Tag Archives: county park

Oaks, Hills, Clearing Morning Fog

Oaks, Hills, Clearing Morning Fog

Oaks, Hills, Clearing Morning Fog. Calero Hills, California. April 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning fog clears over oak dotted green and golden Calero Hills, California.

On this mid-April spring morning I had perhaps a half hour of what is almost my favorite type of light – the kind that forms along the border between cloud and sun as morning fog begins to clear. I had started out this hike in gray fog, but as I reached the top of a small hill the fog began to burn off… and I photographed like crazy as different portions of my surroundings were revealed and illuminated. On a technical note, this is another of my atypical telephoto landscapes, shot with a 400mm lens.

One more note about fog. Not only is it interesting in its own right, but sometimes it lines up just right to obscure things that would make a photograph of the scene less effective while showing elements that work well. That was the case here. The very faint suggestion of more distant hills at the far right is all that we can see in the fog – but once it cleared there was instead a rather stark ridgeline that held a power pole or two!

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, tree, grove, grass, meadow, hill, valley, green, gold, morning, spring, calero, county park, calero, santa clara, landscape, nature, scenic, shadow, light, sun, california, usa, field, stock

Quicksilver Wildflowers

Quicksilver Wildflowers
Quicksilver Wildflowers. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Deep purple spring wildflowers at Almaden Quicksilver Park, California – photographed on an early spring hike near the peak of the central California wildflower season.

The flowers are larkspur, or delphinium. They are interesting flowers and somewhat difficult to photograph. Their color is a very deep purple, so it is almost necessary to photograph them against a much lighter background. These were photographed along the New Almaden Trail, not far from the Mockingbird Hill entrance.

keywords: wild, flowers, wildflowers, deep, purple, five, petals, trail, hike, nature, spring, almaden, quicksilver, county park, santa clara, san jose, california, usa, stock

Oak Grove Trail in Winter Fog

Oak Grove Trail in Winter Fog
Oak Grove Trail in Winter Fog. Central Californina. December 10, 2004. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

An older photograph shot on a wonderful foggy winter day along an unused trail that climbs a beautiful ridge covered with oak trees and grassland in a hillside park near San Jose, California.

keywords: photo, photography, grass, oak, trees, branches, fog, green, winter, trail, hiking, almaden, quicksilver, county park, santa clara, san jose, california, usa, stock, grove, leaves, shrouded, sprout, central, landscape, nature, scenic, stock