Tag Archives: grass

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Spring Meadow, Passing Storm

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Spring Meadow, Passing Storm
Sunlight on a flower-filled spring meadow with storm clouds in the distance

Spring Meadow, Passing Storm. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunlight on a flower-filled spring meadow with storm clouds in the distance.

This spring I was fortunate to be able to chase the spring wildflower bloom over a period of more than two months. (And I’m not done yet!) I visited this location twice, once near the end of March and again a few weeks later in early April when this wet-year bloom was more or less reaching its peak in this area. In some ways the springtime transformation in California areas like this one is doubly impressive, as these places are generally brown (or as we say, “golden”) during the majority of the year.

On the day of this visit there were scattered springtime rain squalls moving across the landscape. One moment it was sunny, and the next moment the sky was darkened by clouds and rain fell. Distant landscapes combined the patterns of shadows and the light. I had just made my camp in the hills and was descending back to the valley to chase the wildflowers when I stopped briefly to photograph this sunlit meadow backed by the dark skies of one of the passing showers.

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: Nature

Tidy Tips Flowers And Grass

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Tidy Tips Flowers And Grass
Sprng tidy tips flowers in a grassy meadow

Tidy Tips Flowers And Grass. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sprng tidy tips flowers in a grassy meadow.

This post continues my recent adventures with the new macro lens, in which I learn to better understand how to photograph small things at short distances. For someone who often photographs the large things in the world, where sizes are measured in miles rather than millimeters, this requires some adjustments!

This is not the first recent photograph of tidy tips flowers, nor will it be the last. We had plenty of opportunities to photograph this beautiful flower this spring when we traveled to Southern California grasslands and desert areas. In this photograph I endeavored to place one large flower in front of a background that included more of these flowers and the intensely-green spring grasses.

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 and Amazon.

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

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

Photographs: Nature

California Golden Poppy, Spring Grass

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California Golden Poppy, Spring Grass
A California golden poppy flower amidst a field of spring grass

California Golden Poppy, Spring Grass. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A California golden poppy flower amidst a field of spring grass.

Everyone knows that the California Golden Poppy is this state’s “official flower.” I suppose there are two primary reasons. First, the flower’s name connects to California’s gold rush history. Second, these flowers are found all over the state, often in extraordinary abundance, especially during the spring following wet winters — which is just what we are experiencing this year. Visitors looking for these flowers often produce near-mob-scenes at some of the best-known locations. The good news is that you can find the flowers everywhere! I found this one in a place not far from my home where I often hike. But I could have found a fine poppy subject on a short neighborhood walk within five minutes of my home!

Perhaps to the surprise of many who try to photograph them, these flowers pose several distinct challenges — and that’s not counting the challenge of getting yourself down low enough on the ground to get up close. The color is so intense that it is easy to over-expose even when your camera tells you that you haven’t, and the result is blown-out loss of detail. (Hint: Underexpose a bit when photographing the poppies.) A second challenge is that the flowers close and night and only open in the morning when hit by sun — making it tricky to photograph them in the more manageable soft light. You could look for one in the shade… or you could make or carry your own shade, which is what I do. Third, the shape of the flower is a challenge, mainly in the depth-of-field realm. In many cases you want to throw the background out of focus in order to bring attention to the flower. However, because the flower doesn’t have a “flat” side, this tends to make parts of the flower out of focus, too. My solution here was to allow that to happen with the further petals, but to make the nearer, sharp petals the visual focus.

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 and Amazon.

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

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Temblor Range, Carrizo Plain, Spring

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Temblor Range, Carrizo Plain, Spring
The Temblor Range and spring growth, Carrizo Plain National Monument

Temblor Range, Carrizo Plain, Spring. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The Temblor Range and spring growth, Carrizo Plain National Monument.

One the first day of this recent visit to the Carrizo Plain National Monument, I arrived in the middle of the afternoon. I had driven down from the San Francisco Bay Area, choosing to start out later than sometimes since I knew I would not get there for first light. My plan was to arrive in time to set up a campsite and then head out for some late-day and evening photography. I arrived, found a campsite at a location a few miles into the hills on a gravel road, and then travelled back down toward the valley a couple of hours before sunset.

This was among the first photographs of the afternoon. Conditions were quite interesting — rain showers were about (and, in fact, I set up my camp in light rain) but there was also sunlight between the showers. Longer views often included some of the rain, some dark shadows under clouds, and patches of sunlight moving across the landscape. Here I found a place where those bit of sunlight fell on a close hill full of new plants and yellow flowers, and where the longer (ten mile) view across the valley looked out on the location of the San Andreas Fault and the base of the Temblor Range.

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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