Tag Archives: foliage

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Dogwood Bloom and Leaves

May 17, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

An early dogwood blossom and leaves in Yosemite Valley, California.

There is not a lot to add to the previous post that came along with the black and white version of this photograph – but for anyone who didn’t see the earlier post I’ll offer a short description. I had been at the Ansel Adams Gallery reception for Michael Fry’s exhibit there in the middle of the afternoon, and after a very enjoyable hour and a half or so viewing his wonderful prints and schmoozing with various folks who came for the reception, I decided to wander off to the east along the base of the north walls of Yosemite Valley, at first heading in the general direction of the Ahwahnee Hotel. Near there I stopped at a tree that I have photographed previously, when I shot the autumn colors of the leaves draped across a large boulder. The new flowers were just starting to appear, so I climbed up on the boulder and spent some time photographing before continuing my wandering out towards the Merced River.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Dogwood Bloom and Leaves

May 12, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 10 Comments

An early dogwood blossom and leaves in Yosemite Valley, California.

This is another plant that I’m on a first name basis with. I know this particular dogwood rather well, having first been attracted to it one fall while walking along the north side of Yosemite Valley looking for leaves against rock. At that time the fall-color leaves of this dogwood tree were draped across the top of a low, flat boulder. When I’m in this part of the Valley, I often walk past this tree to see what it is doing. On this first weekend of May, the tree was just getting its first blossoms of the spring season, and I was able to clamber up on top of the boulder, set up my tripod, and make a few close-up photographs of the flowers.

I originally figured it would be a color photograph but as I worked on it I started to think it might be interesting in black and white, too. (You’ll get to decide – the color version will appear tomorrow.) Besides having to wait for the slight breeze to pause so that I could make a 1/8 second exposure, another challenge was the dynamic range between the bloom and the rather dark background. I tend to slightly underexpose the highlights, since digital capture is not kind to over-exposed whites. Then I work in post to bright the brightest parts back up to where I think they should be, but without letting anything blow out.

For dogwood fans, the “word on the street” had been that these flowers were coming along a bit later than usual this year. But on this day it seemed like they were suddenly starting to appear in many of the usual places in the Valley. I’m expecting them to peak between now and perhaps a week or so from now, and later on at higher elevations. One potential wrinkle is the possibility of snow in the Valley on Sunday!

Update: There is also a color version of this photograph.

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Redwood Forest Ferns

January 7, 2011 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

A dense growth of ferns grows beneath the coast redwood trees at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

I continue my year end (though it new extends into the new “year beginning”) review of all of the past year’s raw files with this photograph from May 2010. In this part of California, May is a time of transition. Although the calendar still says spring, in the moderate climate of coastal California the wild growth of early spring is over, and many annual plants have reached maturity. To see these ferns in growth mode you would have to visit the redwood forest earlier. But by May, especially here where the forest holds the moisture longer and keeps the temperatures cooler, many plants have reached their peak of growth. These ferns were growing alongside one of the trails through the main, popular section of the park – though I avoid the crowds of tourists coming across the Golden Gate bridge from San Francisco and get the soft and beautiful morning light by arriving at Muir Woods very early.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Meadow Grasses, Autumn Rain

December 2, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 6 Comments

Meadow grasses made shiny by autumn rain, Yosemite Valley, California.

This fall I have been “playing around” with photographs of very dense and detailed vegetation. (Two other recent related photographs include one of aspen leaves and one of creek dogwood.) This is a difficult thing, especially with a subject whose colors seem somewhat muted, but if it works the largish prints can work both by revealing some form that might be difficult to see in all the detail and by presenting the detail itself. (As much as many of us rightfully point out that sharpness is not everything, sometimes it is pretty important!)

I noticed the subject of this photograph while shooting something quite different. I was standing in a meadow near Curry Village in light rain and using a very long lens to photograph mist and clouds drifting among trees and spires high on the Yosemite Valley rim when I happened to look down at my feet. (Always a good idea to look at the other stuff when shooting a specific subject that you came for.) I noticed the shapes of the grasses and the mixture of greens and browns with the “cool” light from the cloudy conditions. Since I couldn’t shoot this subject with the lens I was using at the moment, I went back to the other subject and made a mental note to switch lens and pay some attention to the grasses when I finished.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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