Tag Archives: bloom

Photographs: Nature

Love-In-A-Mist Flower

Image Leave a comment
Love-In-A-Mist Flower
The flower of “love-in-a-mist,” or nigella damascena.

Love-In-A-Mist Flower. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The flower of “love-in-a-mist,” or nigella damascena.

When it comes to flowers, I’m somewhat unsophisticated. It has always been this way, even with wildflowers that I have encountered for years. I only know the names of a few of them and the Latin names of virtually none. On the other hand, I often do “know” them by appearance, by location, by the annual time of their appearance, and more.

I’m perhaps even worse when it comes to domesticated flowers! I know a rose when I see one, but identify what type of rose? Nope. And there are a lot of flowers that are, to me… simply flowers. This love-in-a mist flower is in that category. I had not heard of it, so I got to have the fun experience of “discovering” it on a recent visit to a botanical garden. Everything about this flower surprises me — the blue petals, the green and purple near its center, and the wild shapes it holds.

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.

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

Photographs: Nature

California Golden Poppies

Image Leave a comment
California Golden Poppies
Two California golden poppies in a field of poppies and spring green

California Golden Poppies. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two California golden poppies in a field of poppies and spring green.

As a California photographer, I suppose that it is my solemn obligation to photograph our state flower, the California Golden Poppy. (Although it is called “golden,” the most common color is actually more orange, and other variations are also possible.) This flower really is found all over the state: in suburban gardens, alongside roadways, in huge oceans of color in a few special places in good years.

To be honest, I photographed these at a botanical garden! I usually photograph them “in the wild,” but this location allowed me to have a somewhat more controlled working environment. For this photograph I got down low, used a relatively large aperture, and let the light come from behind and make the flowers glow a bit.

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.

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

Rhododendron Blooms, Redwood Bark

Image Leave a comment
Rhododendron Blooms, Redwood Bark
Spring rhododendron blooms against the bark of a coast redwood tree, Redwood National Park

Rhododendron Blooms, Redwood Bark. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring rhodendron blooms against the bark of a coast redwood tree, Redwood National Park.

We spent the better part of a week in far Northern California in early June, and a major goal was to spend time in the area of the Redwood National and State Parks. This late-spring period usually marks the peak of the rhododendron bloom, and it can also provide a weather bonus comprised of less rain and more fog. We got the “less rain” part (none at all!) but we missed out almost entirely on the “more fog” part. I seem to have a special knack for chasing away redwood fog, at least in this part of the state. So far I’ve seen a total of about five minutes of fog… while everyone else seems to encounter it regularly!

That rumored fog provides a photographic advantages. The fog can render the already monumental and cathedral-like redwood forests even more mysterious. It can simplify the complex and busy forest scenes by muting more distant elements. It eliminates the “pizza light” contrasts between deep shadows and spots of sunlight, allowing more hours of photography. And when the fog is clearing or thin, beautiful and muted light can create a magical effect. I’ve seen all of this — but just not in this region! On the plus side, the rhododendron bloom was spectacular, and there were beautiful flowers everywhere. (There is often debate about when to expect the bloom. I can report that one week into June it was still going strong and even increasing in many places.)

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.

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

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Wildflowers, Hills, And Fence

Image 2 Comments
Wildflowers, Hills, And Fence
A fence runs across wildflower-covered hills in the Temblor Range

Wildflowers, Hills, And Fence. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A fence runs across wildflower-covered hills in the Temblor Range.

With this photograph I am getting very close to the end of this year’s spring landscapes — but you never can tell. Overall this was a very good spring, at least for those of us in California who look forward to the late winter green and the wildflower displays that follow. Our wet season is almost entirely in the winter — California has been described as a summer desert — and we pay a lot of attention to how each winter plays out. This is especially true in the wake of a recent five-year drought. This season started slowly, and early on we were concerned that we might have another dry year. But the faucet came on full force early in 2019, and it has continued raining until very recently.

This photograph is an example of what can happen when the weather gods cooperate and the rains come. This area of California hills looks dry and brown most of the year. But in exceptionally good wet years abundant displays of wildflowers appear and may literally carpet the hills and pastures. I made this photograph in the evening, as the last light (indirect though it may have been) was producing a softer effect in these hills along the edge of the San Andreas fault.

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.

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