Tag Archives: bloom

Photographs: Nature

Yellow Tulip Bud #2

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Yellow Tulip Bud #2
“Yellow Tulip Bud #2” — A yellow tulip bud on the verge of blossoming.

This may seem like an odd admission, but the way I make these flower photographs has more in common with how I do street photography than, say, landscape photography. Because the subject appears to be still, you could think that I probably carefully pick a flower, set up a tripod, analyze the light, focus, and then make the photograph. The reality is that I shoot all of these with a small handheld camera, and I rarely spend more than a minute on a flower and often less.

I think part of this is because I have a general sense of what I’m looking for beforehand. As seen here, I’m on the lookout for a flower (or flowers) with an interesting shape, a relatively flawless form, good light, and a background with some potential. I spend a lot of time looking for the right combination, and when I find it I spend less time actually making the photograph.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Nature

Tulip Bud and Leaves

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Tulip Bud and Leaves
“Tulip Bud and Leaves” — A spring tulip bud, just before blossoming.

This photograph is the result of something I rarely do — post the same photograph in monochrome and color versions. I shared a color version recently, but while I was working on the image in post I took a little detours and experiment with a black and white interpretation. I like both of them, though they do create different effects.

Black and white almost always has a more abstract quality to me. We know that the world is not monochromatic, so we begin to accept a wider range of interpretations as soon as we move to black and white. There’s less of the “it isn’t real!” concern with monochrome. (Not everyone realizes it, but monochrome images have historically often been the subject of extensive post-processing.) Here I think that the monochromatic version lets us focus more on the shapes and tones themselves, with less need to relate the image to something real.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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(All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.)

Photographs: Nature

California Buttercup

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California Buttercup
“California Buttercup” — A California buttercup spring wildflower, Almaden Quicksilver Park.

Previously I have mentioned my habit of returning to seemingly unremarkable places that are special to me — perhaps a particular rock in the Yosemite high country, a certain tree in the Central Valley, an overlook along the Big Sur coast, one small Eastern Sierra aspen grove, and so on. If you visited these places (at the right times) you might think, “Well, yes, that is nice — but it isn’t iconic.” And you would be right. They are not iconic — they are just special to me. This flower photograph comes from one of those places.

There is a park in the South San Francisco Bay Area where I have hiked for decades. Over the years I’ve probably walked pretty much every trail within its boundaries. One trail descends into a small, shady gully where wildflowers grow in April. I go back every year, specifically to find, small plots of particular flowers. I made this photograph on my most recent walk to this place.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Photographs: Macro, Photographs: Nature

Fringed Yellow Tulip

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Fringed Yellow Tulip
“Fringed Yellow Tulip” — A yellow fringed tulip flower about the blossom.

Although I’m no expert on flowers, I am a fan of photographing them, especially tulips as they transition from buds to newly-blossomed flowers. (My lack of expertise is something of a family joke. “those are tulips, right?”, I might ask every spring.) This was one of the last we photographed on an early spring visit to a local garden where thousands of them are growing. It is a “fringed” tulip, a type with a remarkable and complex fringe along the edges of the petals.

The fringe impresses me, but is less interesting to me as a photographic subject. I’m attracted to the smooth forms of the unfolding blossoms more than to those details. This one is at the fascinating stage where it has taken on is full coloration and is on the verge of opening and turning into an actual flower.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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