Category Archives: Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Photographs: Flight, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest, Photographs: Wildlife

Trumpeter Swans, Trees

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Trumpeter Swans, Trees - Two trumpeter swans fly through trees along the edge of the Skagit River, Washington
Two trumpeter swans fly through trees along the edge of the Skagit River, Washington

Trumpeter Swans, Trees. Skagit Valley, Washington. December 3, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two trumpeter swans fly thorugh trees along the edge of the Skagit River, Washington

I was in the Seattle area over the past few day, taking care of some business, but I unexpectedly found myself with a free day on Monday – planned activities were cancelled, flight didn’t leave until Monday night. Fortunately, there is no shortage of things to see and do in that part of the Pacific Northwest, at least if you don’t mind clouds and rain – and I don’t. So I headed up to Skagit Valley, which I had visited once previously, when I spent a day photographing migratory birds there last winter.

I figured I might again see trumpeter swans and snow geese, and I was not disappointed. There were fewer geese this year – though one spectacular flock – but more trumpeter swans. Since this trip had not been primarily about photography, I did not bring the gear I would usually use for photographing these birds, and the longest lens I had was a 70-200mm zoom. This meant that I could not photograph the birds from any appreciable distance, though I was on the lookout for large flocks that might let me do this. (That didn’t quite happen.) So I had to adopt a different approach. As I watched the swans, I figured out that hardly more than a few minutes would go by before one or two or perhaps a few more would make their long, shallow take-off and then fly at a low elevation to another likely spot. So I moved into some likely spots and shot from inside the car so as to make myself a bit less visible. Eventually a few of the birds flew almost directly over the car, or at least passed near by. These two were flying along a row of trees on the bank of the Skagit River.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Purple and Yellow Lilies

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Purple and Yellow Lilies - Purple and yellow lilies in the Commemorative Garden at the Gene and Irene Wockner Hospice Center
Purple and yellow lilies in the Commemorative Garden at the Gene and Irene Wockner Hospice Center

Purple and Yellow Lilies. Kirkland, Washington. August 1, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Purple and yellow lilies in the Commemorative Garden at the Gene and Irene Wockner Hospice Center.

Yes, more lilies… These were also photographed in the Commemorative Garden at the Wockner Hospice in Kirkland, Washington. While I probably spent more time on some nearby daylilies that were bright red and yellow, these darker purple variants were nearby in the same shaded area of the garden.

For those who like equipment talk, a bit of information. (I’m not immune, but this subject can become a distraction from photography) I made this series of photographs using a 135mm f/2 prime lens. This lens lets me place the sharper portions of the flowers against a soft, blurry background, and even lets me blur portions of the main subject – the slightly long focal length and the large aperture make for very narrow depth of field.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Emerging Daylily Flower

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Emerging Daylily Flower - An emerging daylily flower in the Commemorative Garden at the Gene and Irene Wockner Hospice Center
An emerging daylily flower in the Commemorative Garden at the Gene and Irene Wockner Hospice Center

Emerging Daylily Flower. Kirkland, Washington. August 1, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An emerging daylily flower in the Commemorative Garden at the Gene and Irene Wockner Hospice Center.

I’m posting today with little additional commentary. This photograph was made at the beginning of August during a quiet hour-long walk in the garden of the Wockner Hospice in Kirkland, Washington, where there was a large bed of these flowers in a shady area.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Daylily Blossoms

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Daylily Blossoms - Daylily blossoms in the Commemorative Garden at the Gene and Irene Wockner Hospice Center
Daylily blossoms in the Commemorative Garden at the Gene and Irene Wockner Hospice Center

Daylily Blossoms. Wockner Hospice Gardens, Kirkland, Washington. August 1, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Daylily blossoms in the Commemorative Garden at the Gene and Irene Wockner Hospice Center.

This is another photograph of the bed of daylily blooms in the Commemorative Garden at the Wockner Hospice in Kirkland, Washington. I was thinking this morning about why it is that these particular flowers ended up being my main subject during the brief “photo walk” I took through the garden, and I realized that one main reason was that they were in the shade! When I photographed in the late afternoon, much of the garden was in full or partial sun – not great conditions for photographing the forms of flowers. But this area of the garden was shaded behind tall trees, leaving me with much softer light to work with. In addition, both the colors and shapes of these flowers are fascinating, especially here where a group of them ended up all slanting across the frame in much the same way. The flowers are also quite varied. As I understand it, the name “daylily” refers to the short life of the flowers in their prime, as in “they only last a day.” Consequently, while there are many flowers they are at various different stages of development: the small and tightly formed buds, the longer shapes just before they open, the fully opened and most colorful forms, and then various stages of “decay” as they turn beautiful, darker colors and shrivel up.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.