I took me a while to figure out this location in Utah, along the edge of Boulder Mountain. Years ago we drove through here in the spring, and I was astonished by the huge aspen groves. I resolved to return in the autumn, and a few years later we did —timing our visit to synchronize with peak of California’s Eastern Sierra aspen color. It turns out that the color change earlier in Utah, and by the time we arrived the groves were past their peak.
Continue reading Boulder Mountain Aspens, Evening
This photograph evokes memories of a whole range of sensory experiences in the Sierra. Some are specific to the time and place where the photograph was made, but others are more generalized. There’s something compelling about backcountry rain and the experience of its passage. We think of the Sierra as the “range of light,” but a storm changes everything — the light, the colors, the air, the smells, and even the sound.
This time it had rained since the previous afternoon, hard enough to keep us in our tents and away from photography. Shortly after midday it slowed to a light drizzle, and we were able to escape the tents and head out with camera gear. Nearby was an outcropping where the rocks where still shiny with rain, and in the distance post-rain fog was drifting among the peaks.
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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Patterns In Water and Stone. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.
Granite shapes, colors, and textures reflected in still water, Sierra Nevada.
Back in September I made my first summer visit of the year to the Yosemite high country. It isn’t ‘like me to miss almost an entire season up there, but we were traveling elsewhere this summer. To say the least, I was overdue to a visit to “my” mountains! I spent a few days camped just below the crest outside of Yosemite, and photographed both inside the park and along the eastern escarpment of the range.
This photograph comes from inside the park, at a place that has a bit of history in our family. When our (now grown) “kids” were very young, it was my tradition to introduce them to backpacking when they were three-years-old, and the trips always started at the trailhead next to this pond. The hike to our overnight camp was all of 1.2 miles, but to a small child I’m sure it counted as a major expedition. So, having an afternoon free during last month’s visit, I decided to go back and day-hike this little route. I made the photograph as I returned from the walk.
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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A Dark Corner. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.
Boulders, fallen leaves, and a tree trunk in shadow along the base of a Yosemite Valley cliff.
I made this photograph in Yosemite Valley during the difficult midday hours — difficult because the light is not as intrinsically beautiful at this time of day. Out in the open it the can be harsh, and inside the forest’s shade too many light beams break through the canopy. But I don’t want to write off so many hours of the day, so I often continue to look for compositions, seeing out shading places, haze, and subjects with some kind of graphic quality.
In the early afternoon I took a lazy hike along the base of one of the great granite cliffs in the Valley. I wanted to visit a spot where I know water would meet the valley after cascading down granite cliffs. I hoped to go right to the base of the cascade… but there was too much water! So I wandered in a different direction and noticed this old, dark tree trunk in the shadow of giant boulder.
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.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.