Tag Archives: leaves

Photographs: Macro, Photographs: Nature

Succulent

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Succulent
Detail of a succulent plant.

Succulent. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Detail of a succulent plant.

Recently I shared a group of tulip photographs and mentioned that we saw them during April visits to a Bay Area garden. But the tulips were not the only attraction. For example, I posted a photograph of dogwood blossoms a few days ago. Although they comprised a very small part of the overall displays, I also saw some very interesting succulent plants here and there.

At this garden, many of these plants are found in small pots in various locations — on a table, on top of a low wall, tucked into a spot beneath trees. In my view, some are not the most visually exciting plants, and those that present interesting patterns are difficult to photograph, often because it is hard to get an uninterrupted framing of the plant. I liked this plant, however, both for the remarkable patterns of the leaves and for the striking coloration.

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

Hidden Leaves

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Hidden Leaves
Leaves on the ground under the plants in a formal garden.

Hidden Leaves. © Copyright 2022 G Dan Mitchell.

Leaves on the ground under the plants in a formal garden.

In a discussion about “what to photograph,” I once heard a photographer simply say, “There’s always SOMETHING to see!” You can always find something worthy of a photograph almost anywhere if you look closely enough and open your eyes to what is around you. Often the potential subject is not the thing that you were looking for.

That was certainly the case with this photograph. We had gone to a beautiful garden where the first signs of coming spring were evident—flowers starting to bloom and green things growing. I did photograph some of those subjects, but I was also a bit restless. I started looking around at the other things at this place, and once I did I started to see potential subjects. In one shady section of the garden there were camellias and other larger plants, and beneath these plants the ground was covered with fallen leaves, presenting an intimate landscape that looked more like autumn than the arrival of spring.

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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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.

Photographs: Nature

Morning Green

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Morning Green
Garden plants after morning watering.

Morning Green. © Copyright 2022.G Dan Mitchell.

Garden plants after morning watering.

After focusing on a rather dry sort of landscape for much of the past month, recently I have had a couple of chances to photograph much more colorful and lush subjects here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Due to the seasonal change — yes, spring is on its way — and the effects of another drier-than-usual winter, plants are sprouting and even blossoming here.

We have made a couple of trips to a large local garden that is open to the public, usually going on a less-busy weekday morning and trying to arrive as soon as the place opens. It seems to me that on these weekday mornings there is a lot of garden work taking place — watering, trimming, pruning, planting, and cleaning up. Quite a few of the photographs I have made have involved the detritus of these activities: old leaves and blooms on the ground, flowers a bit past their peak, and in this case some plants that had been watered moments before I arrived.

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.

Photographs: Nature

Leaf Edge

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Leaf Edge
The edge of a yellow leaf against blue shadowed background.

Leaf Edge. © Copyright 2022.G Dan Mitchell.

The edge of a yellow leaf against blue shadowed background.

Recently I have begun looking through my archives for photographs featuring the yellow and blue color scheme of Ukraine’s flag — you might think of it as an emerging “blue and yellow” series. I’ve also been on the lookout for new subjects that feature the colors of this flag, a new symbol of the fight against tyranny and against the brutal invasion of this country by Russia and its dictator.

I’ll mostly leave that as the primary text accompanying this photograph, with only a bit of reference to the subject of the image. Recently I was photographing a garden that is beginning to emerge from winter dormancy as spring approaches. Mainly we went there to view and photograph new flowers, but here and there I found evidence of winter and even of autumn, including a few leaves still bearing autumn colors.

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.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.