Tag Archives: season

Photographs: Macro, Photographs: Nature

Seed Pods

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Seed Pods
Seed pods in the San Francisco Bay Area hills.

Seed Pods. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Seed pods in the San Francisco Bay Area hills.

This is a very subtle photograph, with a small range of tones and nothing that is quite pure white or even close to black. The early evening light was quite soft. I almost decided not to try to photograph this subject — the colors were so subtle, the light was low, and I was working handheld. But there I was, there the seed pods were, so I decided to give it a try.

The pods belong to some very tall wild grasses that grow along a trail that I frequently hike. Perhaps only weeks ago this would have been a very green subject, but here in California we move pretty quickly from the green of April to the brown, tan, and gold of the drier seasons of the year.

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.

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

Spring Fern

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Spring Fern
A spring fern grows in the shade among boulders along the base of Yosemite Valley cliffs.

Spring Fern. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A spring fern grows in the shade among boulders along the base of Yosemite Valley cliffs.

You might think that the toughest challenges on my one-day up-and-back trips to the Sierra — on one of which I made this photograph — would be getting up hours before sunrise and driving for hours, or perhaps it would be the long return drive with a midnight or later arrival. The truth? It is the midday hours. Photographically, this can be tough time of day. There are opportunities, but you have to look for them. And by late morning and early afternoon I’m simply tired from that early wake-up call… and ready for a good, long nap!

On this trip to Yosemite Valley, the pattern held. I arrived very early, photographed through the morning, following light and shadow around the Valley. At noon I grabbed a bite to eat and then… took a very long nap in my car. But the beautiful evening light was hours away on this long, late-spring day, so when I woke up I loaded my pack and set out to see what I could find in the midday light. I headed to an area along the base of the cliffs where I thought I might find some interesting rocks, trees, and soft shade light. And that’s where I photographed this sprouting fern, aglow in reflected light against a backdrop of forest litter and a boulder.

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.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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

Photographs: Nature

Overlapping Leaves

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Overlapping Leaves
Bright spring leaves overlap in the spring gardens of the Filoli Center.

Overlapping Leaves. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Bright spring leaves overlap in the spring gardens of the Filoli Center.

Whether I find myself on a redwood trail or at a formal garden, I can never resist photographing the leaves of plants. They are among the subjects that supply a virtual infinity of shapes and colors and arrangements to work with — which still somehow surprises me. Are they thick or thin? Long or short? Dark or light? Smooth or veined? Back-lit or top-lit? Direct light or filtered? The expected green or any of a rainbow of other possibilities?

I found this plant (or, more correctly, these plants) tucked away in a corner at a large San Francisco Peninsula garden that we visited in late May. The growth was thick and the shadowed light was soft, which revealed a lot of texture and shape — of individual leaves and of the composite forms created by their overlapping arrangement.

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.

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

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

Ribbon Fall

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Ribbon Fall
Yosemite Valley’s Ribbon Fall in full flow during the historic 2023 spring runoff.

Ribbon Fall. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Yosemite Valley’s Ribbon Fall in full flow during the historic 2023 spring runoff.

Let’s begin with by acknowledging that this is a bit of a “record shot” — a photograph whose purpose is as much to record of a thing as to produce an aesthetic effect. But in a year of weather and climate extremes in the Sierra, a few record shots seem to be in order. Ribbon Fall drops from a point high on the walls of Yosemite Valley to the west of El Capitan. You might not know about it since it is often dry. However, in addition to being a seasonal fall, its main claim to fame is that it has the largest uninterrupted drop of any Yosemite waterfall, even exceeding that of Upper Yosemite Fall.

When I arrived in the Valley on this spring morning the week before Memorial Day, Ribbon Fall (along with many others in the Valley) had unusually high flow. Unless you happen to be there right after an unusual cloudburst in the valley it drains, it is unlikely that any of us will ever see more water in this fall.

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.

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