Tag Archives: green

Photographs: Nature

Leaves in Rain

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Leaves in Rain, Portland
“Leaves in Rain” — Leaves in rain, Portland, Oregon.

Californians have been dealing with strange weather patterns for more than a decade now — a five-year drought, a few years of way above average rainfall, and then the current season that has been almost completely rainless up until now. As I write this the pendulum is apparently about the swing the other direction, and the forecasts for my part of the state predict an “atmospheric river” storm later this week that has the potential to bring absurd amounts of rain over the course of a few days. It seems to be feast or famine, though the amount of recent rain famine has been the biggest concern.

While this photograph is evocative of the weather we’re about to have, it comes from a naturally wetter place a few hundred miles to the north, namely Portland, Oregon. On a spring visit a few years back we ended up in one of that cities urban parks on a cloudy and wet day, and as we wandered though gardens I stopped to photograph these leaves.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Sand Dune Plants, Evening

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Sand Dune Plants, Evening
Low plants eke out an existence on Death Valley sand dunes.

Sand Dune Plants, Evening. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Low plants eke out an existence on Death Valley sand dunes.

Since travel to places as distant as Death Valley National Park is off the table right now, I’m vicariously experiencing one of my favorite places to be in the winter by reviewing my raw file archive from a visit in 2013. I visit DEVA every winter and sometimes in early spring, and I hope that California travel restrictions will moderate in a month or two from now and I’ll still be able to visit this year.

As I go back over these photographs, it looks like it was a fairly typical sort of day in DEVA for me. I had gotten up very early, driven east from the Valley, and turned onto Titus Canyon Road. I spent the morning and early afternoon on that route, and perhaps I share a few photographs from that familiar adventure soon, too. It looks like I returned to camp, probably for a late lunch, before heading back on in the late afternoon to photograph in sand dunes. Along the way to a spot I had in mind, I paused to photograph these small plants growing among the patterns of windblown sand, no doubt momentarily marveling at the apparent challenge of finding a way to live in such a spot.

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: Architecture, Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Garden Wall Arches

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Garden Wall Arches
A texture wall with archest next to a small garden, Balboa Park.

Garden Wall Arches. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A texture wall with archest next to a small garden, Balboa Park.

This photograph comes from a set that I made during a visit to the San Diego area back in 2013. We were in the Los Angeles Basin, and decided to head south for a short visit. We ended up spending time at the city’s Balboa Park, one of the most impressive city park sites I’ve seen.

At times we simply strolled around the grounds, without any particular immediate agenda. This gave me plenty of opportunities to play with photographic ideas that just cropped up — nothing iconic, and often more about shape and texture and color, as in this photograph of a section of arches in a wall above a garden and colored with both warm and cool tones of light.

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: Nature

Winter Reeds

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Winter Reeds
Early winter wetland reeds transition from green to yellow to brown.

Winter Reeds. © Copyright 2020 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early winter wetland reeds transition from green to yellow to brown.

These reed thickets grow in all sorts of wetland areas in my “neck of the woods” — in and around ponds, along creeks, and so forth — forming a sort of living landscape that changes continuously throughout the year from season to season. I photographed these during the first week of winter, when they were well other along in the transition to their dormant season but still with some green plants among them.

The reeds are a habitat for all kinds of wetland creatures, perhaps because they provide some shelter and protection from predators. When I think of these places, my main association has to do with the little redwing and tricolor blackbirds that are often found among them. At times flocks of them collect on the highest branches, producing a wild cacophony of bird song, and then retreat into the thicket when anyone or anything threatening approaches..

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 | 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.