Tag Archives: flowers

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Purple Wildflowers

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Purple Wildflowers
Purple Wildflowers. Grant Ranch County Park, California. April 20, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring purple wildflowers photographed in the grasslands of Grant Ranch County Park east of San Jose, California.

I’m told that these are Vicia villosa or winter vetch. All I know for certain is that the hillside was covered with these beautiful small flowers, and that I had to get down very low on the ground to photograph them. :-)

For those interested in photo equipment issues, this photo is evidence, I think, that you can get decent out of focus background bokeh from the Canon 24-105mm f/4 L.

keywords: purple, wildflowers, wild, flowers, grant ranch, santa clara, county, park, joseph, green, leaf, grass, stem, bloom, blossom, spring, nature, stock, california, usa, photo, photography, Vicia villosa, winter vetch

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Oak, Sky, and Sun

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Oak, Sky, and Sun
Oak, Sky, and Sun. Calero Hills, California. April 13, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning sun rises above an oak tree on a grassy ridge in central California.

This is from one of the local oak/grassland areas that I visit regularly – hardly a week goes by when I don’t head over there and hike past this very spot in all seasons and all conditions. On this early spring morning the sun was just above the hillside to my east and the solitary oak was casting a long shadow across the slope of this grassy hill. (There is also a black and white version of this photograph that I like quite a bit.)

keywords: oak, tree, meadow, grass, flowers, hill, ridge, sun, silhouette, blue, sky, plants, spring, morning, grassland, calero, santa clara, county, park, california, usa, scenic, landscape, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Death Valley Dunes, Sunrise

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Death Valley Dunes, Sunrise

Death Valley Dunes, Sunrise. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunrise at the Death Valley Dunes with the Funeral Mountains in the distance.

This was shot at about the same time as the photograph I posted yesterday, also right an sunrise and in a location “behind” the dunes from the perspective of the nearby highway.

keywords: sunrise, dawn, death valley, national park, dunes, sand, plants, flowers, wildflowers, funeral, mountains, amargosa, california, usa, scenic, travel, landscape, stock, usa, stovepipe, wells

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Flowers at Dawn, Death Valley Dunes

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Flowers at Dawn, Death Valley Dunes

Flowers at Dawn, Death Valley Dunes. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Wildflowers in dawn light at the Death Valley Dunes with the Funeral Mountains in the distance. Photographed more or less behind the main dunes near Stovepipe Wells.

I had hiked out “behind” the dunes before sunrise, starting a bit closer to Stovepipe Wells than many may. This affords an easier route the the part of the higher part of the dunes, crossing a more level route rather than slogging across the waves of sand. The sun rose just as I came around behind the dunes.

keywords: flowers, wildflowers, yellow, blossoms, sand, dunes, death valley, national park, california, usa, nature, landscape, travel, scenic, morning, dawn, light, plants, funeral, mountains, stock