Tag Archives: bloom blossom

Photographs: Nature

Purple Owl’s Clover Flowers

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Purple Owl's Clover Flowers
A purple owl’s clover bloom, San Luis Obispo County, California

Purple Owl’s Clover Flowers. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A purple owl’s clover bloom, San Luis Obispo County, California.

I continue to work my way through the California spring wildflower photography — and this isn’t the end of it! This was a better-than-average year for wildflowers in the state. Winter rains were above normal, and a good portion of the rain fell later in the season, including some big storms that swept though in early March.

I photographed this flower in San Luis Obispo County, in one of the many oak and grassland areas that are so common in the state’s lowlands and foothills. We found a spot with uncounted flowers spread across large meadows, stopped, and spent a few hours wandering around with macro lenses on the cameras.

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

Desert Mallow Flowers

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Desert Mallow Flowers
Orange desert mallow in bloom, Death Valley National Park

Desert Mallow Flowers. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Orange desert mallow in bloom, Death Valley National Park.

Recently I posted another photograph of (literally) this very same branch of this very same plant. That’s a bit unusual when it comes to wildflowers, especially of the sort that often appear in large numbers in the same place. I’m probably more likely in these cases to either share just one or else to share photographs of different flowers. But here, were were in a pretty arid location, a bit before the peak for this flower, and there was only one good and easily accessible plant.

Also a bit unusual in this case, I photographed the flower in direct sunlight, albeit a bit filtered by clouds. It is tricky to make close-up photographs of a color like this in full sun since the intensity of the color can easily become over-saturated, and because the dynamic range difference between bright and dark areas can be so great that it creates a sort of stark effect. I had begun photographing this group of flowers while the sun was obscured by a passing cloud, and my recollection is that I made this image just as the sun was beginning to emerge — producing more directional light but not yet fully bright.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Desert Mallow Blossoms

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Desert Mallow Blossoms
Orange desert mallow blossoms, Death Valley National Park

Desert Mallow Blossoms. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Orange desert mallow blossoms, Death Valley National Park.

These orange desert mallows are among my favorite desert flowers. It seems to me that they are often somewhat unobtrusive, but the will suddenly burst forth with a bush-full of bright orange color. The blooms are lovely, and they remind me a bit of small California golden poppies.

Although I sometimes don’t recall exactly where I photographed such things, my recollection in this case is that I photographed them in a quiet desert canyon starting at the top of a large alluvial fan, where we had gone to eat lunch the first day we arrived in Death Valley on our early April visit. After hours of driving (actually a couple of days of traveling!) it was good to stop and sit in a quiet place. As we ate we looked around the canyon a bit and started to pick out likely photographic subjects, though there was no hurry to get to work. Eventually we wandered over toward the edge of the canyon where some interesting-looking plants were growing, among them a mallow bush.

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.

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 and Rhododendron

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Redwood and Rhododendron
A curving rhodendron with a few spring blooms in dense North Coast redwood forest

Redwood and Rhododendron. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A curving rhododendron with a few spring blooms in dense North Coast redwood forest

I mentioned earlier that this was probably my first “serious” trip to photograph the redwood forests in the Redwood National and State Parks are of far-northern California. When I travel to a new location like this I tend to do only enough research to point me in the right direction. For example, I checked maps and I figured out that there are four main parks, and I looked up a hike or two. But I did not, and I generally do not, do extensive research and planning. For me a big part of the adventure is the discovery part, where I poke around, use my instincts, make mistakes, and take interesting turns… and see what develops. There is a method to my madness — I think this helps me more quickly develop a person orientation to the place.

So on this morning I headed to the closest park, Jedediah Smith State Park. I found what looked like it might be a road through the park. It was. Sort of. It turned into gravel and then came to a locked gate just past the park entrance. So I backed up, retreated, and tried going around the park to the other side. Eventually I found a nice hike of a few miles to a big grove of old-growth trees, but first I came across this beautiful little spot where there were a few rhododendrons just beginning to bloom.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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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