Tag Archives: plant

Photographs: Nature

Rose Blossom

Image Leave a comment
Rose Blossom
A rose flower blooming.

Rose Blossom. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A rose flower blooming.

I am not the flower photographer in our household — that would be Patty’s forte. But seeing so many flower photographs (hers in the house and online), I can’t resist trying my hand at this occasionally. In late May we headed to a large Bay Area garden to spend the morning with this subject, and I came back with a few photographs.

I find it pretty challenging to photograph these flowers. Often they are out in the full sun (I carry a sun screen), they move in the wind, and the small scale presents some focus challenges including depth-of-field issues. But sometimes the color and form of the flower seems to carry things, and the pink-blending-toward-yellow of this flower caught my attention.

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.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Creosote Bush and Dunes

Image Leave a comment
Creosote Bush and Dunes
A lone creosote bush among sand dunes, Death Valley.

Creosote Bush and Dunes. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A lone creosote bush among sand dunes, Death Valley.

The sand dunes often surprise first-time visitor with much more evidence of life than they might expect. We tend to think of dunes as being…. just sand. They are largely sand, but things live and grow out there, too — from reptiles, birds, and mammals to all kinds of highly adapted plants. In fact, sometimes when I’m trying to photograph a landscape of “just sand” I have to work to keep the other stuff out of the frame!

The bushes are well adapted to the dunes. While the lower branches eventually die and turn brown, in spring the upper portion of the plant can be intensely green and covered with small yellow flowers. On a windless day you might be surprised by the hum of bees swarming the 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.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Spring Fairy Lantern Plant

Image Leave a comment
Spring Fairy Lantern Plant
A fairly lantern plant with buds forming.

Spring Fairy Lantern Plant. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A fairly lantern plant with buds forming.

The fairy lantern flowers are among my favorite in my part of California. For decades I did not know of them, but one year I hiked down a particular little canyon not far from where I live and discovered them, their ball-like shapes hanging beneath the pointed leaves of these plants. Every year I head back to that spot to photograph them again, and this year was no exceptions. However…

… it seems that I arrived too soon this year! Or perhaps, I was on time but the spring transition came a bit later following our very wet and colder-than-normal winter. In any case, it seemed like all of the wildflowers were blooming late and my fairy lanterns were only at the early bud stage.

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.

Photographs: Nature

Sunflower

Image Leave a comment
Sunflower
A wild sunflower in the California hills.

Sunflower. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A wild sunflower in the California hills.

These impressively large flowers pop up in the spring at a local park where I’ve hiked for decades. It doesn’t seem much like the traditional sunflower, but that’s what my searching tells me it is. The plants grow close to the ground, and the flowers are large — perhaps four inches across or more. In my experience there is only a short window to photograph them while they look good.

I think everyone should have a few local outdoor places that they travel too, going back to them over years and even decades. It is exciting to visit far off places, and I’ve been to my share of them. But there is something special about a nearby place that you know like an old friend. At this spot I know exactly where and when to look for very specific types of flowers… and I go back every year to revisit them.

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.