Tag Archives: emerge

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Iris Blossom, Japanese Garden

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Iris Blossom, Japanese Garden - A new iris blossom emerges against a background of summer greenery.
A new iris blossom emerges against a background of summer greenery.

Iris Blossom, Japanese Garden. Portland, Oregon. July 3, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A new iris blossom emerges against a background of summer greenery.

I was in Portland, Oregon during the past week on a family visit. I’ve been to and through Portland before, but this was the first time I have been able to stay there for a substantial amount of time. Although this was not primarily a photographic trip – I didn’t even carry a tripod! – I did keep a camera with me, and I had some opportunities to do some informal photography while getting to know the place. I also had a chance to find out just how much of a garden city Portland is. During five days in the city I think we visited at least that many gardens, ranging from formal rose gardens (for which the city is famous), small and informal gardens, several Japanese and Chinese gardens, gardens around homes and historic buildings, and more.

I made this photograph of what I’m pretty certain is an iris (I’m actually very bad at plant identification…) while walking around one such garden. Shooting in shade on an overcast afternoon, the light was close to the limit of what I would want to try to shoot handheld, but I crouched down low and I think I managed to make it work. I like the slightly curving shape of the stem, with its partially unwrapped sections, and the flower itself illuminated by soft light from the sky.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Trillium Unfolding

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Trillium Unfolding - A new trillium plant emerges and begins to blossom beneath the redwood forest canopy.
A new trillium plant emerges and begins to blossom beneath the redwood forest canopy.

Trillium Unfolding. Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California. March 3, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A new trillium plant emerges and begins to blossom beneath the redwood forest canopy.

With enough time to observe these plants – and a few return visits to fill in observational gaps – it is possible to see the full process of their unfolding. Though I still haven’t spotted the very earliest sprouts – probably because I didn’t look quite closely enough – I can spot the newly emerging plants that are about to open up and blossom. The leaves wrap around the incipient flower, and when they begin to open the appearance of the flower itself isn’t far behind.

On this visit to Muir Woods National Monument I found trillium plants in all stages from tiny plants with small leaves to those that had already blossomed and even lost the flowers. A few were at this wonderful stage when the cradling outside leaves are just opening to reveal the new flower. Soon the leaves will drop and flatten to produce the familiar three-part shape and the flower will stand (or droop!) above the leaves.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Fog-Shrouded Curving Ridges, Yosemite Valley

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Fog-Shrouded Curving Ridges, Yosemite Valley
Fog-Shrouded Curving Ridges, Yosemite Valley

Fog-Shrouded Curving Ridges, Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. October 30, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Trees and rocks emerge from fog flowing over curving ridges on the rim of Yosemite Valley during an autumn storm.

This may be the final photograph from the “fog shrouded cliffs” series that came from my late October visit to Yosemite Valley during a fall storm. Since I’ve described this series in some detail previously, I’ll try to keep this comment short. I initially had my eye on the pinnacle at the lower left, and it became a more prominent subject in other photographs in this series. But as I photographed it I was attracted to the angles formed by the foreground ridge rising from left to right and the upper ridge beyond rising the opposite direction. (I think it is the same ridge, with the two sections joined directly above the pinnacle.) The fog/clouds were in constant motion, at one moment almost completely obscuring the scene and a moment later revealing portions of the landscape. For a brief instant the pinnacle stood clear of the clouds and bot sections of the upper ridge were visible.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Yosemite Fall and Lost Arrow, Fog and Mist

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Yosemite Fall and Lost Arrow, Fog and Mist
Yosemite Fall and Lost Arrow, Fog and Mist

Yosemite Fall and Lost Arrow, Fog and Mist. Yosemite National Park, California. October 30, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Yosemite Fall and Lost Arrow emerge from drifting storm clouds, Yosemite Valley.

When I traveled to Yosemite Valley this past weekend I knew that rain was coming on Saturday – and I was happy about this since I love photographing the Valley in rainy and misty weather. I made a plan to photograph, among other things, what I expected would be cloud and mist floating among the cliffs, trees, and waterfalls of the Valley – and I wasn’t disappointed!

This is a photograph of a Yosemite icon, Upper Yosemite Fall. As clouds drifted across the face near the fall and into the valleys above, from time to time there would be a bit of clearing. Occasionally a clear view of the waterfall would even appear for a moment. At this moment in time, the spire of “Lost Arrow” also appeared along the side of the cliff at the upper right.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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