Tag Archives: plant

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Corn Lilies – Sierra Nevada

March 26, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

High Sierra corn lilies grow profusely near a waterlogged meadow in the high country of Yosemite National Park.

I had spotted this little meadow area on my way to photograph earlier in the morning at Tenaya Lake, so on my return I decided to wander down into this wet, meadowy area where a small creek flows in the early summer season. As I walked up the stream I came upon large and lush stands of corn lily plants in a boggy area where the stream turned and twisted through a flat area.

I have long been a fan of these plants. I’m fascinated by them at every phase of their annual life cycle, from the time when they first poke up from ground newly free of snow, through this phase when they grow thick and wildly green, to the first hints of brown at the tips of the leaves (which always seem to come a bit too early), to the time in late August when they begin to turn brown and yellow and hint at the coming fall, to the dry stalks that fall over in late September and October.

It is somewhat hard to give up the beautiful green color when you photograph the plants at the peak of growth, as these were when I photographed them at the end of June. However, I like the way that black and white abstracts the curving and sweeping shapes of the plants. (And I always think of John Sexton’s wonderful corn lily photograph when I work with this subject!)

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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Remains of a Desert Plant, Pebbles

March 9, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The skeletal branches of a dead plant against the pebbles of a desert wash, Death Valley National Park, California.

I came across the skeletal remains of this desert plant while photographing along the east side of Death Valley near the area identified on some maps as the Kit Fox Hills. I had just finished photographing across the floor of the Valley, capturing an area full of sparse desert plants backlit by the very last rays of sun, and the light had diminished after the sun dropped below the tops of the ridges on the west side of the Valley.

I saw this bit of dead plant near the edge of a wash among the rubble of many-colored rocks and pebbles that had, I presume, been washed down from the canyons in the mountains to the east. For a place that seems so colorless from a distance, there is an astonishing variety of color in these rocks. I can see greens, blues, various shades of pink and purple, and some that almost are orange. The branches are just as I found them, and the soft light with just a bit of directionality from the right fills the shadows that would otherwise be very dark.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Weeds, Slough

February 4, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Weeds growing in brackish water of a slough near the Cosumnes River.

It is a photograph of weeds! In a slough! ;-)

During my late January visit to the Cosumnes River Wildlife Preserve, the day began with extremely thick “pea soup” tule fog. As the morning wore on it stuck around, though gradually began to lighten a bit. As this process continued I wandered along the railroad tracks beyond the visitor center and at one point I passed by a quiet and slightly muddy slough… where I noticed these interesting (and so far anonymous) plants growing in the water.

I was intrigued by the pattern produced by their stems and the complementary reflections in the water. I also noticed that if I looked more closely I could see the outlines of some underwater specimens of the same plant and that a few odd oak tree leaves were floating here and there on the surface of the still water.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Cypress Roots and Cliff Face

January 15, 2011 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Weathered Monterey Cypress roots grow on the face of a cliff at Point Lobos State Reserve.

This tree is getting a lot of exposure this week – it is the second or third photograph of the tree I have posted. To echo what I wrote regarding the earlier posting – though briefer this time – these stark and weathered roots growing on top of rocky ground – a cliff face in this case – remind me in some ways of gnarled timberline trees high in the Sierra Nevada with their old roots weathered to the point that they look almost as much like rock as like living things.

Some might think it odd, but I partially plan my wanderings around Point Lobos to avoid the sun as much as possible! I try to go there on days when it is overcast, and on days like this one where there is sun (though filtered by haze this time) I often search out shaded, north-facing areas so that I can shoot in soft, diffused light that fills in the shadows and does not sun-blast the bright areas of the scene.

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.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.