Tag Archives: national

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

Redwood and Rhododendron

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Redwood and Rhododendron
A curving rhodendron with a few spring blooms in dense North Coast redwood forest

Redwood and Rhododendron. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A curving rhododendron with a few spring blooms in dense North Coast redwood forest

I mentioned earlier that this was probably my first “serious” trip to photograph the redwood forests in the Redwood National and State Parks are of far-northern California. When I travel to a new location like this I tend to do only enough research to point me in the right direction. For example, I checked maps and I figured out that there are four main parks, and I looked up a hike or two. But I did not, and I generally do not, do extensive research and planning. For me a big part of the adventure is the discovery part, where I poke around, use my instincts, make mistakes, and take interesting turns… and see what develops. There is a method to my madness — I think this helps me more quickly develop a person orientation to the place.

So on this morning I headed to the closest park, Jedediah Smith State Park. I found what looked like it might be a road through the park. It was. Sort of. It turned into gravel and then came to a locked gate just past the park entrance. So I backed up, retreated, and tried going around the park to the other side. Eventually I found a nice hike of a few miles to a big grove of old-growth trees, but first I came across this beautiful little spot where there were a few rhododendrons just beginning to bloom.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

Redwood Forest, Morning

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Redwood Forest, Morning
Soft morning light filters down to floor of a lush spring redwood forest

Redwood Forest, Morning. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Soft morning light filters down to floor of a lush spring redwood forest

For many years I have, in a sense, neglected the far northwestern corner of California where the Redwood National and State Parks are located. While I have photographed coast redwoods closer to the San Francisco Bay area, my experience in this true heart of the great redwood country has been quite limited — I’ve driven through a few times, but I have done very little photography there. This past week I had my first real opportunity to begin the process of rectifying this omission, and during this visit I managed to photograph in four of the main park components of the area. I’ll have additional photographs beyond this one, and I’ll expand on my thoughts about the area as I share them here.

This late May and early June period seems like it just might be prime time for this area, at least from a photographic perspective. Things are still very wet in this temperate rain forest, and new spring vegetation is everywhere along with plenty of wildflowers. This lushness produces scenes that are both attractive and a challenge to photography. As differentiated from, say, the Sierra Nevada, here there are few singular iconic sights. Instead there is the rich complexity of the redwood forest. (Also, of course, there is the nearby coastline.) The redwoods themselves lend an almost obsessive verticality to these scenes, but those large forms contrast with the dense details of other plant life. This was one of the first redwood forests within which I photographed on this visit, and I enjoyed the challenge of finding compositional form within this complexity.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Dunes, Evening Light and Shadows

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Dunes, Evening Light and Shadows
A simply composition of sand dunes, evening light, and shadows

Dunes, Evening Light and Shadows. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A simple composition of sand dunes, evening light, and shadows

This is, obviously, a very simple, minimalist composition, made among the sand dunes of Death Valley National Park in the early spring.

We had wandered out onto the dunes near the end of the day, with a plan that allowed sufficient time to reach our goal while light remained, and even to do a bit of photography along the way. During the final few minutes of the day that light changes very quickly, with the color warming, the shadows deepening… and all of a sudden the light is gone.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: People In Landscape

Hiker, Desert Canyon, Natural Bridge

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Hiker, Desert Canyon, Natural Bridge
A hiker passes under a natural bridge in a Death Valley National Park canyon

Hiker, Desert Canyon, Natural Bridge. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A hiker passes under a natural bridge in a Death Valley National Park canyon

Timing seems to matter a lot when photographing and hiking in Death Valley. A whole range of factors come into play: distances between locations, times of day with best light, concerns about temperature, and so on. Over the years I have come up with the rough outlines of a daily schedule — which I frequently violate! — to adapt to the general patterns. I usually start the day with a pre-dawn and sunrise location, and then move to a second early to mid morning place. In many cases I take a midday break — when camping I use this to lounge around camp, eat, nap, or else to drive to more distant spots — Then there is often an afternoon location, followed by a sunset and early evening spot. The dawn and sunset angle is probably obvious to most readers, but what about the mid-morning and afternoon spots? These are often in canyons, which can be a bit too dark at the edges of the day, but which often get nice light a bit after sunrise and before sunset. Bonus benefit: they produce shade during hot parts of the day.

On this day we were using this plan, so we took a mid-morning hike up this narrow canyon, enjoying the opportunities to escape the direct sun and the beautiful light in the bottom of the canyon, as it bounced down from above and between the canyon walls. Here a hiker (my wife Patty) went ahead of me beneath this big natural bridge and headed on towards the mouth of the canyon not far beyond.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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