One Yellow Flower. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Spring flower and buds growing on the forest floor at Almaden Quicksilver Park.
keywords: nature, spring, yellow, flower, stem, grass, leaf, bokeh, california, usa, santa clara, county, park, almaden, quicksilver, trail, stock, misty, soft, focus
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.
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Pink and White Wildflowers. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 26, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Pink and white spring wildflowers photographed at Almaden Quicksilver Park, California.
Once again, a photo shot handheld with the 24-105mm lens. I like to use this photo and some similar ones to respond to folks who are convinced that “the 24-105mm f/4 L IS has bad bokeh.” I’ll admit that it doesn’t always produce great blurred backgrounds, but if you are careful you can actually get some nice bokeh from it. And for handheld wildflower shots its focal length is just about perfect and the image stabilization turns out the be very useful.
I’ve been told that these flowers are “Stachys ajugoides – rigid wood mint,” though after looking around at some online photos of that plant I’m not 100% certain since the leaves don’t seem quite right. Anyone?
keywords: pink, white, flowers, wild, wildflowers, nature, delicate, stem, leaf, green, bokeh, almaden, quicksilver, mines, park, santa clara county, san jose, california, usa, plant, hiking, trail, stock
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