Tag Archives: filoli

Photographs: Abstract

Serendipity

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Serendipity
A photograph of some colorful things.

Serendipity. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A photograph of some colorful things.

This is just about color… unless you want to make it about something else. Such a photograph could be intentional (to the extent that photographs are “intentional” — read the second paragraph), but the level of serendipity in this one is high, hence the title.

There’s an odd idea that photographs are objective records — but that’s clearly not true. Even in cases where some sort of evidentiary standard is followed, decisions about aspects of what gets recorded and how it gets recorded are subjective. And beyond that limited use for photographs, once we get into the realm of images that are intended to express something, photographs are often far from objective records. One of my favorite expressions: “All photographs lie.” (I could refine that a bit, but there’s not space in this post.)

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, Photographs: Northern California

Beneath the Blooming Dogwood

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Beneath the Blooming Dogwood
Light glows through the blossoms and leaves of a spring dogwood tree.

Beneath the Blooming Dogwood. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Looking upwards toward dense spring dogwood flowers.

Over a month ago I shared a photograph of a blooming dogwood tree in Manhattan’s Central Park. In that post I alluded to the fact that this was not likely to be quite my typical year for photographing this kind of tree. Typically I would make a spring visit to Yosemite Valley and other nearby areas to photograph this annual event, but it looked like I wouldn’t this time. But surprises arrive, and a few weeks later I did find myself in Yosemite with camera next to flowering dogwoods. But the surprises weren’t over, and later I photographed these blossoms in a San Francisco Bay Area location.

There’s a beautiful public garden on the San Francisco Peninsula where we go regularly to photograph. We started much earlier this season, and we had seen dogwood trees there — though I didn’t photograph them much. We went back much later, at the end of spring, and we were surprised to find new dogwood blooms in this place where we had thought they were spent.

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.

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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: Northern California

Fallen Flowers

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Fallen Flowers
Five fallen foxglove flowers.

Fallen Flowers. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Five fallen foxglove flowers.

We went to this public garden because we knew that it was the time of the peak bloom of many flowers, including the colorful foxglove. And our timing was perfect — there were lots and lots of these impressive flowers, in all colors. “But wait,” you ask, “where are those colors?” Oh, right, this one is black and white. I’ll address that below.

While flower photography isn’t my main thing (though you might start to wonder, based on my predominant theme for July posts this year) , I have long been intrigued by the shapes and colors of flowers. Originally I photographed wildflowers on outdoor adventures, but more recently Patty has convinced me of the appeal of domesticated varieties. But I have a habit of usually looking past the intended subject to see what else there is, and this often leads me to photographing “fallen flowers” that are past their prime and perhaps deteriorating. This alliterative grouping of five fallen foxglove flowers is just as I found them, lying in the shade under trees on a sidewalk.

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.

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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

Three Foxglove Flowers

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Three Foxglove Flowers
Three white foxglove flowers hanging from a branch in shade.

Three Foxglove Flowers. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Three white foxglove flowers hanging from a branch in shade.

Most of the time when I photograph foxglove flowers I tend to work with the vertical stalks of very colorful flowers, and I try to use a point of view that lets us look into the individual flowers. For one thing, there are often some fascinating patters inside the blossoms. But this time I decided to go in a different direction with this photograph of flowers hanging from a horizontal stalk.

The flowers were growing in a shady area and it was early evening, so I had very soft light to work with. By shooting across the hanging flowers I was able to put three of them in the frame but also include some background flowers behind them. And somehow the monophonic interpretation seems right in this case.

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.