Tag Archives: red

Photographs: Nature

Red Tulip

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Red Tulip
“Red Tulip” — A red tulip blossom opens.

I have to confess to a degree of ignorance about flowers. Many people (including my wife, photographer Patricia Emerson Mitchel) can walk into a garden and name every flower. I recognize flowers by shape, size, color, and season, but I’ve never been able (or willing?) to learn all of their names. So this was just a “very intense red flower” (and a big one, too) until I looked at the buds and realized that it was a tulip. I think…

The color of this flower was amazing. The red was the most intense I think I’ve seen in a flower. As a photographer, that sounds an alert about a technical issue — blowing out the red channel in the digital capture. It also makes me concerned about how accurately the color can be reproduced in a photograph, as some of the very bright and intense colors don’t map perfectly to the digital color space. Having said all of that, this is just about how I recall the flower.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel

Sunset Crowd, Florence

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Sunset Crowd, Florence
“Sunset Crowd, Florence” — People gather on steps at the Piazzale Michangelo to watch the sunset over Florence, Italy.

When traveling there is a fine balance between following the crowd to the iconic, popular sites and sights or striking off on your own to find more obscure things. We kind of like doing the latter, and we often spend a lot of time doing what might look like aimless wandering. But that wandering often gets us to interesting places that might be a bit more obscure. However, sometimes joining the crowd is the right choice, and this was one of those times.

We had been to Florence before and knew about the nightly trek up the hill to the Piazale Michelangelo to watch the sun set over the city. But we had never gone there. This evening seemed like the right time, so we headed up the hill, soon becoming part of a crowd with the same idea — perhaps despite some misgivings we continued and then arrived to find hundreds of people already there. These steps were filled with visitors, and some fellow began to do an impromptu comedy act at the base of the steps. Drinks and snacks were available from vendor carts. Before long everyone began to sing along with a solo street musician at the top of the steps. It was one of the most wonderful, magical moments we’ve had while traveling… and one that only happened because this time we joined the crowd.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Gulllies and Strata, Morning Light

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Gulllies and Strata, Morning Light, Death Valley
“Gulllies and Strata, Morning Light” — Highly eroded gullies and strata, Death Valley National Park.

Some geological formations in Death Valley National Park are simply otherworldly. The sparse vegetation lays these features bare — they are more visible than in places covered by forests and other vegetation. The landscape has been uplifted, split, warped, and eroded in remarkable ways. Here tilted strata emerge in deeply eroded land, and morning shadows add more contrast.

I’ve often noted the irony that this place, known for its dryness and heat, is one of the best places to clearly see the effects of water on the landscape. The material in these formations was laid down under water millennia ago. And the diagonal gullies were created by water erosion. If you have your eyes open, you’ll see that the evidence of water’s effect on the landscape is visible everywhere in this park.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Photographs: Birds, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

The Fly-In

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The Fly-In — geese arrive over a wetlands pond at sunset.
“The Fly-In” — Thousands of migratory geese arrive in the wetlands at sunset.

A day spent photographing migratory geese and other birds often includes a lot of “slow time” when little is happening. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing — sometimes the quiet and stillness is enough by itself. But around sunrise and sunset there is often a of activity as large flocks of birds take to the air and head to nighttime locations. If you are where they arrive, it is the “fly-in.” When they depart, we refer to the “fly-out.”

This huge flock of geese (almost certainly snow geese for the most part) arrived just after I went to this spot to photograph a colorful winter sunset and its reflection in the waters of a wetland pond. The flock arrived, circled, and eventually settled down on the water… and quiet returned.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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