Spring Flowers at Mirror Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. April 27, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Tiny spring flowers photographed along the shoreline of Mirror Lake in Yosemite Valley.
keywords: California, National Park, Sierra Nevada, Spring, Yosemite, usa, valley, mirror lake, nature, flower, plant, blossom, bloom, leaf, hike, macro, pink, maroon, green, stock
Dogwood Blossom – Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. April 27, 2008 © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
On my first “One Day Yosemite Valley Blitz” of the season I drove up the Valley for a day of photography on April 27. The dogwood trees were just starting to bloom and although most were still far from their peak I did find a few wonderful blossoms including this one on a fallen tree near the east end of the Valley.
The blossoming of the dogwoods is one of the major attractions of the spring season for many Yosemite aficionados, almost rivaling the spring waterfalls. They may start in late April and continue on into May, though the timing can vary quite a bit depending on the precise location and elevation of the trees.
keywords: dogwood, blossom, bloom, flower, spring, tree, leaf, bokeh, forest, yosemite, valley, national park, california, usa, foliage, nature, scenic, travel, stock
Purple Wildflowers. Grant Ranch County Park, California. April 20, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Spring purple wildflowers photographed in the grasslands of Grant Ranch County Park east of San Jose, California.
I’m told that these are Vicia villosa or winter vetch. All I know for certain is that the hillside was covered with these beautiful small flowers, and that I had to get down very low on the ground to photograph them. :-)
For those interested in photo equipment issues, this photo is evidence, I think, that you can get decent out of focus background bokeh from the Canon 24-105mm f/4 L.
keywords: purple, wildflowers, wild, flowers, grant ranch, santa clara, county, park, joseph, green, leaf, grass, stem, bloom, blossom, spring, nature, stock, california, usa, photo, photography, Vicia villosa, winter vetch
Lupine Flowers. Grant Ranch County Park, California. April 20, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Spring lupine wildflowers photographers at Grant Ranch County Park in the hills east of San Jose, California.
Photography was not my main goal on this spring afternoon hike – I simply brought my camera and one lens in a pack and left the multiple lenses and tripod at home. Fortunately the lens I was carrying was appropriate for the many wildflowers I found along my hike to the top of a ridge overlooking Santa Clara Valley.
keywords: lupine, flower, wild, wildflower, blossom, plant, nature, spring, stalk, grass, bokeh, joseph grant, ranch, santa clara, county, park, scenic, stock, purple, bloom