Tag Archives: flower

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

Manroot Blossoms

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Manroot Blossoms
Manroot Blossoms

Manroot Blossoms. Muir Woods National Park, California. May 8, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Manroot flowers blossom in the redwood forest at Muir Woods National Monument, Caifornia.

I hope I have the right ID on this flower. I’m noted before that I’m no expert on these things – I often can’t identify by name flowers that I am very familiar with. As near as I can tell, this is a “manroot” flower, also known as Marah fabecus. I photographed it in the forest of Muir Woods along Redwood Creek, where the plant grows in a vinelike manner among other plants.

The flowers are striking in the shaded forest, and especially since they seem to grow against a background of darker plants. I used an extension tube to make this photograph, shooting very close to the small flowers.

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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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 73mm with extension tubes
ISO 400, f/4, 1/15 second

keywords: manroot, cucumber, Marah fabeceus, plant, flower, wildflower, spring, season, flora, foliage, blossom, bloom, muir, woods, national, monument, golden, gate, recreation, area, marin, county, california, usa, north america, nature, scenic, travel, white, green, bud, branch, bokeh, redwood, grove, forest, shade, stock

Photographs: Nature

Beetle and Flowers

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Beetle and Flowers
Beetle and Flowers

Beetle and Flowers. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. Apriol 10, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Macro photograph of a beetle on spring California wildflowers.

I think I’m posting this one more or less because… I can! I was out last month trying to get to know a new piece of equipment, an extension tube. I’ve been experimenting to find out which of my lenses work most effectively with it, and trying to understand the best ways to use it in the field. On this day I figured out a few interesting and useful things. First, contrary to my expectations, the best way to shoot these subjects was to use manual focus and a 24-105 zoom lens. I would have thought that AF would have been more effective, but I found I could manually focus, then move slightly forward and backward with the shutter half depressed, and watch for the AF confirmation lights to come on. One of the biggest surprises was that this lens, which is not exactly known for its wonderful bokeh, turns out to produce really nice blurred backgrounds at large apertures with the extension tube. Who’d have guessed!?

So, a photograph of some anonymous beetle was one of the results.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.



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

Larkspur Blossoms

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Larkspur Blossoms
Larkspur Blossoms

Larkspur Blossoms. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 20, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring larkspur flowers against a soft background of sunlit spring greenery, Almaden Quicksilver Park, California.

I made this photograph back in early April as spring flowers were just starting to really blossom in my favorite flower-filled gully at the Almaden Quicksilver Park near San Jose, California. The larkspur flowers often blossom early and pass quickly through their prime phase, and seem to be pretty delicate flowers to begin with – so I was glad to get there at the right time to photograph these specimens.

I photographed them against a background of grasses with the scene lit by sunlight filtered through high clouds. Using the maximum aperture of f/4 on the 24-105mm zoom (with an extension tube) made for very narrow depth of field and allowed me to throw almost everything in the frame other than the central flower out of focus.

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 | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM with extension tubes at 105mm
ISO 400, f/4, 1/250 second

keywords: larkspur, flower, plant, flora, foliage, wildflower, bloom, blossom, stem, branch, leaf, bokeh, blur, soft, background, purple, green, nature, san jose, santa clara, county, park, almaden, quicksilver, california, usa, north america, stock

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

Oregon Oxalis and Trillium, Muir Woods

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Oregon Oxalis and Trillium, Muir Woods
Oregon Oxalis and Trillium, Muir Woods

Oregon Oxalis and Trillium, Muir Woods. Muir Woods National Monument, California. April 17, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Lush late-winter Oregon Oxalis and Trillium leaves carpet the forest floor in the redwood groves of Muir Woods National Monument, California.

It had been months since I last visited Muir Woods National Monument, so it was good to get back there and shoot again on this mid-April weekend. Although it was late winter, here in Northern California more often than not that means that spring is well on its way. Here in the redwood forest the trillium plants (like the one at the upper left in this photograph) are up and they have already bloomed. The Oregon Oxalis (or Redwood Sorrell) is growing like crazy and among the beds of lush leaves there are now small flowers as well.

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 | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 200mm
ISO 100, f/14, 1.6 second

keywords: oregon, oxalis, redwood, sorel, oregana, leaf, clover, shamrock, forest, redwood, coast, sequioa, sempervirens, floor, carpet, green, lush, late, winter, trillium, muir, woods, national, monument, golden gate, national, recreation, area, park, marin, county, california, usa, north america, travel, scenic, nature, flower, close up, macro, stock, san francisco, bay, area