Tag Archives: spring

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Valley, Spring

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Valley, Spring
A California valley during the “impossibly green” season.

Valley, Spring. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A California valley during the “impossibly green” season.

To be perfectly honest, this is a bit of a “record shot” — a photograph made at least as much to record something as to have an aesthetic effect. The location is a park not far from where I live, a place where I have hiked and photographed for several decades. It is part of my “outdoors backyard,” a place where I almost feel a sense of ownership now. I’ve even made other photographs from almost this precise location, though in rather different (and more dramatic) conditions.

The photograph is also a record of a California phenomenon, what some have called the ‘impossibly green season” — that amazing annual eruption of grasses and other plants in a typically dry landscape. At a time when much of the country is deep in winter, many places in California turn more green than you can imagine.

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

Spring Fairy Lantern Plant

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Spring Fairy Lantern Plant
A fairly lantern plant with buds forming.

Spring Fairy Lantern Plant. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A fairly lantern plant with buds forming.

The fairy lantern flowers are among my favorite in my part of California. For decades I did not know of them, but one year I hiked down a particular little canyon not far from where I live and discovered them, their ball-like shapes hanging beneath the pointed leaves of these plants. Every year I head back to that spot to photograph them again, and this year was no exceptions. However…

… it seems that I arrived too soon this year! Or perhaps, I was on time but the spring transition came a bit later following our very wet and colder-than-normal winter. In any case, it seemed like all of the wildflowers were blooming late and my fairy lanterns were only at the early bud stage.

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

Sunflower

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Sunflower
A wild sunflower in the California hills.

Sunflower. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A wild sunflower in the California hills.

These impressively large flowers pop up in the spring at a local park where I’ve hiked for decades. It doesn’t seem much like the traditional sunflower, but that’s what my searching tells me it is. The plants grow close to the ground, and the flowers are large — perhaps four inches across or more. In my experience there is only a short window to photograph them while they look good.

I think everyone should have a few local outdoor places that they travel too, going back to them over years and even decades. It is exciting to visit far off places, and I’ve been to my share of them. But there is something special about a nearby place that you know like an old friend. At this spot I know exactly where and when to look for very specific types of flowers… and I go back every year to revisit them.

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.

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.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Spring Trees

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Spring Trees
Lush spring growth on trees and undergrowth in Northern California hills.

Spring Trees. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Lush spring growth on trees and undergrowth in Northern California hills.

In much of California, early spring is the “impossibly green” season. New visitors to the state during most of the year are surprised by how dry it can be — there’s a lot of desert and the expansive grasslands go brown before summer begins. But visit in March and April to see a very different California, one that looks green and at times lush.

When I think of this green season, the grasslands usually come to mind first — hills with carpets of intense green, broken by a few trees and some wildflowers. But elsewhere the same transition happens. I made this photograph along an old favorite trail through a little forested vale in a local park where I go to photograph wildflowers.

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.

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.