Tag Archives: flowers

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Wild Onion Flowers

Image August 13, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Wild onion plants blossoming in a meadow below Sierra Nevada peaks

This week-long (plus!) visit to the Sierra backcountry came during a summer following a record-setting wet season in California. This was more special than usual, as the five years before that had been a period of intense and historically unprecedented drought conditions. During those earlier years a visit to this location at this time of year would have seen dry meadows, almost no wildflowers, and missing snow fields. Given that backdrop, the lush green landscape was extra special.

Even at this late date the wildflowers were abundant and lush. By the end of our stay a few sections of some open meadows were showing just a bit of brown. In may seem surprising, but the purple swamp onion flowers are among my favorite in the Sierra. The plants are lush and green, they typically grow in wet areas, and the flowers are colorful. But more than that is the special surprise of coming upon the fragrance of fresh, wild onions in the backcountry.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Spring Dogwood, Water

May 28, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Branches of spring dogwood trees, against a backdrop of the Merced River

Dogwood trees are a spring phenomenon everywhere, but they are a special attraction in the low and middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada every spring. Near the end of April these trees leaf out with flower-like “bracts” soon appearing, and their white or near-white color stands out against the green foliage, especially in low light and shadows.

As so many Yosemite photographers do — it is nearly impossible to resist! — I photographed these branches, leaves, and flowers against the backdrop of the Merced River, its spring flow reflecting the colors of the sunlight on nearby cliffs. I made the photograph at the very beginning of dogwood season, in late April, and a month later I was still able to find trees full of the white flowers in other locations within the park.

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Creosote, Sea Of Dunes

April 9, 2018 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A sea of sand dunes extends to distant desert mountains behind a cluster of creosote bushes

This photograph comes from those moments just before sunrise on the dunes, when there is not yet any direct, intense light. Instead the light is soft and diffused, and blue tones are seen in the distance and in shadows. We had arrived in this area earlier, after perhaps a 20 minute walk that began in near-darkness. This is not necessarily time for slow and contemplative photography — conditions evolve quickly, and I often have to make some fairly quick decisions before the light changes or is gone. Moments after making this photograph, for example, that direct light did arrive from the right, and the scene was completely transformed.

Sand dunes are remarkable and surprising places. I think the first impression for most people is of the sand itself — its extent, its shapes, the variations and texture and color, and (of course!) how difficult it is to walk across it. It is hard to imagine a more perfect canvas for the play of light. The dunes are not intrinsically very colorful, but they do a remarkable job of picking up color and light from their surroundings. Beyond the sand itself, the things that appear in the dunes are also fascinating. A close look reveals evidence of the passage of unseen animals, in spring flower blossoms may collect in hollows, and somehow plants manage to survive and sometimes prosper in this forbidding environment. In Death Valley creosote bushes grow throughout many of the dunes. Some of them can appear almost lush at certain times of the year — with new leaves and many small, yellow flowers. Others, like those on this small hill, seem to be barely hanging on to life.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Trees, Tarn, Mountains

November 8, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Late afternoon skies darken above alpine peaks and a meadow holding a small reflecting tarn

No, I’m still not finished with the photographs from our nine-day photographic sojourn into the John Muir Wilderness, on which a group of us base camped in a stunning backcountry location and wandered off daily to photograph the area. Today, on a morning that is the first one of the season to feel winter-like here, it seems both odd and pleasant to think back on these summer days of photography, friends, sun, thunder showers, green meadows and flowers, cross-country hikes into high places, and more.

This meadow and its tarn were located perhaps 10-15 minutes above the location of our camp, and once we “discovered” the place we visited almost daily. It was a stunning place, filled with green meadow plants and wildflowers and surrounded by alpine scenery. The mountains to our south were a daily presence as they rose on the other side of a deep river canyon, and I had wanted to photograph this small tarn since I first saw it. That became my focus on this visit, and this photograph is one of several in which I tried to combine the meadow, tarn, small trees, and the distant view.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: flowers

Wild Onion Flowers

Spring Dogwood, Water

Creosote, Sea Of Dunes

Trees, Tarn, Mountains

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.