Tag Archives: leaf

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Purple Wildflowers

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Purple Wildflowers
Purple Wildflowers. Grant Ranch County Park, California. April 20, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring purple wildflowers photographed in the grasslands of Grant Ranch County Park east of San Jose, California.

I’m told that these are Vicia villosa or winter vetch. All I know for certain is that the hillside was covered with these beautiful small flowers, and that I had to get down very low on the ground to photograph them. :-)

For those interested in photo equipment issues, this photo is evidence, I think, that you can get decent out of focus background bokeh from the Canon 24-105mm f/4 L.

keywords: purple, wildflowers, wild, flowers, grant ranch, santa clara, county, park, joseph, green, leaf, grass, stem, bloom, blossom, spring, nature, stock, california, usa, photo, photography, Vicia villosa, winter vetch

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Plants and Rock, Goat Rock

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Plants and Rock, Goat Rock
Plants and Rock, Goat Rock. Castle Rock State Park, California. April 19, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small cluster of spring plants comes to life in a crack in Goat Rock at Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Central California.

This is another brief change of pace from the Death Valley photographs. I hike at Castle Rock State Park (the local version – it is a common park name!) quite a bit, especially in the spring at the end of the California rainy season when the new vegetation is starting to emerge. On this day I had gone out to photograph spring foliage, but the light was not quite what I expected – overcast and rather windy rather than the hoped-for sunny spring day.

keywords: new, growth, green, leaves, leaf, stem, plant, brown, nature, rock, lichen, spring, goat rock, castle rock, state, park, california, santa cruz, mountains, usa, color, photo, photography, stock, texture

Photographs: Central California

Two Oaks, Spring

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TwoOaksCalero2007|03|18: Two Oaks, Spring. Calero Hills, California. March 18, 2007. © "Copyright G Dan Mitchell". ("sales") keywords: two oak trees spring calero hills santa clara county park california black and white photograph

Two Oaks, Spring. Calero Hills, California. March 18, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

This photograph was made at one of my favorite and frequently-visited local oak/grassland parks in the southern portion of Santa Clara County in the southern reaches of the San Francisco Bay Area. At certain times of the year I visit this area almost weekly.

keywords: two, oak, trees, spring, calero, hills, santa clara county, park, california, black and white photograph, landscape, nature, usa, branch, trunk, silhouette, leaves, stock, foliage

Photographs: Central California

Creek and Moss, Castle Rock State Park

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Creek with Mossy Rocks
Creek with Moss-Covered Rocks. Castle Rock State Park, California. February 24, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

I frequently walk past this fern covered section of creek when I hike the main trail to Castle Rock and Goat Rock at Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains of central California.

keywords: castle, rock, state, park, california, usa, santa cruz, mountains, skyline, road, trail, hike, rock, log, creek, water, moss, leaf, valley, scenic, landscape, winter, fern, stock