Tag Archives: yellow

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

Aspen Layers

Image October 13, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Layers of colorful autumn aspen trees ascend the slopes of the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

We spent time in the Eastern Sierra Nevada this past week, mostly searching for autumn color up and down the range. It seemed like a good year for fall color. If 2023 has a “fall color personality” it might be that the colors seemed to take off all at once across a broader range of locations and elevations than is typical. While things may have peaked this past week, at least by some measures, there should still be fine color for another week or so, especially at lower elevations and in more sheltered areas with larger trees.

I made this photograph in soft evening light, generally my favorite type for this subject — along with soft morning light of course. While intense sunlight can produce extremely saturated colors, especially when the trees are back-lit, soft light tends to reveal details, especially in the shadows. Here layers of trees march up the slopes of the Eastern Sierra toward the crest.

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.

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: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Clearing Sunset Storm, Mono Basin

Image September 26, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Sometimes when conditions don’t look promising where I am I make some guesses, rely on hunches, consider past experience, and head off in a different direction at the last minute. On this evening I was up near the crest of the Eastern Sierra, hoping for a break in the clouds and some interesting light. But it did not look like that was going to happen, so I jumped in my vehicle and headed down to the East Side and looked for long views that might include the landscape and what I hoped would be interesting end-of-day light.

Arriving there, not a lot was happening. The crest was socked in by clouds that obscured the peaks and blocked the light from the west. Where I was it was fairly gray. But I know that it isn’t unusual for some clearing to occur near sunset — and if it happens colorful light can suffuse the landscape. I had to wait until nearly the last minute, but the light finally arrived. Gaps appeared in the clouds and beams of colorful light began to stretch across the scene. In this photograph the clouds are above desert mountains and the Mono Lake Basin.

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.

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

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Portugal, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Porto Street, Night

Image September 20, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Porto is a fascinating and complex city and there is a lot to see there. But I think that we found the Ribeira District to be the most interesting part. This is the area of narrow, winding streets on the steep hillside above the Duoro River. It is, of course, popular with tourists, especially right above the shoreline of the river. But a short walk from the most busy areas, especially at the right hour of the day, and the crowds can diminish and the ambiance of the district takes over.

We walk a lot when we visit cities, and on this day we made a big loop that took us up this narrow, cobblestone street. We passed through at what seems like an ideal time in terms of light — it was dark enough that the artificial light illuminated and colored the scene, but there was still a bit of ambient light to reveal details outside the light and produce blue-tinted shadows.

Leave a comment or question using the form. (Click the title to see the full article and to comment if you are viewing it on the home page.)

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: Italy, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Alcove and Wall

Image August 21, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

An alcove, a weathered wall, a door, and a sidewalk — Florence, Italy.

This photograph comes from Florence, Italy. Anyone who has been there, especially in the busy tourist season, knows that the place is incredibly busy and crowded, at least during the hours when visitors are out and about. We escaped the most intense crowds on this morning by heading “the other way,” into a neighborhood that lacked the usual tourist attractions.

Like almost any photographer visiting this part of the world, I cannot resist the colors and the old, weathered surfaces and shapes of the buildings. Back home, old buildings just took… old. But here the Latino of time and wear somehow seems more attractive.