Tag Archives: japanese

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Waterfall and Pond, Japanese Garden

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Waterfall and Pond, Japanese Garden
Waterfall, pond, and trees in a quiet Japanese Garden, Portland, Oregon.

Waterfall and Pond, Japanese Garden. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Waterfall, pond, and trees in a quiet Japanese Garden, Portland, Oregon.

Some years back we used to get to visit Portland, Oregon somewhat regularly when we had family in the area. (Our youngest son lived there for a few years.) Portland is a rather unique place, especially in the central core. I won’t try to explain except to point out that there is a rather unique fusion of cultures in the area. We like the place, though it has been a few years now since our last visit.

Portland seems to me to be a city off gardens. Two wonderful Asian gardens are in the area — the Chinese Garden in an urban setting close to the downtown area, and the Japanese Garden set in more rustic surroundings in the hills. We spent a day in the latter garden, and this photograph of a lush scene of water and vegetation is one of several photographs I made there during this visit.

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

Gate Latch and Padlock

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Gate Latch and Padlock
Gate Latch and Padlock

Gate Latch and Padlock. Pasadena, California. November 28, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late afternoon sun on a fence with a gate latch and lock

We were in Southern California on a family holiday vacation in late November, and on the day after Thanksgiving we decided to “go do something” other than sitting around and digesting the previous day’s dinner. We planned a get-together with family/friends way up in Pasadena and the Southern Californians suggested the Huntington Library (and gardens and museums), which we had not visited before — so off we went.

We did not know what to expect from this place, but soon realized what a large and diverse and interesting facility it is. There are a number of museums on the huge grounds of the former Huntington estate, a few of which we visited (including one housing an intriguing Caponigro/Davidson exhibit), places to eat and drink, and many gardens — Chinese, Japanese, desert, and more. We walked through the Japanese garden that the start of the beautiful light time of the afternoon, when the late season sun was low in the sky and producing soft, warm light as it shone through trees and bushes on this small gate.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Japanese Maple Leaves

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Japanese Maple Leaves - A small branch of a Japanese Maple tree.
A small branch of a Japanese Maple tree.

Japanese Maple Leaves. Portland, Oregon. July 3, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small branch of a Japanese Maple tree.

Japanese maple trees are ubiquitous in the gardens of Portland, Oregon, and during out early July visit to that town I had plenty of opportunities to photograph them. Here I decided to shoot a very small portion of a tree close up. I had been walking through this garden and focusing of larger views of whole trees and groups of trees and surrounding subjects, but when I walked past a small group of taller trees I noticed small twigs with a few leaves growing from the otherwise bare lower trunks and thought they might make interesting subjects themselves, especially in the very soft light in the shade of the taller trees.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Iris Blossom, Japanese Garden

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Iris Blossom, Japanese Garden - A new iris blossom emerges against a background of summer greenery.
A new iris blossom emerges against a background of summer greenery.

Iris Blossom, Japanese Garden. Portland, Oregon. July 3, 2012. © Copyright 2012 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A new iris blossom emerges against a background of summer greenery.

I was in Portland, Oregon during the past week on a family visit. I’ve been to and through Portland before, but this was the first time I have been able to stay there for a substantial amount of time. Although this was not primarily a photographic trip – I didn’t even carry a tripod! – I did keep a camera with me, and I had some opportunities to do some informal photography while getting to know the place. I also had a chance to find out just how much of a garden city Portland is. During five days in the city I think we visited at least that many gardens, ranging from formal rose gardens (for which the city is famous), small and informal gardens, several Japanese and Chinese gardens, gardens around homes and historic buildings, and more.

I made this photograph of what I’m pretty certain is an iris (I’m actually very bad at plant identification…) while walking around one such garden. Shooting in shade on an overcast afternoon, the light was close to the limit of what I would want to try to shoot handheld, but I crouched down low and I think I managed to make it work. I like the slightly curving shape of the stem, with its partially unwrapped sections, and the flower itself illuminated by soft light from the sky.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.