Tag Archives: hills

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Meadow, Hills, and Fence

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Meadow, Hills, and Fence

Meadow, Hills, and Fence. Calero Hills, California. April 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Soft morning light on spring meadow and pasture as fog burns off in the Calero Hills.

I made this photograph on my Saturday morning hike as the fog began to break up over these rolling hills in the Calero Park of southern Santa Clara County. I walk past this scene frequently as it is on a trail that I hike quite often – but this soft light on spring plants is special since it only lasts a few weeks each year.

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: calero, hills, park, county, santa clara, morning, light, fog, mist, cloud, fold, rolling, flower, grass, fence, meadow, pasture, tree, oak, ridge, mountain, gully, creek, bottom, california, usa, scenic, landscape, nature, stock, spring

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

California Buckeye, Morning Fog

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California Buckeye, Morning Fog

California Buckeye, Morning Fog. Calero Hills, California. April 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Weak sunlight filters through fog to illuminate a solitary California buckeye tree.

Since the peak of the “impossibly green season” is happening right about now here in Central California, I started this weekend by visiting two of the oak/grassland parks very close to my home. This photograph was made as I started a short hike at Calero County Park, an area of open grassland and oaks spread across rolling hills. It was very foggy when I started out but soon the sun began to break up the fog. In this photograph the fog was beginning to thin and the buckeye tree is lit by soft filtered light coming through the fog.

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: california, buckeye, tree, branch, leaf, trunk, alone, solitary, solo, grass, meadow, fog, mist, spring, green, light, sunlight, nature, landscape, scenic, travel, usa, santa clara county, calero, park, hills, morning, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Sunrise, Lower Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley

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Sunrise, Lower Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley

Sunrise, Lower Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Panorama of early morning sun illuminating hills in lower Twenty Mule Team Canyon with Death Valley beyond – Death Valley National Park, California.

This is a view of Death Valley that I did not know about until I shot in Twenty Mule Team Canyon last week. As I was working on photographing the nearby folded formations of the earth I happened to look down-canyon in time to see this wonderful light hitting the tops of the hills at the lower portion of the canyon with the rest of Death Valley and the Panamint Range beyond. This photograph is a stitch of two 21MP photographs from the 5DII. Although I exposed them differently I was able to compensate in post and I think the blend is pretty seamless.

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: sunrise, dawn, morning, light, illuminate, hills, formations, geology, 20, twenty, mule, team, canyon, lower, death valley, national park, california, usa, panorama, wide, salt, flats, panamint, mountain, range, sky, shadow, vista, landscape, scenic, travel, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Larkspur Flowers

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Larkspur Flowers

Larkspur Flowers. Quicksilver Hills, California. March 28, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Larkspur in spring bloom along a trail at Almaden Quicksilver Park, California.

These flowers were also photographed along the little section of trail running through the valley at Almaden Quicksilver Park that I mentioned in an earlier post or two. This valley holds a wonderful collection of spring wildflowers, and I visit it each year during the several weeks of late March and early April each year when the wildflower display is at its peak. There is a bend in the trail on a downhill section where the ground is shady in the morning and open to the sun in the afternoon where a small garden of these flowers is found – the entire patch contains perhaps a dozen or two plants, and the flowers come and go quite quickly.

I find this flower to be one of the most difficult to photograph – and for a series of reasons. It is not seen that widely; you will find it if you are out and about, but it certainly is not ubiquitous. Its blooms are only visible, much less attractive, for a short time somewhat early in the wildflower season – the flowers can quickly turn dry and drab looking. Sometimes a very nice flower will share a stem with others that are way past their prime. And, finally, the flower’s color is very dark – this can make it very tricky to shoot in even the best light. Its details can easily disappear into the dark tones, and its color can be overshadowed by almost any other plant that shares the frame. In this photograph I was lucky to fine a group of flowers still in pretty good shape, that had a slightly redder tint than some might, and which was illuminated by back/side light that wasn’t too harsh, and which were in front of background plants that were not in full sun. Using a long lens with its narrow depth of field also helped to diffuse the background and set the flowers off a bit.

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: larkspur, Delphinium depauperatum, flower, wild, wildflower, purple, blue, green, plant, foliage, stem, bokeh, spring, season, california, usa, almaden, quicksilver, county, park, santa clara, san jose, trail, hike, hills, san francisco, bay area, nature, stock, bud, bloom, blossom