Tag Archives: photography

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Lupine Flowers – Grant Ranch

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Lupine Flowers
Lupine Flowers. Grant Ranch County Park, California. April 20, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Spring lupine wildflowers photographers at Grant Ranch County Park in the hills east of San Jose, California.

Photography was not my main goal on this spring afternoon hike – I simply brought my camera and one lens in a pack and left the multiple lenses and tripod at home. Fortunately the lens I was carrying was appropriate for the many wildflowers I found along my hike to the top of a ridge overlooking Santa Clara Valley.

keywords: lupine, flower, wild, wildflower, blossom, plant, nature, spring, stalk, grass, bokeh, joseph grant, ranch, santa clara, county, park, scenic, stock, purple, bloom

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.

keywords: rhyolite, nevada, ghost, town, building, columns, windows, doors, steps, stairs, cement, concrete, wide angle, sidewalk, desert, first, light, dawn, morning, sunrise, abandoned, ruins, walls, usa, historic, mines, mining, death valley, national park, blm, bureau of land management, scenic, travel, stock, landscape