Tag Archives: flowers

Rocks and Grass, Sierra Foothills

Rocks and Grass, Sierra Foothills
Wildflowers and new grasses begin to sprout in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Rocks and Grasses, Sierra Foothills. Mariposa County, California. February 28, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Wildflowers and new grasses begin to sprout in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

The “impossible green” season begins early in California. I want to call this a “spring” photograph, but unlike many colder parts of the USA, these colors come to California in late winter. The effect is especially striking in years with good winter rains, and after four years of crushing drought much of California has received between normal and above normal rainfall this year. This past week it seemed like the Sierra foothills were taking advantage of all the moisture and of a recent warm spell.

Over three-day period we spend time in the Central Valley, Yosemite, and in the Sierra foothills. On the first day we were somewhat surprised to see the California Golden Poppies were already blooming in places in Merced Canyon, covering hillsides with a carpet of colorful flowers. Lower down in the foothills the short grasses have turned intensely green and wildflowers are beginning to bloom.


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 and Amazon.
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Flowers, Light, Shadow

Flowers, Light, Shadow
An urban garden scene in a friend’s yard

Flowers, Light, Shadow. Heidelberg, Germany. July 12, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An urban garden scene in a friend’s yard

I have had this little photograph open in my image editing program for some time now, waiting to post it online. It is a simple photograph, but I connect it to several things that have some meaning to me. The scene is in the tiny yard at the home of relatives in Heidelberg, Germany, whose hospitality we enjoyed over a two-week period a couple of summers ago. On this evening we had gone outside, if I recall correctly, to eat and have some wine when I noticed this diagonal beam of light passing over the surface of the white wall and forming a shadow. As someone once wrote, “There is always something to see,” and photographs are potentially anywhere.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | FacebookGoogle+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email


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

Olympic Doorway, Flowers

Olympic Doorway, Flowers
Street art in a doorway, bouquet of flowers, London street

Olympic Doorway, Flowers. London, England. July 5, 2013. © Copyright 2013. G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Street art in a doorway, bouquet of flowers, London street

It has been a very busy day and another busy day is beginning, so this will be a short post today. As we walked past this spot in London on a summer 2013 visit it seemed that perhaps not everyone had been equally enthusiastic about the Olympic Games coming to London…


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | FacebookGoogle+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email


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

Urban Flower Hunter

Urban Flower Hunter
Urban Flower Hunter

Urban Flower Hunter. Chicago, Illinois. August 2, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photographing flowers in a Chicago urban garden

In this photograph a woman kneels to make close-up photographs of flowers in an urban garden at Chicago’s Millennium Park. Not just any woman, by the way, but my wife! Aside from that obvious factor, there are several other things that I like about this scene and this photograph, some of them photographic and others more about the facts of the image.

Most people would pass right by such an urban garden. Some will notice it and perhaps look a bit. But a person who stops and looks close, as Patty does, can find a whole world to see in such a small place. In this photograph I also like the juxtaposition of the sharp angles and structures of the downtown Chicago skyline, with colors muted by hazy afternoon, and the wild and unpredictable organic forms and colors of the bit of garden. It doesn’t hurt that her red top complements the greens, either!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.