Tag Archives: nature

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Two White Globe Lily Flowers

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Two Chinese Lantern Flowers
Two White Globe Lily Flowers. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 26, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two white globe lily flowers growing in a narrow canyon at Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. I make a point of hiking through this canyon with my camera equipment every April, when many wildflowers are in bloom.

A couple notes on this photo and some other wildflower photos that will soon follow… I know the location of these flowers very well – they grow along a trail through a canyon at a nearby park where I hike many times each year. I shot these photographs without a tripod. In fact, I travelled very light when I did much of this flower photography this season – on this day I was carrying only my Canon 5D and a 24-105mm zoom. The lens choice might catch the attention of some readers, since this is not your typical macro lens – but I’ve found that it works quite well for this type of shooting, and that it is possible to get a pleasing background blur in many cases if I use a large aperture and pay attention to what is in the background.

keywords: chinese lantern, flower, wild, wildflower, spring, canyon, blossom, plant, leaf, nature, almaden, quicksilver, santa clara county, park, san jose, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Sunset, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains

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Sunset, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains

Sunset, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. April 1, 2008. Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Color photograph of sunset at Death Valley Dunes with the Funeral Mountains in the distance.

Yet another photograph from this evening shoot at Death Valley Dunes near Stovepipe Wells. Here the foot of the rugged mountain range along the east side of the Valley (variously called the Amargosa Range or the Funeral Range?) can be see in the distance beyond the dunes.

keywords: death valley, national park, dunes, sand, light, shadow, plants, sand, desert, funeral, mountains, wash, sunset, california, usa, nature, scenic, travel, landscape, stock

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Sand Waves – Death Valley Dunes at Dusk

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Sand Waves - Death Valley Dunes at Dusk

Sand Waves – Death Valley Dunes at Dusk. Death Valley National Park, California. April 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Color photograph of “sand waves” at dusk on the transverse dunes in front of the main Death Valley Dunes near Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park. Photographed after sunset as the last light began to fade.

A couple notes on the photograph… I had just barely arrived and set up camp when the light started to turn as sunset approached. My brother and I realized that we needed to “go now!” if we were to catch the light, so we jumped in the vehicle and had just enough time to get to this spot and pull over at the side of the road. There was no time to head out onto the dunes so I put the long lens (400mm) on the camera and approached the subject it a different way than I might have otherwise.

keywords: color, photo, photography, sand, waves, desert, plants, pink, blue, sunset, dusk, death valley, national park, dunes, funeral mountains, stock, landscape, scenic, travel, nature, california, usa, footprints

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Spring Flowers and Seeds

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Spring Flowers and Seeds
Spring Flowers and Seeds. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Color photograph of spring flowers (larkspur, or delphinium) with seeds, and foliage. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California.

Photographed along a trail through a small canyon where I frequently hike and which I always return to each spring. I was intrigued by the combination of the purple flowers and the seeds on the curving stem.

keywords: color, photo, photography, flowers, seeds, foliage, grass, leaves, stems, spring, new, nature, plants, almaden, quicksilver, santa clara county, park, san jose, california, usa, green, purple, stock