Milkmaids Plants, Redwood Forest

Milkmaids Plants, Redwood Forest

Milkmaids Plants, Redwood Forest. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 21. 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Blooming milkmaids (Dentaria cardimine californica) plants on the forest floor beneath the redwoods at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

Another bunch of milkmaid flowers along a hillside trail at Muir Woods National Monument. These flowers were growing in small grotto-like hollow in the hillside, and the plants in the background are the ubiquitous redwood sorrel (or Oregon oxalis) which look just like clover plants.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: Dentaria cardimine californica, milkmaids, flowers, plants, blossoms, blooms, bud, plant, foliage, leaf, fern, petal, four, stem, forest, grove, redwood, muir woods, national, monument, park, golden gate, national, recreation, area, marin county, spring, travel, scenic, nature, stock, california, usa, sorrel, oregon, oxalis

What are YOU shooting this weekend?

Just saw a twitter (ahem, a tweet..) from Jim Goldstein asking what folks are shooting on this spring weekend. My immediate plan is to get out and photograph some of the “impossibly green” California grassland and some spring wildflowers this weekend – but also to prepare for an upcoming visit to Death Valley.

What are you shooting this weekend and beyond?

Yosemite Conditions: Updates from Michael Frye’s Blog

If you shoot in Yosemite Valley (or other parts of the Sierra) you know how critical timing can be to finding and photographing particular subjects. If you are not familiar with the natural cycles of Yosemite Valley – or even if you are and you just want up to the moment reports – you should follow Michael Frye’s Blog. He is a well-known Yosemite photographer and author of the most-often-recommended book on photographing there, and in his blog he shares lots of tips and conditions reports.

In today’s post shares the encouraging news that seasonal precipitation in the Valley as of this date is more or less normal – this after a couple below normal years – and he forecasts that we may see a fairly normal spring. This might include a dogwood bloom late in April and peak waterfall flows later on in May.

Milkmaids Flowers, Redwood Forest

Milkmaids Flowers, Redwood Forest

Milkmaids Flowers, Redwood Forest. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Flowers of the milkmaid plant bloom on the forest floor beneath the redwoods, Muir Woods National Monument, California.

In a very dark section of the trail above the creek bottom at Muir Woods I found many, many flowers last weekend, including quite a few milkmaid flowers. These are a bit tricky to photograph – especially when a breeze is blowing! As the flowers wave in the moving air, in very dark conditions on the forest floor it is hard to avoid blowing out the brightest part of the flowers.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: Dentaria cardimine californica, milkmaids, flowers, plants, blossoms, blooms, bud, plant, foliage, leaf, fern, petal, four, stem, forest, grove, redwood, muir woods, national, monument, park, golden gate, national, recreation, area, marin county, spring, travel, scenic, nature, stock, california, usa

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