Tag Archives: bud

Tulip Bud and Leaves

Image March 30, 2025 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

While a field of wildly colorful tulips is impressive and hard to resist, I like photographing individual flowers, usually before they are fully bloomed. I love the transition from the early green buds, though the first tentative appearance of the flower’s color, to the moment when the blossom begins to open.

This one is at the state where its eventual color is just starting to appear, taking over from the green early-bud stage. At the upper tip, especially, there is a bit of yellow and a tiny spot of pink. By the way, with this photograph I’m going to do something a little unusual for me: before long I will share a monochrome interpretation of the same image.

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.

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

Photographs: Nature

Cherry Blossom, Hakone Garden

Image May 28, 2024 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

This is another “spring” photograph from our afternoon and evening at the Hakone Estate and Gardens earlier this season. The gardens are open — and worth visiting — all year, but there are special events during cherry blossom season, including the evening hours when we visited. The visit began in late afternoon sunlight, but continued on into the evening when colorful lighting is turned on in the garden.

I have known about the Hakone Garden sfor a long time. Back in my cycling days I rode past many times on my way into the mountains. I went there for some workshops and off-site meetings many years ago. But somehow I had never really known the history of the place. It was created as a retreat in the early 1900s under the direction of a woman who was entranced by Asian gardens she saw at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. It passed through several private owners before the last one decided to donate it to the town of Saratoga to protect it from being turned into a housing development.

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.

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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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, Photographs: Northern California

Soap Plant Flower

Image July 26, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Soap plant flower and stem with insects.

This plant isn’t one that I recognize, even though I’ve hiked past its location for decades, apparently without noticing it at all. I also will admit that I’m less that 100% certain of its identification, though “soap plant” seems to fit in terms of appearance, location, and type of habitat. It has a very delicate little flower, and this one is covered with insects which I presume must be feeding on it.

The trail where I spotted the plant is one of my favorites when I just want to get out for a quick hike or when I’m working to build fitness for bigger walking trips. It is typically a peaceful place, starting in open grasslands, and along the way passing through groves of oak trees and California bay laurel.

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

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Photographs: Nature

Pink Tulip

Image March 23, 2023 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A pink spring tulip with early morning water droplets.

With this photograph I will (probably? maybe?) close out the photographs from our early March visit to a San Francisco Bay Area garden. We thought we were there for the peak of the tulip bloom, but only a few of the flowers were in bloom yet. This year’s wild California weather seems to have thrown off nature’s schedule a bit. But even one blooming flower can be enough, and this one seems quite nice.

You might be looking at the photograph and thinking, “the flower is lovely, but did you have to spray the water on it?” I can assure you that those drops were actually there with no assistance from me. Between the exceptional recent rainfall and the early morning hour, there was still lot of water on the plants.