Tag Archives: green

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Green and Brown

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Green and Brown
A dry fallen leaf rests on lush green leaves on the forest floor.

Green and Brown. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A dry fallen leaf rests on lush green leaves on the forest floor.

When I visit gardens to ostensibly photograph flowers, I inevitably find myself photographing other things — structures and objects, trees, fallen flowers, people, and ground plants growing in lush and shaded areas. The beautiful and very green leaves often seem like they would be easy to photograph, but I almost always realize that finding just the right arrangement can be challenging.

The stroke of luck here was finding this one light brown leaf lying atop the larger green leaves. This was spring, not autumn, and old, dry leaves are pretty rare. And, no, I did not put it there — I found it the way you see it.

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: Abstract

Serendipity

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Serendipity
A photograph of some colorful things.

Serendipity. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A photograph of some colorful things.

This is just about color… unless you want to make it about something else. Such a photograph could be intentional (to the extent that photographs are “intentional” — read the second paragraph), but the level of serendipity in this one is high, hence the title.

There’s an odd idea that photographs are objective records — but that’s clearly not true. Even in cases where some sort of evidentiary standard is followed, decisions about aspects of what gets recorded and how it gets recorded are subjective. And beyond that limited use for photographs, once we get into the realm of images that are intended to express something, photographs are often far from objective records. One of my favorite expressions: “All photographs lie.” (I could refine that a bit, but there’s not space in this post.)

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: Northern California

Beneath the Blooming Dogwood

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Beneath the Blooming Dogwood
Light glows through the blossoms and leaves of a spring dogwood tree.

Beneath the Blooming Dogwood. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Looking upwards toward dense spring dogwood flowers.

Over a month ago I shared a photograph of a blooming dogwood tree in Manhattan’s Central Park. In that post I alluded to the fact that this was not likely to be quite my typical year for photographing this kind of tree. Typically I would make a spring visit to Yosemite Valley and other nearby areas to photograph this annual event, but it looked like I wouldn’t this time. But surprises arrive, and a few weeks later I did find myself in Yosemite with camera next to flowering dogwoods. But the surprises weren’t over, and later I photographed these blossoms in a San Francisco Bay Area location.

There’s a beautiful public garden on the San Francisco Peninsula where we go regularly to photograph. We started much earlier this season, and we had seen dogwood trees there — though I didn’t photograph them much. We went back much later, at the end of spring, and we were surprised to find new dogwood blooms in this place where we had thought they were spent.

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: Nature

Leaves in Shadows

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Leaves in Shadows
Lush leaves in the shadows of a San Francisco Peninsula garden.

Leaves in Shadows. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Lush leaves in the shadows of a San Francisco Peninsula garden.

In early June we visited our favorite San Francisco Peninsula garden. We usually go early in the morning, but this time we went late in the day — there was a special event featuring music, drinks, and food, along with the opportunity to sit under oak trees or on the lawn and watch the evening light arrive. As appealing as all of that was, we still DID bring cameras.

Before the light decreased too much, we managed to do a quick circuit of some of the more interesting parts of the garden, mostly looking for flowers. But we also stopped in a dark little grove where most of the flowers were spent, and here I photographed this lush growth beneath the trees.

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.