Tag Archives: flower

Photographs: Nature

Emerging Tulip

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Emerging Tulip
A tulip bud begins to open.

Emerging Tulip. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A tulip bud begins to open.

This is another tulip photograph, though this one is at a much earlier point in its development. We recently visited a large garden that features lots of tulips at this time every season. But this year they seemed delayed a bit, perhaps as a result of the recent cold and rainy weather. Some were blooming, but far more were still in the pre-bloom phase like this one.

Tulips are obviously quite beautiful when they blossom, but I’m also attracted to this pre-blossom stage when they are mostly green and just starting to hint at the color that will soon appear. If you look closely you can see just a tiny bit of color near the very tip.

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

Tulip and Dew

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Tulip and Dew
Morning dew on a newly-opening tulip.

Tulip and Dew. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Morning dew on a newly-opeing tulip.

Those of you who know us realize that I’m not really the flower photographer in our household — that would be Patricia Emerson Mitchell. But sometimes she lets me tag along and try my hand at this subject. Recently we visited a local garden together on wet, post-rain morning, where we found that tulips and other bulbs were starting to bloom.

Sometimes tulips can have an almost-artificial perfection. That’s appealing, but I also like photographing flowers that are not quite perfect. (Sometimes I even seek out flowers that are staring to decay a bit, and I’ll even photograph flowers that have fallen to the ground.) The fascinating color gradations of this flower caught my attention.

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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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Elephants Head Flower

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Elephants Head Flower
Elephants head flower against the backdrop of a flower-filled Sierra meadow.

Elephants Head Flower. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Elephants head flower against the backdrop of a flower-filled Sierra meadow.

I’ve always had a somewhat challenged relationship with the identification of flowers (and trees and a few other things) in the natural world. While certain facts stick in my mind (locations, elevations, etc.), it has always been hard for me to hold onto accurate information about plant identification. I usually do recognize the plant, tree, or wildflower… down to the level of knowing exactly where it grows, when it flowers, even what it looks like in its dormant seasons… but when it comes to recalling the plant’s name I’m often at a loss. But this one was new to me on all counts.

I’m told by a usually-reliable source (thanks, Patty… via Keith Walklet) that this is an elephants head flower. I did not know that when I photographed it. I was just attracted by its complex shape, its subtle colors, and its vertical extent against the background of a meadow full of other kinds of wildflowers in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

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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Photographs: Nature

Fallen Flower

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Fallen Flower
A fallen flower rests lies on a bed of old leaves and sticks.

Fallen Flower. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

A fallen flower rests lies on a bed of old leaves and sticks.

Special Note: Patty and I are presenting a Silicon Valley Open Studios event on May 21 and 22. Look us up there or contact us for more information. Come and see our prints!

As I have written previously, as I photograph one subject I often am also on the lookout for other things that might make a photograph. As we fixate on our primary subject — quite important! — we risk missing other subjects lurking in the neighborhood. The old advice was “always look behind, too” — that’s a reminder look up, look down, look over, look under, look everywhere. You will probably find something interesting.

We were at a large public garden full of spectacularly beautiful spring flower displays. I mostly photographed colorful flowers, but I also poked around a bit. Some time ago I began looking underneath the plants that provide the main show, especially in gardens like this one where interesting things fall to the ground and lie unnoticed in the soft shadows. This flower had reached a poignant stage — it retained its color and shape but had been discarded in the litter beneath the bushes where it was beginning to decay.

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 | 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.