Tag Archives: national

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Spring Meadow, Passing Storm

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Spring Meadow, Passing Storm
Sunlight on a flower-filled spring meadow with storm clouds in the distance

Spring Meadow, Passing Storm. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunlight on a flower-filled spring meadow with storm clouds in the distance.

This spring I was fortunate to be able to chase the spring wildflower bloom over a period of more than two months. (And I’m not done yet!) I visited this location twice, once near the end of March and again a few weeks later in early April when this wet-year bloom was more or less reaching its peak in this area. In some ways the springtime transformation in California areas like this one is doubly impressive, as these places are generally brown (or as we say, “golden”) during the majority of the year.

On the day of this visit there were scattered springtime rain squalls moving across the landscape. One moment it was sunny, and the next moment the sky was darkened by clouds and rain fell. Distant landscapes combined the patterns of shadows and the light. I had just made my camp in the hills and was descending back to the valley to chase the wildflowers when I stopped briefly to photograph this sunlit meadow backed by the dark skies of one of the passing showers.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Desert Holly, Dry Wash

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Desert Holly, Dry Wash
Desert holly plants grow along the curves of a small desert wash

Desert Holly, Dry Wash. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Desert holly plants grow along the curves of a small desert wash.

Among plants that manage to eke out an existence in dry landscapes, such as that of Death Valley National Park, there seems to be a spectrum of accommodations to dryness. Out near the sharp edge of that bell curve is found the desert holly plant. In some of the locations where I see it, the plant seems to be just about the only thing that is still able to live on the driest and rockiest soils.

The specimens in this photograph are growing along the course of a dry wash, and they probably get a good portion of whatever small amount of water that sustains them during brief periods when water flows following rainstorms. (It had rained heavily during the previous month here… and there was no visible water in this wash.) The plants present a sometimes surprising bit of green in this otherwise arid and bare landscape.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

High Peaks Trail

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High Peaks Trail
The High Peaks trail passes trees and cliffs, Pinnacles National Park

High Peaks Trail. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The High Peaks trail passes trees and cliffs, Pinnacles National Park.

This trail and this park have a special place in my California outdoor experience. I’ve live in the state since I was four-years-old and my parents moved here from Minnesota. From the earliest I can remember my family visited a bunch of outdoor locations in the Northern and Central California area, and I always regarded a trip to Pinnacles National Park (then Monument) as a special treat. It seemed like a very long drive to the east side entrance, and once we got there a visit to the caves was always the highlight. But we also took longer hikes, including memorable walks up to and across the “high peaks.” I continued to visit over the intervening years, but I’ll save a few of those experiences for another post.

The Pinnacles get their name from the striking rocky outcroppings found in the park. In the “high peaks” area they literally sit on the summit ridge, but they are found elsewhere in other settings, including the walls of some small, deep canyons. The trail mostly crossed familiar chaparral terrain, but here it passes beneath some impressively large rock faces and under the branches of some trees with new spring growth.

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: Nature

Golden Desert Snapdragon Flowers

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Golden Desert Snapdragon Flowers
Golden Desert Snapdragon blooming in rocky terrain, Death Valley National Park

Golden Desert Snapdragon Flowers. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Golden Desert Snapdragon blooming in rocky terrain, Death Valley National Park.

Wildflower photography isn’t typically my main focus, especially in the desert. (An exception has been during one or two “super bloom” years, when there were sufficient wildflowers to make them a major part of the landscape.) However, traveling to such places with my wife, Patricia Emerson Mitchell, has made me much more aware of this component of the desert world. From watching her photograph wildflowers, often using a macro lens, I learned that there are flowers in places that I had regarded as being essentially desolate.

There are several things I like about the desert snapdragon. The very name reminds me of when I was a child, and I was intrigued by the snapdragon flowers that my mother grew in her yard. This desert version is nothing like those yard plants — it seems to pop up suddenly in the most unlikely places, pushing thick green leaves through remarkably rocky terrain and soon sending out these lovely little yellow flowers.

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.