Tag Archives: flowers

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Dormant Wetlands Plants

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Dormant Wetlands Plants
“Dormant Wetlands Plants” — Dormant and dried wetlands plants reflected in the still water of a quiet pond.

My first “real” visit of the season to my favorite migratory bird photography location did not go as planned. (Actually, I did stop briefly a month ago and a half earlier, but things were still slow back then.) I was hoping for luminous tule fog and lots of geese and sandhill cranes. Instead I got thick gray elevated overcast and fewer birds than expected. Ah, well, it happens… and when it does I look for something else to photograph.

This is one of the “something else” photographs. This area is full of shallow seasonal ponds, and when they fill the summer’s plants still emerge from the still water and make fascinating reflections. For this subject the very soft light from the overcast worked well and revealed a more of the plants’ details.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast

Coastal Cascade

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Coastal Cascade
“Coastal Cascade” — A Big Sur creek forms a small waterfall just before it reaches the Pacific Ocean on a foggy morning.

We were on the upper Big Sur coast on this June morning, photographing large surf along with sea stacks and steep cliffs. I first worked that subject from some distance using long lenses, then moved right down to the edge of the water for intimate landscape/seascape images. Eventually I decided to head back up and away from the immediate coast, and as I walked I came across this little cascade.

I thought that the angle of the falling water below the little gully was interesting, and I like the back light an rim light on the edges of the rocks. The combination of thin fog and ocean spray added a muted quality to the atmosphere. The biggest challenge here was that the primary subject, the falling water, was in shadow, and this muted its brightness a bit.

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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Chinese Houses Flowers

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Chinese Houses Flowers
“Chinese Houses Flowers” — Purple Chinese houses wildflowers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I have often wondered about the popular name of these “Chinese houses” flowers — what the connection could possibly be with houses from China. Regardless, they are among the spring wildflowers that grow in the oak forests and grasslands around the San Francisco Bay Area, including a trail through a park south of San Jose where I photographed these specimens.

Some flowers are pretty easy to photograph — they are colorful and have shapes that are easy to photograph. (Close-ups of some flowers are tricky due to the narrow depth of field at short distances.) I’ve never found the Chinese houses easy to photograph. It is difficult to find a plant on which all of the buds are in this colorful stage — usually some are not open or already turning brown. The plant often grows low to the ground among other distracting elements. Bright sun can create dark shadows and wash out details. So I was pleased to find this group in an areas of soft, shaded light and to find all of the flowers open and colorful.

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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Mesquite Plants, Dunes

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Mesquite Plants, Dunes, Death Valley
“Mesquite Plants, Dunes” — Mesquite plants growing on sand dunes, Death Valley National Park.

Mesquite manages to survive and occasionally prosper in very unlikely conditions. This thriving instance is growing in the middle of dunes in Death Valley, not exactly the most friendly environment. In the dunes, isolated clumps of vegetation like this create their own little ecosystems. The plants interfere with the windblown passage of sand, and in their shelter you can often find evidence of animal life — insects, lizards and snakes, occasional tracks of small mammals.

If you spend much time out in the dunes you soon realize that a lot of these plants are dead or nearly so, existing now just as snags. It is a tough environment! This little clump of mesquite is one of the healthiest I have encountered.

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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

2 responses to “Mesquite Plants, Dunes”

  1. hokkum Avatar
    hokkum

    Clarity is of course terrific, but even more interesting is the contrast between life and apparent death.

    Reply
    1. G Dan Mitchell Avatar
      G Dan Mitchell

      That contrast is never far away in the desert, is it?

      Dan

      Reply

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