One Yellow Flower. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Spring flower and buds growing on the forest floor at Almaden Quicksilver Park.
keywords: nature, spring, yellow, flower, stem, grass, leaf, bokeh, california, usa, santa clara, county, park, almaden, quicksilver, trail, stock, misty, soft, focus
At the Base of Bridalveil Fall. Yosemite Valley, California. May 16, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Group of tourists at the base of Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite Valley, California.
I’m not going to give away all the reasons, but this is – perhaps surprisingly – one of my favorite photographs of the past few months. The reasons include those related to form, the subjects, and the place.
keywords: california, national park, Sierra Nevada, Spring, Yosemite, bridalveil, fall, base, trail, viewpoint, mist, spray, rocks, water, waterfall, river, creek, cascade, tree, bush, black and white, stock, travel, scenic, landscape
Vernal and Nevada Falls, Alpenglow on Mt. Clark. Yosemite National Park, California. May 16, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
In mid-May made a quick one-day run up to Yosemite and back to get reacquainted with the waterfalls – at that time in full spring flow – and see the Valley coming back to life again after winter. In the evening I found myself at Glacier Point watching another stunning Sierra Crest sunset. This photograph was made as the very last light touched the top of Mt. Clark.
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Pink and White Wildflowers. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 26, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Pink and white spring wildflowers photographed at Almaden Quicksilver Park, California.
Once again, a photo shot handheld with the 24-105mm lens. I like to use this photo and some similar ones to respond to folks who are convinced that “the 24-105mm f/4 L IS has bad bokeh.” I’ll admit that it doesn’t always produce great blurred backgrounds, but if you are careful you can actually get some nice bokeh from it. And for handheld wildflower shots its focal length is just about perfect and the image stabilization turns out the be very useful.
I’ve been told that these flowers are “Stachys ajugoides – rigid wood mint,” though after looking around at some online photos of that plant I’m not 100% certain since the leaves don’t seem quite right. Anyone?
keywords: pink, white, flowers, wild, wildflowers, nature, delicate, stem, leaf, green, bokeh, almaden, quicksilver, mines, park, santa clara county, san jose, california, usa, plant, hiking, trail, stock