Tag Archives: peninsula

Photographs: Nature

Viola Flower

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Viola Flower
Close-up photograph of a colorful viola flower.

Viola Flower. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Close-up photograph of a colorful viola flower.

This viola almost seems to me to have a flame-like quality, at least if you can see the purple on the petals as seeming to emerge from that bright yellow center. If you look closely you may spot a surprise — a couple of small bugs hanging out on the petals.

This is another — and almost the last — of the photographs we made on a late-spring evening at the San Francisco Peninsula garden that has been the subject of so many recent images. In some ways this might have been the perfect lazy photographer evening: show up, get some snacks and a drink, sit next to a meadow and watch the evening light come on, the walk a few steps to nearby gardens to make photographs.

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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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Acanthus

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Acanthus
Acanthus plants in a San Francisco Peninsula garden.

Acanthus. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Acanthus plants in a San Francisco Peninsula garden.

This clump of acanthus stalks was growing in a lush, green area of this garden. We were there in the early evening, and the soft light fills that shadows and reveals details that might be hidden in harsher conditions. In many places the stalks were growing close to other plants, but here they grew along and provided some distance to separate them from the rest of the garden.

The stems are striking — almost vertical (though these do lean a bit) and thick, covered with thick, patterned leaves that include green, purple, and almost black colors. Up close you can also see that there are stickers on some of the leaves.

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 | Facebook | Email

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Columbine Flower #2

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Columbine Flower #2
A columbine flower, photographed in soft light at a San Francisco Bay Area garden.

Columbine Flower #2. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A columbine flower, photographed in soft light at a San Francisco Bay Area garden.

As I wrote recently, my initial acquaintance with Columbine flowers came high in the Sierra, where a white specimen grows in rocky, alpine terrain. To me, those flowers defined the concept of “Columbine,” and it did not really cross my mind for a long time that there might be others.

I may be slow, but eventually I figure things out. Visits to more civilized gardens eventually taught me that there are other varieties of this beautiful flower. We found several on a recent visit to a garden here in the San Francisco Bay Area one evening. I decided to let much of this flower be soft and out of focus, only putting some of the yellow center in sharper relief.

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 | Facebook | Email

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Fallen Flowers

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Fallen Flowers
Five fallen foxglove flowers.

Fallen Flowers. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Five fallen foxglove flowers.

We went to this public garden because we knew that it was the time of the peak bloom of many flowers, including the colorful foxglove. And our timing was perfect — there were lots and lots of these impressive flowers, in all colors. “But wait,” you ask, “where are those colors?” Oh, right, this one is black and white. I’ll address that below.

While flower photography isn’t my main thing (though you might start to wonder, based on my predominant theme for July posts this year) , I have long been intrigued by the shapes and colors of flowers. Originally I photographed wildflowers on outdoor adventures, but more recently Patty has convinced me of the appeal of domesticated varieties. But I have a habit of usually looking past the intended subject to see what else there is, and this often leads me to photographing “fallen flowers” that are past their prime and perhaps deteriorating. This alliterative grouping of five fallen foxglove flowers is just as I found them, lying in the shade under trees on a sidewalk.

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 | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question. (Click this post’s title first if you are viewing on the home page.)

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.