Tag Archives: buds

Photographs: Nature

Tulip Buds

Image Leave a comment
Tulip Buds
Two tulip buds against a shaded background.

Tulip Buds. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Two tulip buds against a shaded background.

Although I seem to be presenting them slightly out of order, this is the next in a short series of photographs of tulips as they pass through phases from green bulbs to full blossoms. The previous post included two buds (not the two shown here) still in an almost entirely green state. Before that I jumped the gun a bit with another pair that is a bit more colorful than these.

The two buds in this photograph are just barely starting to show the color of the flower. The bud itself is shifting past the green color of leaves and stems and becoming a bit more yellow, while the red or pink color of the incipient flower is just beginning to appear along the edges of the vertical lines along the sides of the buds.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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

Photographs: Nature

Fairy Lanterns, Spring

Image Leave a comment
Fairy Lanterns, Spring
A cluster of spring fairy lantern wildflowers.

Fairy Lanterns, Spring. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A cluster of spring fairy lantern wildflowers.

These are among my favorite spring wildflowers here in my part of the world — the San Francisco Bay Area. The photograph is from last spring, as this year my opportunities to go out and photograph wildflowers have been much more limited. I did photograph flowers like these at the very beginning of their cycle, when they were still mostly buds and before the social lock-down commenced. Even when the rules were relaxed to allow hikes, the location of these flowers is one in which social distancing could be difficult to maintain.

I photographed this little group of flowers at a local spot where I first “discovered” this kind of flower over a decade ago. Oddly perhaps, given that I’ve hiked in these hills for decades, I was unaware of the fairy lantern flowers and surprised to see them. These grow a long a narrow and somewhat steep trail that heads through a narrow ravined, a place that is often in shade but with a bit of sunlight each day.

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 | Facebook | Email

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

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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

Photographs: Nature

Triteleia Flowers And Buds

Image Leave a comment
Triteleia Flowers And Buds
A burst of triteleia (“pretty face”) flowers and buds, Pinnacles National Park

Triteleia Flowers And Buds. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A burst of triteleia (“pretty face”) flowers and buds, Pinnacles National Park.

I am certainly far from being an expert on wildflowers. As those who know me are aware, when it comes to recalling the names of plants (flowers, bushes, trees) the identities simply don’t “stick” for me — they never have, and it hasn’t gotten better. I know a few by name, but most I know only by appearance, location, and season. This flower was a new one to me, and I had to look it up after returning home.

I found these triteleia flowers in a small canyon at Pinnacles National Park. They, and many other seasonal wildflowers, were growing along a shaded section of canyon wall as I passed by on a walk to a more distant place… so I paused and spent and hour or so photographing them.

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 | Facebook | Email

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.

Photographs: Nature

Triteleia Flowers

Image Leave a comment
Triteleia Flowers
Triteleia (“pretty face”) wildflowers, Pinnacles National Park

Triteleia Flowers. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Triteleia (“pretty face”) wildflowers, Pinnacles National Park.

I encountered this lovely batch of flowers on a long day-hike at Pinnacles National Park in mid-April. I arrived in the early morning on this spring day, when wildflowers were still going strong, and headed up a familiar trail to a reservoir. (For those who know the place, I avoided the route through the cave. Been there, done that… and I was caring a pack full of camera equipment and a tripod.)

The route I followed began by heading up the bottom of a small valley that sometimes has more of the character of a canyon, with steep walls that limit how much sunshine gets into there. Apparently this flower likes that, preferring canyons that offer some shade. While I usually do notice the larger wildflowers while hiking, I’m not necessarily one to see all of the colorful things growing here in the spring… but carrying a camera with a macro lens encourages me to pay more attention!

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 | Facebook | Email

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.