Tag Archives: veins

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Jack Frost Plant

Image Leave a comment
Jack Frost Plant
Jack Frost (brunnera) plants growing under a forest canopy.

Jack Frost Plant. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Jack Frost (brunnera) plants growing under a forest canopy.

In one section of the garden we occasionally visit to make photographs, there is a small grove of (mostly) dogwood trees which are in an area shaded by larger trees. These dogwoods were done blooming when we visited, but they provided wonderful, deep shade to smaller plants growing beneath.

All sorts of interesting stuff grows in this shade, but on this visit I was mostly attracted to leaves. (Most of the flowers were already spent.) This clump of Jack Frost seemed downright lush, with not a damaged leaf in sight.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Brown Aspen Leaves

Leave a comment

Brown Aspen Leaves
Brown Aspen Leaves

Brown Aspen Leaves. Sierra Nevada, California. October 10, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Closeup of a group of brown autumn aspen leaves against a background of yellow leaves.

While I like the brilliantly colored yellow, orange, red, lime green, and golden fall aspen leaves, this color isn’t the only thing that appeals to me about these trees. I enjoy photographing their trunks, too – sometimes when most or all of the leaves are gone. I’m also interested in photographing the brown and sometimes black leaves that seem to appear after a freeze. I found this grove along a slope not far from Mammoth Lakes, and I spent some time wandering up a hillside among the trees in the middle of the day. Although this is not typically the best time for photographing the intense aspen colors, by working under a canopy of leaves and by looking for a few backlit leaves I managed to find a few shots that work. This group of brown leaves ended up being almost colorful because light filtering through the overhead trees and leaves created backlight that was a bit softer and diffused that the “normal” midday light.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Fall Aspen Leaves, Sierra Nevada

2 Comments

Fall Aspen Leaves, Sierra Nevada
Fall Aspen Leaves, Sierra Nevada

Fall Aspen Leaves, Sierra Nevada. Bishop Creek, California. October 2, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Aspen leaves at their peak of red, orange, and gold color in the North Lake area of the Sierra Nevada, California.

More wild aspen colors… On this morning I went to the infamous North Lake – infamous for the ridiculous crowds of photographers who flock to the lower end of the lake to make the same photograph of the surface of the lake, the colorful trees at the far end, a band of aspens ascending a hillside, and the taller peaks beyond. A year or two I had my first encounter with the throng when I arrived at this lake, not knowing about this business, and found perhaps 20 photographers in a row near the outlet stream. This year I knew what was coming when I arrived at the lake, but I was still somewhat shocked to see that the horde was now up to perhaps 60 or more photographers packed tripod to tripod along the banks of the lake at the outlet, and now also extending along the far side of the lake as well.

Fortunately, I had no intention of shooting that scene. Instead, my plan was to park my car, pack up my gear, and walk slowly along the road past the lake looking for intimate photographs of small details of the autumn scene, especially where some smaller aspen trees grow right up agains a short, rocky cliff. So I spent perhaps an hour wandering along here, mostly by myself but with an occasional friendly encounter with other horde-avoiding photographers, until I reached a small parking area further up the lake by the other iconic subject at North Lake, the “tree tunnel.” I also did not plan to photograph this, but I did figure that I could find some very colorful leaves near here in the forest along the side of the road, and that is where I photographed this very colorful grouping of aspen leaves.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email