Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Spring Ferns, Muir Woods

May 16, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Black and white photograph of spring ferns growing in the redwood forest at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

I barely caught this bunch of ferns alongside Redwood Creek as the morning sun was approaching them. As I set up and started to shoot the ferns were in shade but picking up some diffused light starting to come through the forest canopy. I probably got no more than a minute of shooting time before a beam of sun poked through and illuminated the right part of the scene… far too brightly!

I considered sharing this as a color image – it is full of rich green from the deep forest light on the spring leaves in this moist place. However, the more I worked with it the more I felt that the textures and patterns of the fern leaves and the gradations of light and shadow would be overpowered by the intense green of the color rendition.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 149mm
ISO 400, f/16, .6 second

keywords: spring, fern, frond, plant, leaf, branch, nature, foliage, flora, muir, woods, national, monument, golden, gate, recreation, area, park, forest, grove, redwood, sequoia, sempervirens, coastal, black and white, monochrome, light, shadow, overlap, scenic, travel, marin, county, california, usa, north america, stock

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Redwood Grove Panorama

May 15, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

Panoramic photograph of light transitioning to deep shade in a redwood grove near Hillside Trail at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

I just had the morning free on this day so I was up early to head to Muir Woods National Monument in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area north of San Francisco. I got there so early that I snagged the first parking space closest to the park center. (Those who know the park and the crowds it draws, understand the significance of that achievement!)

I walked up the usual trail into the main grove with several photo ideas in mind. One of them was to do a bit more work on my idea of creating very wide and high quality panoramas that include the redwood groves, and I was thinking about trying at least one from an elevated location where I could shoot straight on at the sections of the tree trunks some yard above the ground. With this in mind I eventually headed up the “Hillside Trail” just beyond the old Bohemian Grove location, where I found several places that would give me the perspective I was looking for.

This photograph was made not far from the start of the trail, and I was perhaps 20-30 feet higher than the bottom of Redwood Creek Canyon. One thing I like about this scene is the transition from a bit of open, sunlit forest at the very far left, through the grove of redwood trees and the massive vertical forms of their trunks, and on to the softer and darker area of deciduous trees on the right side.

The photograph is a stitch of six 21mp photographs shot in vertical format. The resulting image has a tremendous amount of detail (which is obviously not visible in small web jpg) and should be printable with good results at very large sizes – at least ten feet wide.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 118mm
ISO 200, f/16, .5 second
stitched from six portrait-orientation 21mp images

keywords: redwood, sequoia, sempervirens, coast, grove, tree, trunk, creek, forest, maple, leaf, branch, silhouette, light, shade, shadow, deep, panorama, stitched, muir, woods, national, monument, golden gate, recreation, area, morning, nature, flora, foliage, plants, landscape, marin, county, california, usa, north america, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Erosion Patterns, Morning Light – Zabriskie Point

May 14, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A sea of pastel erosion patterns in diffused early morning light below Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California.

Off to the left of the “classic views” from Zabriskie point is a series of hills and gullies extending back to the south-southeast which catches the early morning cross-light as the sun comes up. Depending upon the lighting conditions the color of these hills can range from white-gray, through golden, to reddish, and almost black, with bluish tones in some cases. The patterns run every which way as the gullies draining these hills ultimately head to Gower Wash and then into Death Valley. In the foreground of this scene is a solitary ridge that has the remnant of an older layer of darker stratified material.

On the morning when I made this photograph the sun had just come up over the hills to the east, but clouds in that direction were partially blocking the light which quickly changed between full dawn sun and light filtered by the clouds. At the moment I made this exposure a bit of the more direct light hit the foreground strata fragment and a few spots further away, but softer cloud-filtered light fell on many parts of the scene.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 105mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/100 second

keywords: death, valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, spring, nature, zabriskie, point, morning, light, erosion, pattern, hill, geology, valley, crack, gully, rock, layer, strata, diagonal, landscape, scenic, travel, desert, southern, pastel, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Edge of Gower Wash, Zabriskie Point

May 13, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The folded hill and gully patterns along the edge of Gower Wash at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California.

Having shot at Zabriskie Point often enough to feel less urgency about shooting the famous and iconic views… yet again… (unless conditions are truly exceptional), I’ve been looking for other elements in the scene. Last year I became interested in using very long lenses to isolate interesting small sections of the scene. I have to say that it is a lot more challenging and satisfying for me to look at the amazing number of potential subjects here that are not the justifiably famous images of Manley Beacon, the Panamints, and the panoramic view of Gower Wash. (I don’t want to get too full of myself here and make it sound like I’m “too good” to shoot the familiar views – in fact I still do point my camera in those directions when the light and other conditions are just right.)

This small section of cracked earth, small hills, and gullies sits right on the edge of the flatter and gravel-filled bottom of Gower Wash right below Zabriskie Point. I made this photograph early in the morning when the light of the sun was partially blocked by clouds to the east and I see a very subtle glow on the sides of these features that face east.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 190mm
ISO 200, f/11, 1/40 second

keywords: death, valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, spring, nature, zabriskie, point, morning, gower, wash, earth, dirt, gravel, sand, gully, hill, eroded, crack, landscape, scenic, travel, light, geology, stock

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Monthly Archives: May 2010

Spring Ferns, Muir Woods

Redwood Grove Panorama

Erosion Patterns, Morning Light – Zabriskie Point

Edge of Gower Wash, Zabriskie Point

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.