Tag Archives: shadows

Fern, Detail

Fern, Detail
Close-up photograph of a spring fern in forest shadows.

Fern, Detail. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Close-up photograph of a spring fern in forest shadows.

Photos are temporarily being shared without additional commentary. Watch for commentary to resume in late summer.


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 | FacebookEmail

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.

Jack Frost Plant

Jack Frost Plant
Jack Frost (brunnera) plants growing under a forest canopy.

Jack Frost Plant. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Jack Frost (brunnera) plants growing under a forest canopy.

In one section of the garden we occasionally visit to make photographs, there is a small grove of (mostly) dogwood trees which are in an area shaded by larger trees. These dogwoods were done blooming when we visited, but they provided wonderful, deep shade to smaller plants growing beneath.

All sorts of interesting stuff grows in this shade, but on this visit I was mostly attracted to leaves. (Most of the flowers were already spent.) This clump of Jack Frost seemed downright lush, with not a damaged leaf in sight.


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 | FacebookEmail

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.

Three Foxglove Flowers

Three Foxglove Flowers
Three white foxglove flowers hanging from a branch in shade.

Three Foxglove Flowers. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Three white foxglove flowers hanging from a branch in shade.

Most of the time when I photograph foxglove flowers I tend to work with the vertical stalks of very colorful flowers, and I try to use a point of view that lets us look into the individual flowers. For one thing, there are often some fascinating patters inside the blossoms. But this time I decided to go in a different direction with this photograph of flowers hanging from a horizontal stalk.

The flowers were growing in a shady area and it was early evening, so I had very soft light to work with. By shooting across the hanging flowers I was able to put three of them in the frame but also include some background flowers behind them. And somehow the monophonic interpretation seems right in this case.


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 | FacebookEmail

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.

Leaves in Shadows

Leaves in Shadows
Lush leaves in the shadows of a San Francisco Peninsula garden.

Leaves in Shadows. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Lush leaves in the shadows of a San Francisco Peninsula garden.

In early June we visited our favorite San Francisco Peninsula garden. We usually go early in the morning, but this time we went late in the day — there was a special event featuring music, drinks, and food, along with the opportunity to sit under oak trees or on the lawn and watch the evening light arrive. As appealing as all of that was, we still DID bring cameras.

Before the light decreased too much, we managed to do a quick circuit of some of the more interesting parts of the garden, mostly looking for flowers. But we also stopped in a dark little grove where most of the flowers were spent, and here I photographed this lush growth beneath the trees.


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 | FacebookEmail

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.