Category Archives: Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Redwoods and Rhododendrons

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Redwoods and Rhododendrons
A lush understory of rhodendron trees beneath coast redwoods, Del Norte Redwoods State Park.

Redwoods and Rhododendrons. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A lush understory of rhodendron trees beneath coast redwoods, Del Norte Redwoods State Park.

This year we mostly missed the peak rhododendron bloom. It can be a little tricky to time this just right, especially when we only had about five days to visit the area. This year we targeted a part of the calendar during which we had good luck a couple of years ago… but this time the bloom was not as widespread. My suspicion is that this was due to some combination of the natural variations in timing plus the fact that this year California and the west are in a very serious drought. And while the redwood forest looks (and is) a lot wetter than other parts of the state, it is drier there than in most typical years.

I’ve thought a lot about the best ways (a distinctly plural concept!) to portray these giant forests. Because of the tree’s remarkable height, the first instinct is to somehow capture that full skyward stretch. There are ways to do this, but typically this requires getting some distance from the trees and perhaps finding an opening into a grove or simply photographing a whole section of the forest from outside its boundaries. You could photograph straight up into the canopy, too. A few years ago it occurred to me that one way to suggest the immense height of the trees is to not show it, but to intentionally leave out the upper part of the trees and let the gigantic trunks imply the invisible height. Here I also wanted to include and emphasize the lush undergrowth with some very healthy-looking rhododendron plants in the foreground.

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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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Redwood Forest Foliage

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Redwood Forest Foliage
A lighter-color plant stands out among forest foliage beneath Northern California coast redwoods.

Redwood Forest Foliage. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A lighter-color plant stands out among forest foliage beneath Northern California coast redwoods.

While the giant trees are usually the primary factor drawing me to the redwood forests of the California coast, I inevitably find myself distracted by the more intimate world of the forest floor. This is even more true on days when the light is soft and luminous and the shapes and tonalities of this foliage become especially beautiful.

As anyone who follows my photography knows, I’m not always the best source of plant identification information, to say the least. I may know a plant — where it is found, how it grows, what it looks like in different seasons, and more — but quite often I am unsure of what it is called. I did not think about the identify of this beautiful arrangement of leaves as I made the photograph, but in looking it up a few weeks later I’m guessing that it might be salmon berry. Input from more knowledgable people is welcomed! I grew above a deeply shadowed bed of redwood sorrel and other lush plants.

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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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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Fern Vortex

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Fern Vortex
A spiraling arrangement of fern fronds in Northern California redwood forest.

Fern Vortex. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A spiraling arrangement of fern fronds in Northern California redwood forest.

We did not get back to the Redwood National and State Parks this past year — the time we would have gone coincided with that period when we were all locking down in response to the pandemic. In retrospect, it was perhaps starting to look like camping might have worked, but things were still in too much of a state of flux at that point. So this photograph comes from the previous season, back in June of 2019.

Late in the day we decided to head to a spot where I knew from experience the tit might be possible to find rhododendron blossoms growing among the redwood trees, a place where the normally dark forest tends to pick up a bit more light from the west in the late afternoon. We wandered a trail and eventually descended into an area full of ferns. Here I turned my attention away from the huge trees and looked downwards to find compositions among the ferns.

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.

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

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Redwood Forest Trail, Rhododendron Flowers

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Redwood Forest Trail, Rhododendron Flowers
Rhododendron flowers liine a trail through Northern California redwood forest.

Redwood Forest Trail, Rhododendron Flowers. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Rhododendron flowers liine a trail through Northern California redwood forest.

Late on this June day we went back to this trail that we had visited earlier. We knew that the rhododendrons were in bloom here, that it featured a dark and thick forest, and that there could be glowing light from the west at this time of day. We entered the forest as the light was diminishing — which happens here well before sunset — and hiked a short distance to scope out the possibilities.

As the light began to diminish we turned back toward the trailhead, which was not far away, and we walked back through lush growth and past a section of forest thick with those seasonal blooms. I stopped here to photograph, noticing the graceful branch arching above the trail and the flowers beyond — but also because it seemed like such a typical scene along the trails of these forests, with soft-light, plenty of quiet, and growth everywhere.

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.