Tag Archives: spring

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Redwood and Rhododendron

2 Comments
Redwood and Rhododendron
A curving rhodendron with a few spring blooms in dense North Coast redwood forest

Redwood and Rhododendron. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A curving rhododendron with a few spring blooms in dense North Coast redwood forest

I mentioned earlier that this was probably my first “serious” trip to photograph the redwood forests in the Redwood National and State Parks are of far-northern California. When I travel to a new location like this I tend to do only enough research to point me in the right direction. For example, I checked maps and I figured out that there are four main parks, and I looked up a hike or two. But I did not, and I generally do not, do extensive research and planning. For me a big part of the adventure is the discovery part, where I poke around, use my instincts, make mistakes, and take interesting turns… and see what develops. There is a method to my madness — I think this helps me more quickly develop a person orientation to the place.

So on this morning I headed to the closest park, Jedediah Smith State Park. I found what looked like it might be a road through the park. It was. Sort of. It turned into gravel and then came to a locked gate just past the park entrance. So I backed up, retreated, and tried going around the park to the other side. Eventually I found a nice hike of a few miles to a big grove of old-growth trees, but first I came across this beautiful little spot where there were a few rhododendrons just beginning to bloom.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Redwood Forest, Morning

Leave a comment
“Redwood Forest, Morning” — Soft morning light filters down to floor of a lush spring redwood forest

For many years I have, in a sense, neglected the far northwestern corner of California where the Redwood National and State Parks are located. While I have photographed coast redwoods closer to the San Francisco Bay area, my experience in this true heart of the great redwood country has been quite limited — I’ve driven through a few times, but I have done very little photography there. This past week I had my first real opportunity to begin the process of rectifying this omission, and during this visit I managed to photograph in four of the main park components of the area. I’ll have additional photographs beyond this one, and I’ll expand on my thoughts about the area as I share them here.

This late May and early June period seems like it just might be prime time for this area, at least from a photographic perspective. Things are still very wet in this temperate rain forest, and new spring vegetation is everywhere along with plenty of wildflowers. This lushness produces scenes that are both attractive and a challenge to photography. As differentiated from, say, the Sierra Nevada, here there are few singular iconic sights. Instead there is the rich complexity of the redwood forest. (Also, of course, there is the nearby coastline.) The redwoods themselves lend an almost obsessive verticality to these scenes, but those large forms contrast with the dense details of other plant life. This was one of the first redwood forests within which I photographed on this visit, and I enjoyed the challenge of finding compositional form within this complexity.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Spring Dogwood, Water

Leave a comment

Spring Dogwood, Water
Branches of spring dogwood trees, against a backdrop of the Merced River

Spring Dogwood, Water. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Branches of spring dogwood trees, against a backdrop of the Merced River

Dogwood trees are a spring phenomenon everywhere, but they are a special attraction in the low and middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada every spring. Near the end of April these trees leaf out with flower-like “bracts” soon appearing, and their white or near-white color stands out against the green foliage, especially in low light and shadows.

As so many Yosemite photographers do — it is nearly impossible to resist! — I photographed these branches, leaves, and flowers against the backdrop of the Merced River, its spring flow reflecting the colors of the sunlight on nearby cliffs. I made the photograph at the very beginning of dogwood season, in late April, and a month later I was still able to find trees full of the white flowers in other locations within the park.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Mountains, Spring Snow

Leave a comment

Mountains, Spring Snow
New snow from a spring storm blankets high ridges near the Sierra Nevada crest

Mountains, Spring Snow. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

New snow from a spring storm blankets high ridges near the Sierra Nevada crest

There is no question that for me and many others the sight of high, rocky, snow-covered alpine ridges, especially when backed by dramatic clouds and their racing shadows, is a compelling thing. I know it is true, but I often wonder why it is. Logically, such places are not pleasant or comfortable. In Darwinian terms, it is hard to see how an attraction to these places is logical — you aren’t going to find food or shelter there, and the conditions can be life-challenging. Yet we — or at least a pretty big percentage of “we” — find them appealing and even heart-stirring. I suppose that some things must remain mysteries.

This scene looks like winter, but it was photographed during spring. And, despite the alpine appearance, the photograph was made from a road — during my annual first trip over Tioga Pass via Tuolumne Meadows. As can happen at this time of year, one of those dying-gasp-of-winter weather fronts was in the process of moving through, it had left snow on the highest peaks and ridges, and its clouds were still blowing across the mountaintops.

See top of this page for Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information and more.

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 and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email

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