Tag Archives: nature

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Redwood Trees and Ferns

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Redwood Trees and Ferns

Redwood Trees and Ferns. Muir Woods National Monument, California. August 19, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of closely-spaced redwood trees grows above ground-hugging ferns with green trees behind, Muir Woods National Monument, California.

In mid-August I visited Muir Woods (only a 90 minute drive from my home) to drop off some photographs and spend some time making new ones. I always arrive there very early – the crowds are otherwise overwhelming, especially in the summer – and when I got there almost no one else had yet entered the park. Because it was a morning with high fog, I was looking forward to shooting plants in the diffuse light that creates such wonderful saturated colors.

I wandered up and around the usual short loop that would be very busy in a few hours, but there were only a few other people there. Near the end of my wandering, as I was almost ready to exit, the fog began to thin just a bit and as I passed this group of trees there was enough light to better define their forms and texture.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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keywords: redwood, sequoia, sempervirens, coast, giant, tree, forest, grove, muir, woods, national, monument, golden, gate, recreation, area, park, tall, vertical, trunk, burn, scar, fern, flora, laurel, bark, texture, branch, morning, light, filtered, fog, san francisco, california, usa, scenic, travel, landscape, nature, natural, growth, lush, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: People

Beach Walkers, Winter Sunset

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Winter Sunset, Panther Beach

Beach Walkers, Winter Sunset. Pacific Coast, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of beachwalkers cross the sand before sunset at the end of a winter day.

I made this photograph last winter, but didn’t rediscover it until yesterday when I had the opportunity to go back though some work from early this year. It is probably another case of initially viewing the photograph from the perspective of what I thought I was shooting at the time – and it wasn’t successful from that perspective – versus coming back to it with some aesthetic distance and seeing it for what it is. It also helped, I think, to lose some of the sky and present it as a 2:1 ratio panoramic format.

This was actually my first visit to this particular beach. I had driven past many times without stopping, but for some reason on this evening I pulled over and wandered down to the beach, shooting there and from the bluffs above the beach.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Web: G Dan Mitchell Photography
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keywords: beach, california, county, Dusk, evening, nature, pacific ocean, sand, Santa Cruz, seascape, seashore, sky, Sunset, travel, water, waves, winter, panther, rock, pacific, ocean, coast, shoreline, shore, nature, outdoor, hike, walk, scenic, landscape, bluff, cliff, stock, people, man, woman

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Summer Grass, Calero Hills

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Summer Grass, Calero Hills

Summer Grass, Calero Hills. Calero Hills, California. August 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dry summer grasses growing near Castillero Pond at the Calero Hills, California.

In this photograph – yes, from the same series from Castillero Pond – I wanted to isolate the light colored grass seeds from the background, and try to reveal the very delicate stems of the grass and other dry plants. The background was essentially the same color as these subjects and was also terribly detailed – so I used a very narrow depth of field to reduce the background detail to an amorphous blur. Although it might not seem like your typical macro lens, I photographed this with a 100-400mm zoom at 400mm!

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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keywords: calero, hills, santa clara, county, park, morning, summer, grass, flora, pond, castillero, plant, nature, california, usa, plant, dry, brown, golden, yellow, twig, stick, stem, seed, pod, bokeh, blur, background, tall, thin, stock

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Pine Trees, Edge of the Forest

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Pine Trees, Edge of the Forest

Pine Trees, Edge of the Forest. Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park, California. July 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Lodgepole pines stand at the edge of the forest next to Tioga Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California.

I have photographed these trees before. They are found at the edge of the meadow along the left side of the road after you leave the forest near the Mono Trail parking lot and enter the meadow at Tioga Pass and approach the entrance station. Several things intrigue me about the trees in this area: they mark the edge of dense forest into which it is difficult to see, few people stop to look at them, they border the meadows, and they sometimes are illuminated late in the day by light reflecting from Mount Dana’s lower slopes to the east.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Web: G Dan Mitchell Photography
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keywords: pine, lodgepole, tamarack, tree, forest, grove, trunk, branch, needle, meadow, tioga, alpine, thick, dense, grass, flora, pass, road, yosemite, national park, california, usa, sierra, nevada, range, mountains, summit, crest, landscape, nature, travel, scenic, stock, green, edge, dark