Tag Archives: redwood

Milkmaids Plants, Redwood Forest

Milkmaids Plants, Redwood Forest

Milkmaids Plants, Redwood Forest. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 21. 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Blooming milkmaids (Dentaria cardimine californica) plants on the forest floor beneath the redwoods at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

Another bunch of milkmaid flowers along a hillside trail at Muir Woods National Monument. These flowers were growing in small grotto-like hollow in the hillside, and the plants in the background are the ubiquitous redwood sorrel (or Oregon oxalis) which look just like clover plants.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: Dentaria cardimine californica, milkmaids, flowers, plants, blossoms, blooms, bud, plant, foliage, leaf, fern, petal, four, stem, forest, grove, redwood, muir woods, national, monument, park, golden gate, national, recreation, area, marin county, spring, travel, scenic, nature, stock, california, usa, sorrel, oregon, oxalis

Milkmaids Flowers, Redwood Forest

Milkmaids Flowers, Redwood Forest

Milkmaids Flowers, Redwood Forest. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Flowers of the milkmaid plant bloom on the forest floor beneath the redwoods, Muir Woods National Monument, California.

In a very dark section of the trail above the creek bottom at Muir Woods I found many, many flowers last weekend, including quite a few milkmaid flowers. These are a bit tricky to photograph – especially when a breeze is blowing! As the flowers wave in the moving air, in very dark conditions on the forest floor it is hard to avoid blowing out the brightest part of the flowers.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: Dentaria cardimine californica, milkmaids, flowers, plants, blossoms, blooms, bud, plant, foliage, leaf, fern, petal, four, stem, forest, grove, redwood, muir woods, national, monument, park, golden gate, national, recreation, area, marin county, spring, travel, scenic, nature, stock, california, usa

Redwood Forest

Redwood Forest

Redwood Forest. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Towering trees in the redwood forest of Muir Woods National Monument, California.

This photograph was made very near to the site of the previously-posted photograph of a fern along the creek bank – I moved the tripod to the other side of the creek for this one. It features the wonderful diffused light coming through the overcast of an incoming storm and then being filtered through the canopy of the redwood forest.

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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.



Creekside Fern

Creekside Fern

Creekside Fern. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A lone fern plant grows on the bank of the creek in the redwood forest at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

I photographed this solitary fern against the background of the main Muir Woods creek flowing across a shallow section of rocky creek bottom. Sometimes I set myself a challenge of trying to find as many photographs as possible in one small area. I paused in this one spot for perhaps 15 minutes or longer, barely moving my tripod as I composed several photographs focusing on details of the surrounding scene. In addition to this fern, I made a series of photographs of new leaves on understory trees against a background of tall redwoods and I photographed the forest floor which was in places covered with redwood sorrel, ferns, and trillium.

(Added later:) Not sure how other photographers approach photographing in a place like this, but here is a bit about how I do it. I walk very slowly. I stop and look around. I make myself look up and down. I go through a sort of mental checklist of potential subjects: tree trunks, close ups of small features, critters, light, people, foliage/flowers, water, juxtapositions of forms and angles, and so on. I spend far more time looking than photographing – sometimes I may amble for a half hour or so at the start before I even take my camera out of the bag.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: creek, stream, brook, water, flow, ripple, wave, motion, blur, rocks, fern, leaf, plant, foliage, needles, branch, moss, bank, edge, green, growth, redwood, forest, grove, muir woods, national monument, california, usa, park, recreation, area, golden gate, travel, scenic, nature, landscape, stock