller trees (a bit tricky to find) that are entirely bare but surrounded by smaller, very healthy aspens. When aspens are disrupted by fire or other problems, new growth frequently springs up from their extensive root systems, sometimes in weeks, and before too many years those trees engulf the old snags.

The view here encompasses terrain that rises from sagebrush highlands in the Eastern Sierra toward conifer forests at higher elevations. Aspens often grow in this sage country, in places as essentially the only large trees. Here we’re right at the lower boundary of the conifers, beginning with the single large specimen in the center of the frame, with a larger grove halfway up the slope, and hints of much larger forested areas near the top margin.

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: Central California, Photographs: Fall, Photographs: Fall Color, Photographs: Nature

Autumn Wetland Trees

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Autumn Wetland Trees
Trees with autumn golden leaves against a foggy sky in California’s Central Valley.

Autumn Wetland Trees. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Trees with autumn golden leaves against a foggy sky in California’s Central Valley.

Yesterday I travelled down the Central California coast to photograph in what I think of as the upper Big Sur region, going as far as about Big Creek. I was originally thinking that I might have a new photograph from that endeavor to share today, but it did not quite happen. (Stay tuned though, I’m sure there will be something eventually.) So today’s photograph is a fall color subject that has been sitting on my computer for a while, awaiting its turn for sharing.

The photograph comes from a beautiful early December day, during the end of the “before times” when we could travel more freely. It was one of my first forays out into the Great Central Valley that autumn, largely to look for migratory bird arrivals but also to photograph the landscape. Light in this place is a tricky thing and can often be challenging. It can range from “blah” flat light through bright and harsh light, to fog so thick that you cannot see through it. There are ways to photograph in all of these, but they aren’t always easy. But every so often nature offers up some just plain beautiful light like I had this day. Diffused sunlight was striking the nearby trees with their autumn leaves, while the more distant sky was darkened and deepened by some fog and haze.

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

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Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

December Moon, Bird-Filled Sky

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Full Moon, Bird-Filled Sky
The evening sky above the Great Central Valley fills with migratory birds as the late-autumn moon rises.

December Moon, Bird-Filled Sky. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The evening sky above the Great Central Valley fills with migratory birds as the late-autumn moon rises.

When photographing wildlife, virtually any time of day can present special, even miraculous events — but if forced to pick my favorite time of the day out in bird photography country, it might well be evening. The choice would be difficult, for sure, but some of the most memorable sights and sounds I’ve experienced while photographing autumn and winter birds have occurred late in the day: the evening fly-out of flocks of geese, the rising moon, the return of cranes, and more.

I made this photograph very late on a December day, at time time we might describe as very late afternoon or perhaps early evening. (Yes, technically the moon was not quite full.) It had been foggy for much of the day, but the sky had cleared and was now uniformly blue. It was the time when things are mostly slowing down and evening’s quiet is coming. And then the sky filled with birds for a few moments…

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 | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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