Tag Archives: blue

Lake And Mountains, Morning Light

Lake And Mountains, Morning Light
High Sierra peaks in morning light, reflected in still waters of a subalpine lake

Lake And Mountains, Morning Light. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

High Sierra peaks in morning light, reflected in still waters of a subalpine lake.

Our group spent a week base-camped in this location a few years ago, getting to know the area intimately and photographing it and its surroundings extensively. The spot is quite beautiful, but many of its beauties don’t reveal themselves immediately. In fact, when I passed by here some years earlier I don’t recall even stopping! My only memory is of walking past a campsite and continuing toward my more distant goal. But a week spent in such a place — or almost any similar place — inevitably turns up treasures that are overlooked when passing through.

It turned out that a short walk in any of several directions took us to all sorts of photographic subjects: wildflower-filled meadows, granite slab country, streams meandering through timberline meadows, expansive views. In most cases “short walk” meant something between ten minutes and perhaps an hour. In the case of this photograph it meant “5 minute amble before breakfast!”


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 | FacebookEmail

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.

Flower Detail

Flower Detail
Macro photograph of the center of a delicately colored flower

Flower Detail. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Macro photograph of the center of a delicately colored flower.

A few weeks ago I accompanied the local flower photographer — the one I live with — to one of her favorite area botanical gardens where we spent a morning photographing flowers and plants. I’ve been having some fun with this recently, perhaps because i finally got the right lens for photographing this subject close-up!

Many things intrigued me about this flower. The remarkable patterns in the flower’s center, of course, were prominent. But working in soft light, at least partially created by using a scrim for shade, an amazing range of subtle colors became visible — it seemed at first like a white flower, but in this light the presence of tones ranging from blue to pink became clearer.


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 | FacebookEmail

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.

Love-In-A-Mist Flower

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 | FacebookEmail

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.

Sea Stacks And Headlands

Sea Stacks And Headlands
Sea stacks and rugged headlands along the upper Big Sur coast.

Sea Stacks And Headlands. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sea stacks and rugged headlands along the upper Big Sur coast.

California’s coastline is quite varied, but nearly always interesting. There are flat and gentle areas in the south, areas exposed to wind and covered with trees in the far north. And then there is the (loosely speaking) Big Sur coast south of Monterey. it is an area of very tall coastal mountains, vast open views of the Pacific, and a shoreline that is often rugged and rocky.

I had a few free hours on this spring day so I headed south from the San Francisco Bay Area with the plan of getting some distance down the Big Sur coast… but not so far that I couldn’t be back by mid-afternoon. I’m a bit familiar with these formations, having stopped to photograph here in the past. This time I was struck by the color of the water, the springtime green of the plants, and the lights softened by very thin coastal fog.


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 | FacebookEmail

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.