Tag Archives: bloom

Photographs: Nature

Tulips

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Tulips
Close-up photography of a tulip blossom, tulip buds, and plants.

Tulips. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Close-up photograph of a tulip blossom, tulip buds, and plants.

It seems that I have begun a little series of black and white flower photographs, so I’m going to run with it. Here’s another, this time featuring tulips — a background of tulip leaves and stems, a pair of buds at different stages of development, and one central flower that is just about to open.

Of course, the colors of spring flowers are the main story, and I’ve made plenty of color photographs of the subject. In fact, if you look back a bit in my post stream you may find a somewhat different take on this group of flowers done that way. But a monochromatic rendition gives me greater creative flexibility in many ways, and I think it also may let me focus on the forms of the flowers a bit more without the “distraction” of the appealing colors.

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

White Flower

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White Flower
The center of a white flower.

White Flower. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

The center of a white flower.

This photograph comes from one of our spring visits to a large formal garden in the San Francisco Bay Area. We timed our visit to coincide with the tulip bloom, but there was a lot more to see. While macro photography isn’t my main thing (which is not to say that I don’t enjoy and appreciate it), photographing flowers gives me a good excuse to break out the macro lens and get close.

To be clear, this is not remotely intended to be viewed as a “realistic” depiction of this flower. If anything, it might be about “flower-ness” — the patterns, shapes, and forms of blossoms. You are looking at the center of a larger flower, and one that was actually subtly colorful. My intention was to begin with what the “capture” gave me to work with, and then use that as a departure point for what I wanted this photograph to be.

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 | 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

Pink Tulip

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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.

Blog | About | 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.

Photographs: Nature

Green Tulip Buds

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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 | 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.