Tag Archives: brown

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Dormant Desert Holly

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Dormant Desert Holly
A dormant desert holly plant against rocky backdrop in evening light.

Dormant Desert Holly. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A dormant desert holly plant against rocky backdrop in evening light.

Photographing this dormant desert holly bush was very much a last minute opportunity. Late in the afternoon we headed toward a prospective early evening subject, stopping along the way to photograph various other things as the light cooperated. Ironically, when we arrived at that intended subject several factors made it less appealing than expected, and I barely photographed it at all! We spent a few minutes there, and as the light began to decrease we moved on.

We were along the east side of Death Valley at the time. A big part of photographing in this landscape is learning the daily patterns of the light. Because of the very large mountain range on the west side, the direct light where we were ends well before sunset. This also produces an extended period of soft light in the shadow of that western range, when the landscape is still illuminated by the blue sky and sometimes by colorful clouds. I photographed this plant, set against a nearly barren and rocky hillside, as that soft evening light began to fade.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature

Wisteria Leaves

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Wisteria Leaves
Spring wisteria leaves, San Francisco Bay Area.

Special Note: Patty and I are presenting a Silicon Valley Open Studios event on May 21 and 22. Look us up (Dan | Patty) or contact us for information. Visit us and see our prints!

Wisteria Leaves. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Spring wisteria leaves, San Francisco Bay Area.

The process leading me to this photograph was a bit oblique. This is another image from our spring visits to a garden full of seasonal flowers. I had been photographing tulips when I was distracted by wisteria plants that were almost completely covered with dense flowers. I went to photograph the flowers, but up close they didn’t see quite as fascinating as the bush seen as a whole. But as I worked on photographing the flowers the leaves kept getting in my way… until I realized that perhaps they might make the photograph.

Moving from focusing on the flowers to incorporating the leaves, I first simply included a few leaves in a flower photograph to provide a bit of contrast. As I worked I continued to given the leaves a larger and larger portion of the images. Soon I was primarily focused on the leaves, including the flowers only as background. I placed the flowers behind the leaves and narrowed the focus zone to emphasize the leaves. Eventually, as in this photograph, I removed any obvious presence of the flowers at all.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Colorful Strata

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Colorful Strata
Colorful badlands strata in morning light, Death Valley National Park.

Colorful Strata. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Colorful badlands strata in morning light, Death Valley National Park.

This subject may look familiar if you have been following my posts recently. It is a portrait-orientation composition of a feature that I also photographed in landscape orientation. (You might also think it looks a lot like a different iconic feature in Death Valley — it does, but it is not the thing you may be thinking of.) This is a sort of photograph that I make frequently, a small “excerpt” of a much larger landscape scene, photographed with a long focal length lens. The just-arrived early morning light warmed the colors a bit and brought out the pink and blue tones of the layers.

Photographing these kinds of desert colors can be challenging They are fascinating, but they are also often quite subtle, at least to my eye. In all but the best light they seem almost too faint to come through in a photograph. Some photographers compensate by significantly enhancing the intensity of the colors, but the result rarely appeals to me. Some particular qualities of the light made it work this time. Because it was shortly after dawn the light retained a warmer coloration. Some high, thin clouds muted and softened the light a bit. The band of darker material at the bottom contrasts with the lighter tones and with the colors.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Nature

Hidden Leaves

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Hidden Leaves
Leaves on the ground under the plants in a formal garden.

Hidden Leaves. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Leaves on the ground under the plants in a formal garden.

In a discussion about “what to photograph,” I once heard a photographer simply say, “There’s always SOMETHING to see!” You can always find something worthy of a photograph almost anywhere if you look closely enough and open your eyes to what is around you. Often the potential subject is not the thing that you were looking for.

That was certainly the case with this photograph. We had gone to a beautiful garden where the first signs of coming spring were evident—flowers starting to bloom and green things growing. I did photograph some of those subjects, but I was also a bit restless. I started looking around at the other things at this place, and once I did I started to see potential subjects. In one shady section of the garden there were camellias and other larger plants, and beneath these plants the ground was covered with fallen leaves, presenting an intimate landscape that looked more like autumn than the arrival of spring.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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