Tag Archives: california

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Across the Canyon

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Across the Canyon
Morning light on a desert canyon and eroded hills, Death Valley National Park.

Across the Canyon. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning light on a desert canyon and eroded hills, Death Valley National Park.

Weeks ago I thought I was “done” with the photographs from my January visit to Death Valley National Park. As usual, I was wrong. I almost always end up returning later to files that I think I’ve picked over, and I inevitably find something that I missed. (I have a theory about this that has to do with how we see photographs right after we make them versus how we view them later on with some aesthetic distance.) I made this photograph on a morning when thick haze to the east softened the light.

The impetus for this return to the file archive was a posted by a friend who was photographing in the park just before the first day of spring. I recognized her camera position as being very close to a place that I had used in January, and when I went back to my files to verify my hunch I ended up plowing through the archive again. The fact that this photograph sees the light of day now is the result of multiple bits of serendipity. I was there to photograph an entirely different subject, and I only spotted this scene by turning away from that subject. I might never have “found” it again if it hadn’t been for the coincidence of seeing my friend’s photograph.

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

Emerging Tulip

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Emerging Tulip
A tulip bud begins to open.

Emerging Tulip. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A tulip bud begins to open.

This is another tulip photograph, though this one is at a much earlier point in its development. We recently visited a large garden that features lots of tulips at this time every season. But this year they seemed delayed a bit, perhaps as a result of the recent cold and rainy weather. Some were blooming, but far more were still in the pre-bloom phase like this one.

Tulips are obviously quite beautiful when they blossom, but I’m also attracted to this pre-blossom stage when they are mostly green and just starting to hint at the color that will soon appear. If you look closely you can see just a tiny bit of color near the very tip.

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, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Blue Hyacinth

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Blue Hyacinth
“Blue Hyacinth” — Macro photography of bue hyacinth flowers.

While I like photographing flowers, I’m no expert on the plant world or flowers. In fact, I have a heck of a time keeping their names straight! It has always been this way. It has always been the case that I could recognize the appearance of a wildflower, down to the specific spot where I might find it, the week when it would typically bloom, and what else might grow nearby… yet be unable to recall its name. These hyacinth flowers intrigue me… but I didn’t know what they were called!

I did, however, recognize that they are not easy to photograph. Their shape creates challenges regarding depth of field, especially when I try to photograph individual blossoms. If finally occurred to me that, rather than trying to photograph separate flowers, I could photograph from a position directly a above the plant and capture the remarkable patterns produced by the mass of flowers radiating out from the central stem.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Nature

Tulip and Dew

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Tulip and Dew
Morning dew on a newly-opening tulip.

Tulip and Dew. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning dew on a newly-opeing tulip.

Those of you who know us realize that I’m not really the flower photographer in our household — that would be Patricia Emerson Mitchell. But sometimes she lets me tag along and try my hand at this subject. Recently we visited a local garden together on wet, post-rain morning, where we found that tulips and other bulbs were starting to bloom.

Sometimes tulips can have an almost-artificial perfection. That’s appealing, but I also like photographing flowers that are not quite perfect. (Sometimes I even seek out flowers that are staring to decay a bit, and I’ll even photograph flowers that have fallen to the ground.) The fascinating color gradations of this flower caught my 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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | 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.