Manroot flowers blossom in the redwood forest at Muir Woods National Monument, Caifornia.
I hope I have the right ID on this flower. I’m noted before that I’m no expert on these things – I often can’t identify by name flowers that I am very familiar with. As near as I can tell, this is a “manroot” flower, also known as Marah fabecus. I photographed it in the forest of Muir Woods along Redwood Creek, where the plant grows in a vinelike manner among other plants.
The flowers are striking in the shaded forest, and especially since they seem to grow against a background of darker plants. I used an extension tube to make this photograph, shooting very close to the small flowers.
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.
Two photos today! Photographer Rebecca Jackrel (Adventures Through the Lens) points out that today is the birthday of the Golden Gate Bridge, which was opened on this date in 1937. Since I have a few photos of this icon lying around I thought I’d repost one of them to celebrate. (More information about this image in the original post)
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.
Black and white photograph of spring ferns growing in the redwood forest at Muir Woods National Monument, California.
I barely caught this bunch of ferns alongside Redwood Creek as the morning sun was approaching them. As I set up and started to shoot the ferns were in shade but picking up some diffused light starting to come through the forest canopy. I probably got no more than a minute of shooting time before a beam of sun poked through and illuminated the right part of the scene… far too brightly!
I considered sharing this as a color image – it is full of rich green from the deep forest light on the spring leaves in this moist place. However, the more I worked with it the more I felt that the textures and patterns of the fern leaves and the gradations of light and shadow would be overpowered by the intense green of the color rendition.
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.
Photograph of a sunlit gully in afternoon light at Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park, California.
Zabriskie Point is a justifiably famous overlook in Death Valley National Park – arguably the iconic view of the park, with the pyramid-shaped Manley Point above amazingly folder patterns of hills and gullies and with Death Valley and the sometimes snow topped summit of the Panamint Range beyond. (OK, the dunes might compete with Zabriskie in the Icon department…)
Everyone photographs at Zabriskie, and I’m no exception. However, my approach to this location has changed over time. At first any Zabriskie sunrise seems worth photographing, and in all honesty sunrise there is an amazing experience in all but the worst conditions. Eventually, though, you become a bit more discerning and not just any sunrise will do. I’ll generally only shoot sunrise there now if I think that the conditions will be extra spectacular, usually meaning some combination of clear or otherwise interesting lower atmosphere, perhaps snow on the Panamints, and some interesting clouds overhead. But even that is starting to feel a bit overworked.
Recently I’ve been trying to figure out what (and how) to photograph here without doing “the usual thing.” Several ideas have come to mind. Earlier I posted a photograph of the Manifold formation made at night under a full moon, and I think there is still more potential there. As others have done, I’ve played around with trying to find shooting locations other than the familiar one near the overlook. This photograph is an attempt to combine two other approaches that I’m working on – detail shots of small elements of the scene made with a long lens and shots made during the day at times other than the “normal” sunrise time.
I first saw this small gully a couple years ago when I happened to stop at Zabriskie during the mid-morning period on my way back from shooting somewhere else. Initially I just thought I’d wander up the path from the parking lot, scout things out a bit, and move on. But as I looked at the scene I realized that not all parts of this spot are necessarily best lit at sunrise, and that some actually can become interesting during the less obvious times of day. This is one attempt at a further exploration of this particular twisting gully, here shot in very bright daytime sun light only slightly diffused by high thin clouds.
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.
Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 400mm
ISO 100, f/16, 1/125 second
keywords: zabriskie, point, fold, gully, hill, pattern, light, shadow, ridge, brown, golden, wash, rugged, gravel, dirt, geology, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, death valley, national, park, california, usa, north america, desert, formation, afternoon, winding, stock
Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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