Category Archives: Photographs: Nature

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

Rhododendron Blooms, Redwood Bark

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Rhododendron Blooms, Redwood Bark
“Rhododendron Blooms, Redwood Bark” — Spring rhododendron blooms against the bark of a coast redwood tree, Redwood National Park

We spent the better part of a week in far Northern California in early June, and a major goal was to spend time in the area of the Redwood National and State Parks. This late-spring period usually marks the peak of the rhododendron bloom, and it can also provide a weather bonus comprised of less rain and more fog. We got the “less rain” part (none at all!) but we missed out almost entirely on the “more fog” part. I seem to have a special knack for chasing away redwood fog, at least in this part of the state. So far I’ve seen a total of about five minutes of fog… while everyone else seems to encounter it regularly!

That rumored fog provides a photographic advantages. The fog can render the already monumental and cathedral-like redwood forests even more mysterious. It can simplify the complex and busy forest scenes by muting more distant elements. It eliminates the “pizza light” contrasts between deep shadows and spots of sunlight, allowing more hours of photography. And when the fog is clearing or thin, beautiful and muted light can create a magical effect. I’ve seen all of this — but just not in this region! On the plus side, the rhododendron bloom was spectacular, and there were beautiful flowers everywhere. (There is often debate about when to expect the bloom. I can report that one week into June it was still going strong and even increasing in many places.)

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

Dunes, Mountains, Sand Storm

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Dunes, Mountains, Sand Storm
A sand storm blows a cloud of dust into desert mountains at sunset

Dunes, Mountains, Sand Storm. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A sand storm blows a cloud of dust into desert mountains at sunset.

This early-April afternoon and evening produced remarkable conditions in Death Valley. I had seen the advance warnings of high winds and sand storms so I was already thinking of the potential conditions beforehand, but late in the day I noted that dust clouds were already visible far to the north. But the wind-driven sand and dust wasn’t the only interesting element — a weather front was also moving through, stacking up spectacular clouds, some of which were managing to drop some rain.

We did a big loop northward along the eastern slopes of the valley, climbing a ways into the Amargosa Range before coming back down to the valley, where the winds continued and dust and sand were blowing everywhere. We stopped in the thick of it, and I thought about a technique I often use in these conditions: photographing with a long lens from inside the vehicle. But that presented two problems: opening a window even a crack quickly let in piles of sand, and the subjects I was interested were in all directions. So I got out, cowering in the leeward side of the vehicle, and photographed as the sand blew, clouds to the west began to thin, and sunset light struck the mountains to my east.

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: Nature

Three Discarded Flowers

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Three Discarded Flowers
Three discarded spring flowers, photographed in a wheelbarrow

Three Discarded Flowers. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three discarded spring flowers, photographed in a wheelbarrow.

I am not the main flower photographer in our family — that would be my wife Patricia Emerson Mitchell, whose primary focus is on photographing very small things, usually flowers and plants, and frequently in abstract ways. (We have a standing joke here about “our” macro lens… that I never get to use….) But still, I give it a try from time to time, and I enjoy seeing what I can do with this subject.

I recently accompanied her to a nearby formal garden where she often photographs. (It didn’t discourage me to know the they have a small cafe there, too. ;-) We went early in the morning on a non-busy weekday, thus avoiding the crowds and making it a bit easier to do photography without getting in the way. The gardeners (lots of them!) were there, too. One contingent was heading roses and clipping spent flowers and vegetation… and I found that the piles of discarded flora photographically interesting. That’s where I found these three flowers on a bed of clipped leaves in a wheelbarrow. (I think that the gardeners wondered about my sanity when they saw me photographing their garden trash!)

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 and Amazon.

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

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Wildflowers, Hills, And Fence

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Wildflowers, Hills, And Fence
A fence runs across wildflower-covered hills in the Temblor Range

Wildflowers, Hills, And Fence. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A fence runs across wildflower-covered hills in the Temblor Range.

With this photograph I am getting very close to the end of this year’s spring landscapes — but you never can tell. Overall this was a very good spring, at least for those of us in California who look forward to the late winter green and the wildflower displays that follow. Our wet season is almost entirely in the winter — California has been described as a summer desert — and we pay a lot of attention to how each winter plays out. This is especially true in the wake of a recent five-year drought. This season started slowly, and early on we were concerned that we might have another dry year. But the faucet came on full force early in 2019, and it has continued raining until very recently.

This photograph is an example of what can happen when the weather gods cooperate and the rains come. This area of California hills looks dry and brown most of the year. But in exceptionally good wet years abundant displays of wildflowers appear and may literally carpet the hills and pastures. I made this photograph in the evening, as the last light (indirect though it may have been) was producing a softer effect in these hills along the edge of the San Andreas fault.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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