Tag Archives: landscape

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Redwood Forest Plants

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Redwood Forest Plants
New growth among the plants growing on the dark forest floor beneath redwood trees

Redwood Forest Plants. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

New growth among the plants growing on the dark forest floor beneath redwood trees.

The gigantic trees are, obviously, a primary attraction in Northern California’s remarkable redwood forests. Having been brought up around them, I sometimes forget how unusual and striking they are. Two things remind me. One is when I see someone entering these forests for the first time, not quite believing what they are seeing. Another is when I leave the redwood forest and again see “normal” trees… which now seem very small! One advantage that comes with many years in the redwoods is that it becomes more possible to look away from the huge trees (though they are always in your thoughts) and take in smaller and things, and elements that are more subtle… like these delicate new leaves growing in the shadow of these trees.

As I worked on this photograph I thought about the process of photographing in the landscape. It can be a difficult thing to describe: What am I looking for? What causes me to stop and make a photograph? What is my state of mind when I’m working? Do I work slowly or quickly? (The answer to the last question is, “yes.”) But one thing is certain — the process is more about looking than about photographing. Those who have been with me in such places sometimes report being mildly annoyed by my slow, stop-and-start progress though the landscape. I’m constantly on the lookout for some subject, some light, some juxtaposition of shapes and forms. Most of the time when I spot something and stop… it turns out not to be worthy of a photograph. So I keep looking until I find “it,” whatever “it” is.

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: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Rhododendron And Ferns

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Rhododendron And Ferns
A single rhododendron flower, fallen onto a bed or redwood forest ferns

Rhododendron And Ferns. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A single rhododendron flower, fallen onto a bed or redwood forest ferns

On this evening we headed to a place where I knew there would be rhododendrons, a spot on a high bluff above the ocean, where light comes in from the west late in the day. If you are lucky, it is filtered by clouds and provides just enough of a glow to illuminate the dark floor of the redwood forest. If you a doubly lucky, there is no wind, and the plants are still enough for the long exposures necessary in this low light.

Since we already had visited this spot, we had a pretty good idea of what we wanted to photograph and where to look for it — and most of our targets were not far from the trailhead. On the way in we walked past many blooming rhododendrons, but we decided we could come back to those a bit later. We crossed a low ridge and descended a bit into a valley. Here we photographed a bit, and then we began to retrace our steps along the trail through ferns and redwoods. I happened to spot this solitary fallen rhododendron blossom. It seemed like it had only recently come to rest on these ferns as the flower was still fresh.

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: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Rhododendron Bloom, Redwood Forest

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Rhododendron Bloom, Rredwood Forest
A rhododendron tree full of flowers, Redwood National Park

Rhododendron Bloom, Redwood Forest. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A rhododendron tree full of flowers, Redwood National Park.

Redwood forests are wondrous places at any time, but when the rhododendron plants blossom they are even more magical. The redwood forest is a quite dark and quiet place, and the colors are almost uniformly muted greens and browns, with an overall bluish quality to the shaded light. Against that background the rhododendrons provide a remarkable contrast. One flower can be enough, but a tree full of them is even more special.

The rhododendrons are a new part of my photography, so I’m still learning a lot about them — where and when to find them, the best ways to photograph them, how their growth varies. The “season” is said to be a bit unpredictable, with some saying it can be at its peak in May and others suggesting June. My experience so far suggests that later may be better, and I’ve had my best luck a week or so into June.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Intertwined Trunks

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Intertwined Trunks
Tightly laced tree trunks, Southern Sierra Nevada

Intertwined Trunks. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tightly laced tree trunks, Southern Sierra Nevada.

This is an older photograph that has languished in my raw file archives for nearly a decade. Back in 2010 I was on a long Southern Sierra backcountry trip with a group of friends — roughly speaking we made a giant semi-circle around Mount Whitney, starting southeast of that peak and coming out over a week later at a point considerably north. A milestone on this trip was realizing — finally! — that re-climbing that iconic peak is less profitable than spending time in many other equally beautiful places in the Sierra. At several points on this trip we found ourselves in lonely, less-visited spots, and I treasure the trip for that reason. These trees were at one of our campsites, in a location essentially right at timberline.

Everyone’s work habits are unique, but for me it is important to periodically go back and look through older photographs that didn’t “go anywhere” at the time. I inevitably find images that are worth the second look. I’ve often pondered how and why this happens. Among my theories: perhaps I simply moved on to quickly to other projects at the time, possibly I didn’t really understand how to “see” the image, my interests and perspectives have changed. Regardless, this is one reason that I’m hesitant to delete a lot of raw files — all too often I’ve gone back and found something that I was glad I kept!

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.