Pink Tulip

Pink Tulip
A pink tulip photographed against a background of dark greenery.

Pink Tulip. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A pink tulip photographed against a background of dark greenery.

This is the fourth in the (slightly out of order) sequence of photographs of spring tulips that follows their transition from green buds to colorful blossoms. Here all traces of the earlier color changing process are gone, and the flower is at its peak of color.

We travelled to a local, Bay Area garden several times in April to photograph spring flowers, and on the most recent visit the tulips were the featured performers. At this location there are — or were, by the time you read this — extensive beds filled with tulips in almost every imaginable color and pattern, with even more of them placed around the grounds in pots.


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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Tulip Buds

Tulip Buds
Two tulip buds against a shaded background.

Tulip Buds. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Two tulip buds against a shaded background.

Although I seem to be presenting them slightly out of order, this is the next in a short series of photographs of tulips as they pass through phases from green bulbs to full blossoms. The previous post included two buds (not the two shown here) still in an almost entirely green state. Before that I jumped the gun a bit with another pair that is a bit more colorful than these.

The two buds in this photograph are just barely starting to show the color of the flower. The bud itself is shifting past the green color of leaves and stems and becoming a bit more yellow, while the red or pink color of the incipient flower is just beginning to appear along the edges of the vertical lines along the sides of the buds.


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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Toward the Light

Toward the Light
Brighter walls beyond canyon narrows, Death Valley National Park.

Toward the Light. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Brighter walls beyond canyon narrows, Death Valley National Park.

There is a seasonal cycle to my landscape photography, which should be no surprise since these cycles are visible in the landscape itself. This takes me back to certain subjects almost every year: migratory birds and access to desert and to snowy landscapes in winter, access to warmer places and new life in spring, the Sierra and other travel opportunities in summer, the colors of autumn. This year’s seasonal change is well underway, as I think I’m getting close to the end of this year’s new Death Valley photographs.

This is yet another one from a very fruitful visit to this canyon in the mountains of Death Valley. We drove there, hiked in, and then took our time hiking back down, pausing frequently to photograph the narrow sections in gentle afternoon light. In this photograph, as in a few others from this location, the dark and banded foreground rock in the shadows contrasts with the lighter walls that get more of the warm-colored sunlight.


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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Green Tulip Buds

Green Tulip Buds
Green tulip buds against a bakground of green plants and leaves.

Green Tulip Buds. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Green tulip buds against a background of green plants and leaves.

Earlier this month we spent a few mornings photographing at a San Francisco Bay Area garden. Patricia Mitchell, the other photographer in the household, specializes in photographs of flowers and foliage, often at very close distances… and this is her season! Even in this drought year there are plenty of spring plants sprouting and flowers blooming.

On our second visit the tulips were arguably the stars of the show. The garden we visited has extensive tulip beds and places additional pots of the flowers all around the facility. This gave me the opportunity to photograph the flowers in a range of states, from the green early buds shown here to full blooms — that I’ll share here in other posts.


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.

Blog | About | Flickr | FacebookEmail

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.

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