Tag Archives: nature

Yellow and White Flower

Yellow and White Flower
Close-up photograph of the center of a yellow and white flower.

Yellow and White Flower. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Close-up photograph of the center of a yellow and white flower.

Once again, I shift from the world of the very large to the world of the very small. This is a photograph of the center of a rose (as Patty reminded me) in a San Francisco Peninsula public garden that we visited in late May. I don’t always find this subject easy to photograph, but by getting very close and muting the brighten light with a shade I think I managed to reveal some of the subtle color of the petals.

I used to think that I mostly worked almost exclusively in landscape photographer mode. Then, perhaps a couple of decades ago, I started to get serious about certain kinds of wildlife. Later I became fascinated by street photography, of all things. I’ve always photographed an occasional flower, often on backpacking trips, but it was more of an afterthought than a priority. But in the last few years I finally gave in, got the macro lens, and when we visit locations like this one I’m often content to use only that lens.


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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Trees, Merced River, Bridal Veil Fall

Trees, Merced River, Bridal Veil Fall
Bridal Veil Fall, beyond the Merced River and silhouetted trees.

Trees, Merced River, Bridal Veil Fall. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Bridal Veil Fall, beyond the Merced River and silhouetted trees.

Something tells me that I am not the first person to photograph this waterfall between these trees — but it was there and I was there, so I made a photograph. I like the fact that the waterfall is almost an afterthought, a minor element in a scene that is mostly about other things — especially the silhouettes of these trees and the reflections on the high water in the Merced River.

Speaking of that water… near the end of spring the water levels in Yosemite Valley were nothing short of amazing. There have been past floods when the water levels were a bit higher, but I’m not aware of a recent season when sustained water flow was this powerful or high. Everywhere meadows are flooded, rivers are nearly out of their banks, and waterfalls are roaring.


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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Globe Lily and Ithuriel’s Spear

Globe Lily and Blue Dicks
Juxtaposed flowers of Ithuriel’s spear and globe lily plants.

Globe Lily and Ithuriel’s Spear. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Juxtaposed flowers of Ithuriel’s spear and globe lily plants.

There’s a small valley in a local park that I have hike though for decades. Every spring I make a point of going there early in the morning when the light is still soft and looking for the wildflowers that grow there — Larkspur, globe lilies, and Ithuriel’s spear for the most part. There are specific bends in the trail where I know to look each season for the emerging flowers. (In fact there is exactly one spot where I know I can find the deep purple Larkspur flowers.)

On this visit I got lucky and found two of these favorites growling so close together — intertwined, really — that they made a sort of accidental bouquet. To my eye, the subtle colors of the globe lily (white with faint suggestions of pink, greens and yellow) complement the more intense blue/purple of the blue dicks 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, 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.

Overlapping Leaves

Overlapping Leaves
Bright spring leaves overlap in the spring gardens of the Filoli Center.

Overlapping Leaves. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Bright spring leaves overlap in the spring gardens of the Filoli Center.

Whether I find myself on a redwood trail or at a formal garden, I can never resist photographing the leaves of plants. They are among the subjects that supply a virtual infinity of shapes and colors and arrangements to work with — which still somehow surprises me. Are they thick or thin? Long or short? Dark or light? Smooth or veined? Back-lit or top-lit? Direct light or filtered? The expected green or any of a rainbow of other possibilities?

I found this plant (or, more correctly, these plants) tucked away in a corner at a large San Francisco Peninsula garden that we visited in late May. The growth was thick and the shadowed light was soft, which revealed a lot of texture and shape — of individual leaves and of the composite forms created by their overlapping arrangement.


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 | Twitter | Flickr | FacebookEmail

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.