Tag Archives: flora

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

White Globe Lilies and Grasses

April 18, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Chinese Lanterns and Grasses — White Globe Lilies and Grasses

Macro photograph of White globe lily flower and buds and spring grasses – Almaden Quicksliver Park, California.

This is one more photograph of the white globe lily flower I posted recently, this one in landscape mode rather than portrait mode. This is one of the first of the seasonal bloom of this flower along a favorite trail of mine at the Almaden Quicksilver County Park – the location of historic mercury mines along the edge of Santa Clara Valley. I photograph these flowers every April, and this photograph is from my first visit of the year.

Some of the challenges in making this shot included the need to use an extension tube and get very close – perhaps just a couple inches from the flower. Since this specimen grew on a steep bit of hillside I shot it handheld and used manual focus – I essentially picked a decent focus point and composition and then carefully moved forward and backward until the important parts of the flower were in focus. (The narrow DOF at this close distance made the zone of focus very small.)

By the middle of April there will probably be hundreds of these flowers in this small valley.

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.

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 73mm with extension tube
ISO 400, f/8, 1/100 second

keywords: chinese lantern, flower, bloom, blossom, bud, wildflower, plant, leaf, grass, seed, stem, branch, blur, bokeh, green, white, pink, spring, season, almaden, quicksilver, county, park, santa clara, san jose, california, usa, north america, nature, close up, macro, foliage, flora, stock

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

Dry Creek and Late-Season Meadow

December 11, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Morning light illuminates a dry creek bed winding though late season meadow grasses and trees near Fletcher Lake, Yosemite National Park, California.

As the trail at Fletcher Lake heads upward to begin the climb towards Evelyn Lake there is an area in the meadow to the left of the trail where small trees have begun to infiltrate the meadow and there is now a “mini-forest” of sorts. I’ve photographed this spot – this exact spot, actually! – before, and I often like to shoot it in the morning light when the low angle sun first hits the meadow. Here a dry seasonal runoff creek winds between the trees in this section of mixed meadow and young forest.

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.

keywords: dry, creek, stream, bed, late, season, summer, meadow, plant, grass, foliage, flora, tree, small, lodgepole, pine, rock, light, silhouette, forest, fletcher, lake, vogelsang, high, sierra, nevada, camp, mountain, range, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, hike, camp, backpack, morning, winding, shadow, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, wilderness, alpine, stock

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

Late Season Subalpine Meadow and Creek

December 9, 2009 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

A dry creekbed meanders through a boulder-filled golden late-season Sierra Nevada meadow at sunset near Evelyn Lake, Yosemite National Park, California.

This is another view of the “backyard” of my solo-backpacking camp site near Evelyn Lake back in early September of this year. Dusk has fallen across the meadow and the twisting creekbed leading to the lake, but a bit of alpenglow lingers on the clouds beyond the tree-lined ridge.

This photograph is evidence of the early onset of “fall” in the high country. Although the equinox was still nearly two weeks away, the plants here had lost their summer appearance – the meadow was almost entirely brown or golden and the small creek, which would contribute to the flooding of this lakeside meadow earlier in the season had already stopped flowing.

(By starting my “fall” season in late summer in the high country I can manage to experience fall colors for at least three months every year!. I often see the first hints of the change in the highest country even earlier than the date of this photograph. Then by late September and early October the Sierra aspen color show is in full swing. By the end of the month I can find great colors at lower elevations on the west side of the range, such as in Yosemite Valley. After that the colors continue to develop through November in the coastal areas of central and northern California, and here in the SF Bay Area there are still a lot of fall colors to be seen.)

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.

keywords: dry, brown, golden, creek, bed, meander, curve, twist, boulder, rock, filled, late, season, summer, autumn, fall, meadow, sub, alpine, brush, bush, plant, flora, foliage, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, sunset, dusk, evelyn, lake, backpack, camp, hike, wilderness, nature, landscape, sky, forest, grove, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, cloud, pink, stock

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

Sunset Light, Lower Face of Fletcher Peak

December 8, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Sunset light on the lower face of Fletcher Peak near the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp, Yosemite National Park, California.

Fletcher Lake, the location of the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp, is one of “my places” in the Yosemite Sierra – I visit very year, often more than once, and I make a tradition of visiting during the late season after Labor Day Weekend. This year I did a loop trip up Lyell Canyon, then up the Ireland Lake Trail past Evelyn Lake to get there. On the first day I started very late and barely made camp as night fell, cooking after dark an the junction of the John Muir Trail and the Ireland Lake Trail in Lyell Canyon. I slept in the next morning, and eventually headed up the Ireland Lake trail to camp at Evelyn Lake that night. The next morning I headed over to Fletcher Lake, where I spent the next couple night, giving myself plenty of time to photograph this familiar area.

On the evening when I arrived I headed out in the late afternoon to photograph areas around the meadow below Fletcher Lake, eventually working my way over to Fletcher Lake as the sun dropped toward the horizon. This photograph was made not long before sunset as the warm late-day sun illuminated some talus, snow, and granite near the base of Fletcher Peak.

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.

keywords: vogelsang, high, sierra, nevada, camp, mountain, range, fletcher, lake, peak, snow, cliff, rock, face, talus, scree, gravel, detail, crack, fracture, plant, flora, vegetation, sunset, evening, light, warm, texture, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, backpack, hike, camp, wilderness, stock

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