Tag Archives: dense

Detail, Summer Grasses

August 22, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Close-up photograph of summer grasses growing at Castillero Pond, California.

A second photo in the sequence I made on this morning at Castillero Pond in the Calero Hills oak/grassland in northern California. (The terrain and plants are typical of vast areas of central California as well.) These large grasses were growing along the edge of the pond. Unlike most of the grasses, which by now have gone completely dry in California, there were still mostly green since they had the pond as a source of moisture.

I made what might strike some as an odd lens choice for this series. Virtually all of them were shot with a 100-400mm zoom at 400mm. The idea was to get a very narrow depth of field and then throw both foreground and background way out of focus. Sometimes people think that the only way to do this is by using lenses with very large aperture, but an equally (and in some cases more) effective method is to use a very long focal length. This can provide even nicer bokeh than the large aperture approach in many cases.

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.

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keywords: calero, hills, santa clara, county, park, morning, summer, grass, flora, pond, castillero, plant, nature, california, usa, macro, close-up, stem, twig, blade, green, brown, yellow, shadow, bokeh, dense, texture, curve, pattern, dry, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Lodgepole Pine Forest, Morning, Lower Young Lake

August 13, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning light illuminates dense lodgepole pine forest near the edge of Lower Young Lake, Yosemite National Park, California.

As hard as it is to crawl out of a warm sleeping bag on a cool morning, I managed to do it on this morning. Just as the sun was coming up I was wandering along the shoreline of Lower Young Lake. While I made some photographs of the lake itself, I ended up becoming most interested in the area around the outflow stream. It features a rocky trail crossing of the stream, a small open area of meadow, and very thick surrounding forest. I thought I’d try another in my recent series of very dense and detailed composition here, this one including a thick stand of lodgepole pines just as the sun rose high enough to begin to cast some light on the forest floor.

(To be honest, I’m pretty certain that this one is going to work far better as a large print than as a small jpg… but there you go! )

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: pinus contorta, lodgepole, tamarack, pine, forest, tree, boulder, rock, log, branch, needle, trunk, twist, flora, grass, flower, plant, morning, light, dense, vegetation, lower, young, lake, yosemite, national park, california, usa, intimate, landscape, scenic, travel, nature, hike, backpack, camp, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Lodgepole Forest, Evening, Tioga Pass

July 27, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The edge of the lodgepole forest near Tioga Pass in evening light – Yosemite National Park, California.

I drive past this grove of trees just inside the Yosemite National Park boundary near Tioga Pass many times each season as I cross the pass. I especially like these densely growing trees in the evening and early morning light when the detail of many trees and even more branches merges into darkness in the distance. I stopped on this evening when the trees at the edge of the forest were mostly illuminated by light reflected from the lower slopes of Mt. Dana.

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: tuolumne, meadow, tioga, pass, road, sierra, nevada, mountains, range, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, lodgepole, forest, tree, grass, evening, dusk, light, thick, dense, branch, trunk, grove, forest, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Wildlife

Flock of Gulls

July 10, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A huge flock of gulls takes to the air at the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, California.

While photographing the elephant seals last weekend at the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery just south of the Big Sur coastline of central California, an absolutely flock of shore birds took flight above the beach. I quickly lifted the camera up from the elephant seals and photographed into the cloud of birds as it rose and turned above the beach. While other photographs in the series show an even greater density of birds, this one shows some of the individuals – at least in the larger versions on my computer screen.

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: gull, sea, seagull, shore, bird, marine, fly, flight, flock, mass, beach, ocean, sea, pacific, coast, wave, foam, wing, dense, wildlife, animal, nature, california, usa, piedras blancas, elephant seal, rookery, highway, one, 1, wild, beak, feather, central, stock

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: dense

Detail, Summer Grasses

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Lodgepole Pine Forest, Morning, Lower Young Lake

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Lodgepole Forest, Evening, Tioga Pass

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Flock of Gulls

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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.