Photographs: Nature

Narcissus Flower

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Narcissus Flower
An early season narcissus flower.

Narcissus Flower. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An early season narcissus flower.

While flowers, especially the sort growing in formal gardens, are not my typical subject, I enjoy photographing them from time to time for several reasons. First and foremost, they are fascinating and beautiful subjects, and by looking at them closely enough to make photographs I see them in ways that I would otherwise miss. They are also a challenge, encouraging me to think in a different visual manner than what is perhaps my native mode. In a related way, I think this expands and improves my visual flexibility and ability to see photographically.

I photographed this flower on a visit to a nearby garden with Patricia Emerson Mitchell. This kind of photography IS her native mode, so I’m more or less following along on these forays. It was still mid to late winter at this San Francisco Peninsula location, but the garden was already filled with color from daffodils.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Trees, New Grass, Tule Fog

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Trees, New Grass, Tule Fog
Light filters through Central Valley tule fog along a tree-lined gravel road.

Trees, New Grass, Tule Fog. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Light filters through Central Valley tule fog along a tree-lined gravel road.

A foggy morning like this one has distinct phases. I like them all, but this point of transition is often a favorite. Frequently the morning begins, for me at least, well before dawn as I drive down some slender two-lane road between fields, unable to see more than a hundred feed ahead. The photography often begins as the first light starts to diffuse into the fog. (It happens faster than you might expect since the tule fog layer is usually quite shallow.) After sunrise the fog will eventually clear, though it may take hours before it breaks tip enough to let light create shadows.

I made this photograph at that point — when the fog may be thick in one spot but thin in another nearby, and directional light and soft shadows begin to appear. This road could be almost anywhere in the Great Central Valley of California, though it is a particular one that I know quite well. Here I may spot geese or cranes (and perhaps cattle!) to the left and blackbirds or an occasional own in the trees to the right.

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

Bark

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Bark
Detail of colorful tree bark patterns.

Bark. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail of colorful tree bark patterns.

This photograph comes from a recent morning photography foray with Patricia Emerson Mitchell during which we visited one of her favorite SF Bay Areas locations for photographing flowers. (That’s her thing!) The location is an old estate on the San Francisco Peninsula that features extensive gardens that are open to the public these days. She knows that place well enough that she plans her visits around what is blooming, and this week it was daffodils.

While I’m not mainly a photographer of flowers — or, for that matter, small things in general – I do give it a try sometimes. I brought along a macro lens and photographed small, floral things. I’ll share more of those photographs soon. But I’m also easily distracted by other things including weathered wooden structures, ivy, and the marvelously patterned bark on a row of trees. There were more than a dozen trees with variations on this kind of pattern, so I spent some time moving from tree to tree and focusing my macro lens on the remarkable colors and patterns.

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.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.filoli, garden, mansion, tree, trunk, bark, patterns, peeling, colorful, texture, nature, california, usa, north, americaAll media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Wildlife

Red-Winged Blackbirds

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Red-Winged Blackbirds
A group of male red-winged blackbirds on display in brush

Red-Winged Blackbirds. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of male red-winged blackbirds on display in brush.

When photographing the large and impressive migratory birds (cranes, geese, ibises) along with egrets and herons it is easy for me to overlook some of the smaller birds. To be honest, that is what I did when I first started photographing birds — my focus was virtually always on the larger specimens. But over time, and on days when the large birds aren’t around, I began to pay more attention to other no less deserving critters.

Red-winged blackbirds (and related variants) are found all over the place. In fact, I recently have a discussion with a Texas-based photographer friend in which he was extolling them. Where I go I typically spot them in groups in trees and among reeds, singing enthusiastically as the males show off their striking red patches. (There’s hardly a happier sound than a flock of these birds.) Sometimes they surprise me though — I’ll never forget one early wetlands morning when I saw veritable clouds of thousands of them arise at dawn.

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.

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