Tag Archives: foliage

Photographs: Nature

Pink Tulip

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A pink spring tulip with early morning water droplets.

Pink Tulip. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A pink spring tulip with early morning water droplets.

With this photograph I will (probably? maybe?) close out the photographs from our early March visit to a San Francisco Bay Area garden. We thought we were there for the peak of the tulip bloom, but only a few of the flowers were in bloom yet. This year’s wild California weather seems to have thrown off nature’s schedule a bit. But even one blooming flower can be enough, and this one seems quite nice.

You might be looking at the photograph and thinking, “the flower is lovely, but did you have to spray the water on it?” I can assure you that those drops were actually there with no assistance from me. Between the exceptional recent rainfall and the early morning hour, there was still lot of water on the plants.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature

Emerging Tulip

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Emerging Tulip
A tulip bud begins to open.

Emerging Tulip. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A tulip bud begins to open.

This is another tulip photograph, though this one is at a much earlier point in its development. We recently visited a large garden that features lots of tulips at this time every season. But this year they seemed delayed a bit, perhaps as a result of the recent cold and rainy weather. Some were blooming, but far more were still in the pre-bloom phase like this one.

Tulips are obviously quite beautiful when they blossom, but I’m also attracted to this pre-blossom stage when they are mostly green and just starting to hint at the color that will soon appear. If you look closely you can see just a tiny bit of color near the very tip.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Blue Hyacinth

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Blue Hyacinth
Macro photography of blue hyacinth flowers.

Blue Hyacinth. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Macro photography of blue hyacinth flowers.

While I like photographing flowers, I’m no expert on the plant world or flowers. In fact, I have a heck of a time keeping their names straight! It has always been this way. It has always been the case that I could recognize the appearance of a wildflower, down to the specific spot where I might find it, the week when it would typically bloom, and what else might grow nearby… yet be unable to recall its name. These hyacinth flowers intrigue me… but I didn’t know what they were called!

I did, however, recognize that they are not easy to photograph. Their shape creates challenges regarding depth of field, especially when I try to photograph individual blossoms. If finally occurred to me that, rather than trying to photograph separate flowers, I could photograph from a position directly a above the plant and capture the remarkable patterns produced by the mass of flowers radiating out from the central stem.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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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

Holly in the Sun

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Holly in the Sun
A desert holly plant in sunlight, growing in a Death Valley National Park canyon.

Holly in the Sun. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A desert holly plant in sunlight, growing in a Death Valley National Park canyon.

Last week I made my first visit of the year to Death Valley National Park. I like to photograph there during the winter and again at the very beginning of spring. Despite the reputation of the place, it can be quite cold there in January, and I experienced a few windy and chilly moments. I made this photograph near the furthest point in a pleasant wander up a lovely wash that I happened into more or less by accident. I was near a ridge and the slanting afternoon light was still just catching the branches of this desert holly plant.

The circumstances of this afternoon’s walk were a reminder about one of the best ways to encounter the wild. I had gone out to scout a location for the next day’s dawn photography, and from my selected location I saw a small canyon dropping away. I almost didn’t enter it, but finally decide to walk “just a few feet” in to investigate. I did, and soon came to a junction with a much larger wash, and I couldn’t resist exploring. I started up, eventually going 15 minutes past my turn-around time, and finally ending up in a narrow, constricted, dark… and altogether fascinating little stretch of canyon that I need to explore again.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

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