Tag Archives: golden

Commentary

Summer Grasses, Morning

Leave a comment
Summer Grasses, Morning

Summer Grasses, Morning. Castillero Pond, Calero Hills, California. August 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dry summer grasses in morning light along the shore of Castillero Pond, Calero Hills, California.

Yes, another in this series of morning photographs of summer grasses and similar flora. Again, this was photographed at Castillero Pond in the Calero Hills not far from where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. After a few recent trips to the high, alpine terrain near the Sierra Nevada crest, I thought it would be fun to photograph a more local and familiar subject. Although the grasses and cattails were not necessarily what I had on my mind when I went to this location, they quickly become my focus as I explored the shore of this small pond.

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

Web: G Dan Mitchell Photography
Twitter: http://twitter.com/gdanmitchell
Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/gdanmitchell
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gdanmitchell

keywords: calero, hills, santa clara, county, park, morning, summer, grass, flora, pond, castillero, plant, nature, california, usa, brown, golden, twig, stem, seed, dry, warm, bokeh, castillero, pond, shore, stock, blur, sharp, pattern

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Cattail and Grasses, Morning Light

4 Comments
Cattail and Grasses, Morning Light

Cattail and Grasses, Morning Light. Castillero Pond, Calero Hills, California. August 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A cattail stands among dry summer grasses at Castillero Pond, Calero Hills, California.

The next in the series – and, yes, there will likely be more! – of photographs of cattails and grasses from a recent morning shoot at Castillero Pond, not far from where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In these photographs I was playing with a whole series of ideas: the color and form of the late-season summer cattails in the warm morning side-lighting, the effect of blurring out the background of grasses and pond water, and the interesting color palette of yellow/gold, green, and blue. To a certain extent, I was also “going with the flow” since I had arrived at this pond with no strong preconceptions about what I would shoot- I had vague ideas concerning oak trees and open grassland and possibly photographing birds as I passed the pond – and then ended up being distracted by well over an hour by the subject of this series.

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

Web: G Dan Mitchell Photography
Twitter: http://twitter.com/gdanmitchell
Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/gdanmitchell
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gdanmitchell

keywords: calero, hills, santa clara, county, park, morning, summer, grass, flora, pond, castillero, plant, nature, california, usa, cat, tail, cattail, plant, blade, stem, branch, seed, bokeh, blur, blue, green, golden, central, northern, light, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Spring Pond, Tuolumne Meadows

Leave a comment
Spring Pond, Tuolumne Meadows

Spring Pond, Tuolumne Meadows. Yosemite National Park, California. July 10, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late afternoon light on a small runoff pond at the edge of Tuolumne Meadows with impressive clouds in the distance, Yosemite National Park, California.

If you have ever been to Tuolumne Meadows – or at least spent a few moments wandering about there – you probably know this little pond. It is right alongside the road where the John Muir Trail crosses on its way across the Meadows to Parsons Lodge, the old Sierra Club facility on the far side of the meadow by Soda Springs. It is a frequently-photographed feature of the meadow, though often it is used as a foreground for photographs of Lembert Dome. This photograph looks a bit fore towards the north or northwest towards Ragged Peak and the north boundary country of the park.

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

keywords: tuolumne, meadows, spring, summer, green, golden, grass, pool, pond, water, surface, blue, reflection, sky, clouds, plants, rocks, trees, forest, ridge, mountain, hill, ragged, peak, boulder, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, yosemite, national park, california, usa, high, sierra, nevada, range, lenticular, gray, stock

Commentary, Locations

Death Valley. Photography. Me.

Leave a comment

Some folks have written asking for ideas and advice about visiting Death Valley. (My first advice is go last month – too hot now!) In response I decided to start writing something that summarizes my experience (which is significant, but nowhere near that of the real DV experts) in the park, especially as it pertains to photographic locations and times of day/year to visit.

I originally thought I’d finish it right after my return from the park at the beginning of April. Didn’t happen… Instead, as I wrote the darn thing kept getting longer and longer. Today I decided to illustrate it with some of my DV photographs, and then I sat back and made a longer outline of the subjects I will eventually cover.

All of this is my way of saying that there eventually will be an article here on photographing Death Valley… but please be patient.