Tag Archives: photography

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Purple Wildflower

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

Purple spring wildflower (Dichelostemma capitatum, blue dicks) photographed at Almaden Quicksilver Park in central California.

I want to thank Gina Zolotar for helping identify this and other wildflowers I photographed this spring. I know these plants and flowers well – I can tell you when they bloom and where to find them and I can locate the plants even when they are not in bloom. But I’m absolutely pathetic when it comes to remembering the common names of plants and flowers, much less their scientific names.

keywords: flower, wild, wildflower, purple, one, single, stem, green, bokeh, almaden, quicksilver, park, santa clara county, san jose, california, usa, nature, spring, plant, stock, Dichelostemma capitatum, blue dicks, bluedicks

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Plants and Rock, Goat Rock

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Plants and Rock, Goat Rock
Plants and Rock, Goat Rock. Castle Rock State Park, California. April 19, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A small cluster of spring plants comes to life in a crack in Goat Rock at Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Central California.

This is another brief change of pace from the Death Valley photographs. I hike at Castle Rock State Park (the local version – it is a common park name!) quite a bit, especially in the spring at the end of the California rainy season when the new vegetation is starting to emerge. On this day I had gone out to photograph spring foliage, but the light was not quite what I expected – overcast and rather windy rather than the hoped-for sunny spring day.

keywords: new, growth, green, leaves, leaf, stem, plant, brown, nature, rock, lichen, spring, goat rock, castle rock, state, park, california, santa cruz, mountains, usa, color, photo, photography, stock, texture

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Rhyolite Bank at First Light

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Rhyolite Bank at First Light

Rhyolite Bank at First Light. Rhyolite, Nevada. April 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

My brother and I photographed these bank ruins and surrounding artifacts in the abandoned ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada – starting before dawn and continuing for the next few hours. This photograph was made just as the first light began to illuminate the town site through high clouds. This bank building is one of the least damaged buildings in the town.

I’m fascinated by how these buildings have weathered over the past century, being situation in a very hostile environment. In some ways it is amazing that they have proven durable enough to remain partially standing, but in other ways they remind me of very ancient ruins.

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Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Morning, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains

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Morning, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains

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

Photograph of curving Death Valley Dunes in morning light with the Funeral Mountains in the background.

Perhaps closer to the classic “dune photographs” from this area, shot along the top of one of the highest dunes with the line of the dune summit leading toward the Funeral Mountains along the east side of Death Valley. I hadn’t actually intended to shoot a scene like this one, but I ended up on top of a rise in the dunes after shooting the area behind them… and one feels almost obligated to photograph a scene like this one when visiting Death Valley. :-)

keywords: death valley, national park, sand, dunes, ripples, waves, curves, desert, funeral, mountains, sky, clouds, hills, stovepipe wells, california, usa, peak, footprints, steps, morning, light, stock, scenic, travel, landscape