Tag Archives: bloom

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Dogwood Blossoms, Forest

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Dogwood Blossoms, Forest
Spring dogwoods bloom under the canopy of a Yosemite Valley forest.

Dogwood Blossoms, Forest. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Spring dogwoods bloom under the canopy of a Yosemite Valley forest.

I am almost embarrassed to admit that I wasn’t thinking about dogwood blossoms when I made plans to visit Yosemite Valley the week before the Memorial Day holiday. I was so focused on going to photograph the effects of the historic snow melt runoff that I completed forgot that the dogwoods would still be in bloom. On the bright side, it was quite a wonderful surprise to get to the Valley and be reminded!

This was, as I have previously written, a quick one-day up-and-back trip. Since I had a four-hour drive ahead of me at the end of the day, I finished up in the Valley right around sunset, and this grove of dogwood trees was my final stop of the day. I have photographed here before, and I’m especially fond of one of the big conifers hiding behind the leafy dogwoods.

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

Sunflower

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Sunflower
A wild sunflower in the California hills.

Sunflower. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A wild sunflower in the California hills.

These impressively large flowers pop up in the spring at a local park where I’ve hiked for decades. It doesn’t seem much like the traditional sunflower, but that’s what my searching tells me it is. The plants grow close to the ground, and the flowers are large — perhaps four inches across or more. In my experience there is only a short window to photograph them while they look good.

I think everyone should have a few local outdoor places that they travel too, going back to them over years and even decades. It is exciting to visit far off places, and I’ve been to my share of them. But there is something special about a nearby place that you know like an old friend. At this spot I know exactly where and when to look for very specific types of flowers… and I go back every year to revisit them.

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

Blue Dicks Flower

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Blue Dicks Flower
A spring blue dicks wildflower in bloom.

Blue Dicks Flower. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A spring blue dicks wildflower in bloom.

The blue dicks flowers are ubiquitous around here in the springtime, often growing in or at the edge of grasslands. It is an attractive flower (or group of flowers, more likely) waving at the top of a long, slender stalk. I look forward to their appearance every year, and I always end up making a few new photographs of them — despite the fact that the long stem makes them move in the slightest breeze, making photography a challenge.

The obvious question, of course, is “Where did that name come from?” I wondered for quite a while, too. According to one source, “he least suggestive explanation is that “dick” is a shortened form of the genus name Dichelostemma.” There are some other, potentially racier, explanations, but I think I’ll stick with this one.

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 | Twitter | 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: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Spring Fiddleneck Flowers

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Spring Fiddleneck Flowers
Spring fiddleneck flowers, California grasslands.

Spring Fiddleneck Flowers. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Spring fiddleneck flowers, California grasslands.

The photograph comes from Carrizo Plain National Monument, but it could be anywhere across a wide range of California locations this time of year. Beginning in late winter and extending into early spring, California enters what I call the “impossibly green season.” While much of the state can be brown and dry most of the year, colors near the ned of the wet season are amazing — in the best years and in the right places the wildflower displays are astonishing.

I was actually more in landscape photographer mode on this afternoon, focusing on long views across flower-carpeted valleys toward distant mountains, as sunlight and passing showers moved over the area. But this photograph goes in a different direction, focusing up close on these flowers and intentionally blurring the background.

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 | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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