Tag Archives: nature

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

California Golden Poppies – Antelope Valley, California

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California Golden Poppies - Antelope Valley, California
California Golden Poppies . Antelope Valley, California. April 5, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

California golden poppy flowers at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Preserve. It was extremely windy on the morning of my visit to the extremely popular Poppy Preserve – which seems to have assumed a significant place on the tourist circuit judging by the number of international visitors and the line of cars waiting to enter as I left. (I got there early and pretty much beat the crowd.)

Nothing is quite as much “fun” as trying to photograph flowers in a 40 mph wind. Eventually I found a few sheltered patches of poppies in small hollows and behind ridges and then waited patiently for the rare moments when the gale briefly diminished.

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

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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Purple Wildflowers

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Purple Wildflowers
Purple Wildflowers. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Purple spring wildflowers photographed along a trail at Almaden Quicksilver Park in central California.

This was a fun shot. I did it handheld with the FF body and the 24-105mm lens. It is interesting to note that it is possible to get tight enough depth of field and even pretty decent bokeh (background blur) from this lens in the right conditions.

keywords: purple, flowers, wild, wildflowers, nature, spring, plants, green, almaden, quicksilver, santa clara, county, san jose, park, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Three Purple Wildflowers

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Three Purple Wildflowers

Three Purple Wildflowers. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The wildflower season in the central California coastal hills peaks in early April, so I make an effort to get out to some of the nearby wildflower areas every spring.

(Notes: I’m taking a short break from the Death Valley photos to add a bit of contrast and show a few spring 2008 wildflower photos. I have actually have over a month of upcoming photographs in the queue right now – more Death Valley photos, some Yosemite photos, and much more. Also, as you may have figured out from my generic flower photo titles – “purple wildflowers” – I’m not great and naming plants and flowers. Fortunately an acquaintance recently sent me a list of the names of all of the flowers I’ve recently photographed. When I update the titles I’ll credit this helpful person!)

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Photographs: Death Valley

Stovepipe Dunes and Funeral Mountains

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Stovepipe Dunes and Funeral Mountains

Stovepipe Dunes and Funeral Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning on the Stovepipe Dunes with the Funeral Range in the distance. Death Valley National Park.

This is probably a more “typical” Death Valley Dunes (a.k.a. “Stovepipe Dunes”) photograph, though I got here by a slightly different route than others might follow. The dunes are easily visible from the roadway east of Stovepipe Wells. Many people drive to a spot next to the dunes and start walking straight towards the highest point. Having “been there, done that” before, I now know that this is a long slog through deep sand – so this time I started my walk much closer to Stovepipe Wells and went around the west end of the dunes to get to the back side of the formation. I entered the dunes from the north to get this shot, and I have to say that access was a lot easier this way.

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