Tag Archives: bloom

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Blue Dicks Flowers

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Blue Dicks Flowers
The oddly-named blue dicks flowers, which one source claims derives from a shortening of the genus name Dichelostemma.

Blue Dicks Flowers. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The oddly-named blue dicks flowers, which one source claims derives from a shortening of the genus name Dichelostemma.

This poor plant and its striking flower are “blessed” with a name that never ceases to provoke a chuckle or two. I’ve often wondered how the plant got that common name, and when I did a little quick searching while working on this photograph I could find only one answer — and, frankly, I don’t find it all that compelling. As per the description above, the claim is that it derives from the “Dich” in Dichelostemma, the genus name of the plant. I can sort of see that, except… my minimal background in German makes me want to pronounce that differently. On top of that, the flower isn’t really blue!

Having said all of that, it is a beautiful and graceful flower that is common in my neck of the woods and, according to sources I consulted, throughout the “southwestern United States.” The individual flowers grow in a group at the end of a long, slender stem. The location where I most often photograph them features a lot of shady backgrounds and nearby lush greenery.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

California Golden Poppy

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California Golden Poppy
A single specimen of a California golden poppy flower.

California Golden Poppy. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A single specimen of a California golden poppy flower.

Any California photographer is obligated to photograph the California Golden Poppy. Check the contract — it is right there! It is the state flower and it is found just about everywhere in the state with few exceptions. More recently, as folks around here have moved away from having water-reliant lawn and towards drought-tolerant landscaping, the poppy is showing up in more and more yards. I’m sure I could find a dozen places to photograph them within a five or ten minute walk from my house.

They are called (at least sometimes) “golden” poppies, but they aren’t exactly gold. The color is more orange, though it sort of “leans” a bit toward yellow. If you look up the flower on wikipedia, you’ll find a wonderful description from John Steinbeck’s East of Eden: “California poppies … are of a burning color—not orange, not gold, but if pure gold were liquid and could raise a cream, that golden cream might be like the color of poppies.” They aren’t easy to photograph, at least in part because of this unusual and intense color. This one cooperated more than most, opening its petals toward me in somewhat soft light.

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, Photographs: Northern California

Fairy Lantern

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Fairy Lantern
A fairy lantern (globe lily) flower, photographed in the hills of the San Francisco Bay Area

Fairy Lantern. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A fairy lantern (globe lily) flower, photographed in the hills of the San Francisco Bay Area

It is difficult to come up with a rational explanation for why some wildflowers particularly catch my attention, but it is fact that some do. I have a short list of Sierra Nevada wildflowers that will always cause me to pause and look more closely. In a particular area of the Northern California hills that flower is this one, the fairy lantern or globe lily.

Somehow I managed to hike for decades in these hills before I “discovered” this flower on a hike through a small valley one spring while visiting the non-urban park that is closer to me than any other, a place where I’ve gone for spring “conditioning hikes” since I can remember. One time a perhaps two decades ago I took a different route through this spot and was enchanted by these mysterious flowers. Now I mark the onset of spring here by their appearance. They aren’t really easy to photograph since they don’t open up energetically, and you must get down low and photograph them from a bit underneath to reveal the flower — and the colors are subtle and easily washed out by any bright light.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Morning Light on Creosote, Dunes, and Alluvial Fan

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Morning Light on Creosote, Dunes, and Alluvial Fan
Low-angle early morning light on a clump of blooming creosote, sand dunes, and a huge alluvial fan, Death Valley National Park.

Morning Light on Creosote, Dunes, and Alluvial Fan. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Low-angle early morning light on a clump of blooming creosote, sand dunes, and a huge alluvial fan, Death Valley National Park.

This is the second of two photographs made close together on this morning in the dunes. I made it just moments after the first direct sunlight had arrived here, illuminating the distant fan, the creosote plant, and the curving shapes of the dunes. This light lasts only a moment, and when I saw it coming I stopped here, found this composition, and waited for the show. I like the way that the foreground light aligns with the softly-lit alluvial fan in the distance, and how the implied line of the incoming light likely traces the angle of the bits of dune at the left edge.

It is still amazing to me that such well-developed plants can find a foothold in this terrain — and beyond that manage to thrive on a high point along the dunes. This is not a friendly environment for most plants — it can be tremendously hot, it is quite dry, and when the winds get going these plants are blasted by flying sand. (I’m a bit too familiar with that last issue!)

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.