Tag Archives: bokeh

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Cattails, Morning Light

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Cattails, Morning Light

Cattails, Morning Light. Calero Hills, California. August 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Summer cattails in morning light at Castillero Pond, Calero Hills, California.

OK, this time no alpine scene from high meadows near the crest of the Sierra – instead a cattail growing along the bank of a small pond perhaps ten miles from my home at a place where I frequently hike. This morning I decided to get up early and head out here with no particular photographic goal in mind. When I arrived at the pond I thought I might photograph some birds – in fact, I just missed photographing my local egret, which flew away just as I was getting out my camera. So, instead of photographing the birds – and instead of continuing on for a longer morning hike – I spent more than an hour here photographing the cattails and patterns of summer grasses in the morning light.

Yesterday I visited SF MOMA to see two photographic shows – the photographs of Richard Avedon in one and the photographs of Ansel Adams and paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe in the other. As I looked at the out of focuse patterns of grasses, such as those in the background of this photograph, I thought about the colors and patterns of the O’Keeffe paintings.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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keywords: calero, hills, santa clara, county, park, morning, summer, grass, flora, pond, castillero, plant, nature, california, usa, light, blue, gold, brown, yellow, green, bokeh, stalk, seed, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Indian Paintbrush Flowers, Near Sailor Lake

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Indian Paintbrush Flowers, Near Sailor Lake

Indian Paintbrush Flowers, Near Sailor Lake. John Muir Wilderness, Sierra Nevada, California. August 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Alpine Indian Paintbrush flowers in a wet meadow near Sailor Lake in the Sabrina Basin, John Muir Wilderness, Sierra Nevada.

On my evening photo-walk back up into the area above Topsy Turvy Lake in the upper Sabrina Basin I came upon many, many meadow areas filled with dense growth of wildflowers. I photographed these indian paintbrush flowers, growing on the edge of a small pond, as the light began to diminish.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: castilleja, indian, paintbrush, flora, plant, flower, wildflower, alpine, meadow, sierra, nevada, sabrina, basin, sailor, moonlight, topsy, turvy, lake, trail, camp, backpack, hike, bokeh, three, nature, bud, bloom, blossom, leaf, purple, pink, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Oak Leaves and Branches, Yosemite Valley

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Oak Leaves and Branches, Yosemite Valley

Oak Leaves and Branches, Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. June 6, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The leaves and branches of a spring oak tree above the cliffs of Yosemite Valley, California.

I have photographed this oak tree before. It is one of several that sit near the edge of the drop off above the lower section of Yosemite Valley above the narrow section before the Merced begins its precipitous descent down the narrow canyon to El Portal; this is also the location of the first view of El Capitan and Half Dome as you arrive via the northern entrance to the park. I had stopped here to photograph those icons but decided to also photograph the new spring leaves on this tree with the cliffs across the canyon as the backdrop.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: oak, tree, branch, leaf, bud, season, spring, twig, cliff, bokeh, yosemite, valley, national park, california, usa, travel, scenic, nature, landscape, sierra, nevada, mountains, range, foliage, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Dogwood Blossoms and Branch

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Dogwood Blossoms and Branch

Dogwood Blossoms and Branch. Yosemite Valley, California. May 10, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring dogwood tree blossoms and leaves in Yosemite Valley.

Yes, another dogwood… but, hey, it is spring and the dogwoods are (or were) blooming! These were photographed in Yosemite Valley in early May of this year on an intense one-day photography trip to The Valley. I shot this one during more or less the midday hours, rather than during the more typical early/late light. However, this has its advantages, too, if one can find good shade with open illumination. The color balance at this time of day seems to go more toward balanced white and the broken and filtered light on the ground makes an interesting background.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

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