Tag Archives: calero

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

New Years Day 2009: Oak Trees and New Grass, Winter

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New Years Day 2009: Oak Trees and New Grass, Winter

New Years Day 2009: Oak Trees and New Grass, Winter. Calero Hills, California. January 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early evening on the first day of 2009; winter oak trees and new grasses in the Calero Hills, California.

As in my tradition, I started the new year with a hike today – in this case a short hike in my favorite local Calero Hills. It was late in the day and foggy when I got there, so the conditions were what I think of as typical California winter weather. These trees are on a hillside on a trail that I frequently travel. This is a typical California scene in that you see simultaneously what would be regarded as two separate seasons in many other places – the last colorful leaves of autumn and the first new grass of spring.

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, trees, grove, forest, meadow, grass, brown, gold, green, new, trunk, branch, fog, mist, ravine, hill, slope, calero, santa clara, county, park, central, california, usa, nature, landscape, scenic, travel, season, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Autumn Tree, Morning Light

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Autumn Tree, Morning Light

Autumn Tree, Morning Light. Calero Hills, California. November 22, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A singe leafless tree on a grassy hillside in morning light – Calero Hills, California.

A week ago I spent the morning at one of my favorite nearby locations, the oak and grassland hills of Calero Park south of San Jose, California. This is a place I visit frequently. On this trip I did something a bit different. Although I tend to shoot more with wide angle to normal focal length lenses, on this morning I went out with the 100-400mm zoom attached to my camera. Initially this was because I hoped to photograph an egret that often hangs out at a pond I would pass early on the hike, but as I continued I decided to find out what I could "see" with this different lens.

This is a subtle photograph – and I’m afraid that the details in the branches of the tree that make it work at a larger size are not really visible here. The photo was shot at 400mm – yes a 400mm landscape photo! The long lens produced a very narrow depth of field so – in the print at least – both foreground and background are thrown a bit out of focus, accentuating the sharp shapes of the small side-lit branches on the tree.

keywords: tree, oak, fall, autumn, grass, meadow, forest, tree, light, morning, branches, hill, ridge, calero, california, usa, santa clara county, san jose, park, bay area, nature, follage, landscape, scenic, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Oak Leaves and Blue Sky

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Oak Leaves and Blue Sky

Oak Leaves and Blue Sky. Calero Hills, California. November 22, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Oak branches and green leaves against a perfect blue sky, Calero Hills, California.

I was out playing with the long lens (100-400mm) yesterday when I made this photograph of overhead oak branches. Handheld at 400mm. (For those who are concerned about the sharpness of the Canon EF 100-400 L zoom… this shot could provide some reassurance. :-)

keywords: oak, tree, branch, leaf, leaves, acorn, twig, bud, blue, sky, azure, nature, foliage, plant, calero, hills, santa clara county, park, san jose, california, usa, stock, green

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Foxtails, Autumn

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Foxtails, Autumn

Foxtails, Autumn. Calero Hills, California. November 22, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn foxtails photographed near a small pond in the Calero Hills in the southern San Francisco Bay Area, California.

This morning I got up very early and headed off to one of my favorite local photography haunts, the Calero County Park south of San Jose, where I like to photograph in the oak grasslands at almost all times of the year. I arrived just as the first sunlight was arriving. There is a small pond perhaps five minutes up the trail from the parking lot, and a white egret often can be found hanging out there in the morning, so I put my 100-400mm lens on the camera and headed up the trail. I approached the lake from below, trying to move slowly and be quiet in case the egret was around. The plan was to use the long lens to shoot this bird before it spooked an took off.

As I arrived at the shoreline of the pond there was no egret. In fact there wasn’t much wildlife at all this morning. However, there was a nice row of foxtails along the fence by the shore of the pond. So, violating just about every “rule” for photographing such a subject I made a few shots. I worked handheld. With a 100-400mm zoom at 400mm. Yes, this bokeh came from a big zoom lens. :-) The background is very blurred pond-side plants and some reflections on the surface of the water.

keywords: foxtail, stem, seed, bokeh, blur, nature, plant, fall, autumn, calero, hills, santa clara county, park, san jose, california, usa, foliage, stock