Tag Archives: trail

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Quicksilver Wildflowers

Leave a comment

Quicksilver Wildflowers
Quicksilver Wildflowers. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Deep purple spring wildflowers at Almaden Quicksilver Park, California – photographed on an early spring hike near the peak of the central California wildflower season.

The flowers are larkspur, or delphinium. They are interesting flowers and somewhat difficult to photograph. Their color is a very deep purple, so it is almost necessary to photograph them against a much lighter background. These were photographed along the New Almaden Trail, not far from the Mockingbird Hill entrance.

keywords: wild, flowers, wildflowers, deep, purple, five, petals, trail, hike, nature, spring, almaden, quicksilver, county park, santa clara, san jose, california, usa, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Three Purple Wildflowers

Leave a comment

Three Purple Wildflowers

Three Purple Wildflowers. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The wildflower season in the central California coastal hills peaks in early April, so I make an effort to get out to some of the nearby wildflower areas every spring.

(Notes: I’m taking a short break from the Death Valley photos to add a bit of contrast and show a few spring 2008 wildflower photos. I have actually have over a month of upcoming photographs in the queue right now – more Death Valley photos, some Yosemite photos, and much more. Also, as you may have figured out from my generic flower photo titles – “purple wildflowers” – I’m not great and naming plants and flowers. Fortunately an acquaintance recently sent me a list of the names of all of the flowers I’ve recently photographed. When I update the titles I’ll credit this helpful person!)

keywords: purple, flowers, three, wildflowers, wild, nature, stems, green, leaves, california, usa, san jose, santa clara, county, san francisco, bay area, hills, trail, hike, hiking, almaden, quicksilver, park, stock

Photographs: Central California

Calero Trail, Spring

Leave a comment

Calero Trail, Spring
Calero Trail, Spring. Calero Hills, California. March 8, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A spring morning on a hillside trail through oak grassland of the Calero Hills in central California. This is representative of the start of what I call “the impossibly green” season in central California when for perhaps a month the grasses, trees, and wildflowers go absolutely wild following the winter rains.

keywords: calero, trail, santa clara, county, park, trail, fire road, spring, new, grass, buds, leaves, sun, sunshine, blue, sky, shadows, meadow, forest, hills, clouds, hike, hiking, outdoors, nature, branches, trunks, oak, california, usa, stock

Photographs: Night, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Moonlit Cove, Thousand Island Lake

Leave a comment
Moonlit Cove, Thousand Island Lake

Moonlit Cove, Thousand Island Lake. Ansel Adams Wilderness, California. July 27, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

I spent a few hours on this cold, clear July evening photographing the light of the full moon, star trails, and reflections on the surface of Thousand Island Lake.

When using a digital camera to make such long exposures one must adopt a very patient attitude. First, find the spot for your photograph and set everything up in the dark. Then make an exposure of perhaps 15 minutes. Because DSLRs are subject to noise on these long exposures, you then wait another 15 minutes while the camera completes a “dark frame” exposure to determine how to compensate for the noise in the original exposure. Yes, it takes 30 minutes (and lots of battery power!) to make a 15 minute exposure.

You could become impatient. Or you could, as I do, sit back and enjoy the peace and quite of a beautiful moonlit Sierra night.

keywords: thousand, island, lake, cove, shore, surface, reflections, ritter, banner, peak, mount, mountains, alpine, night, black and white, photography, backpacking, john muir, trail, backpacking, landscape, scenic, california, usa, outdoor, stock, ansel adams, wilderness