Tag Archives: spring

Photographs: Agriculture, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Blossoms, Almond Orchard

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Blossoms, Almond Orchard
Almond trees blooming in California’s Central Valley.

Blossoms, Almond Orchard. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Almond trees blooming in California’s Central Valley.

On this early March morning I was out in Central California photographing the last of the season’s geese and a few of their feathered colleagues. Because of the recent heavy rains there were pools of water everywhere. This provided the birds with more than the usual number of ponds, and many of them chose to land it places inaccessible to me. Eventually I decided to look around for other things to photograph.

As I headed up a nearby road I noticed that the vast orchards were blooming. It is quite a sight, and I understand that these regions are now starting to promote the almond blossom season as an event. The location I visited was fairly remote, and the road I took to this orchard was not one that many city folks would want to drive! I pulled over next to an orchard and photographed the backlit blooms.

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

Alcove With Flowers

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Alcove With Flowers
Freshly-picked daffodils in a pot in a garden alcove.

Alcove With Flowers. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Freshly-picked daffodils in a pot in a garden alcove.

This was a rather serendipitous photograph. We had been photographing in this large garden for an hour or two. The sun was getting higher in the sky, making the light less appealing for photographing foliage, and we decided it was time to move on. We were on our way toward the exit of the garden when I passed through a gate in a brick wall and just happen to look back… and see this little scene built into the wall.

I paused for just a moment and quickly made two exposures before we left. I had an idea that the color of the light colored daffodils would contrast with the darker textures of the alcove and the pot containing the blossoms. This was literally my last photograph of the morning.

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

Pink Tulip

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A pink spring tulip with early morning water droplets.

Pink Tulip. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A pink spring tulip with early morning water droplets.

With this photograph I will (probably? maybe?) close out the photographs from our early March visit to a San Francisco Bay Area garden. We thought we were there for the peak of the tulip bloom, but only a few of the flowers were in bloom yet. This year’s wild California weather seems to have thrown off nature’s schedule a bit. But even one blooming flower can be enough, and this one seems quite nice.

You might be looking at the photograph and thinking, “the flower is lovely, but did you have to spray the water on it?” I can assure you that those drops were actually there with no assistance from me. Between the exceptional recent rainfall and the early morning hour, there was still lot of water on the plants.

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

Emerging Tulip

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Emerging Tulip
A tulip bud begins to open.

Emerging Tulip. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A tulip bud begins to open.

This is another tulip photograph, though this one is at a much earlier point in its development. We recently visited a large garden that features lots of tulips at this time every season. But this year they seemed delayed a bit, perhaps as a result of the recent cold and rainy weather. Some were blooming, but far more were still in the pre-bloom phase like this one.

Tulips are obviously quite beautiful when they blossom, but I’m also attracted to this pre-blossom stage when they are mostly green and just starting to hint at the color that will soon appear. If you look closely you can see just a tiny bit of color near the very tip.

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.