Tag Archives: trees

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Redwood Grove and Ferns in Morning Light

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Redwood Grove and Ferns in Morning Light

Redwood Grove and Ferns in Morning Light. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 8, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light streams through a redwood grove to illuminate ferns on the sloping forest floor below at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

Yes, another photo of a redwood grove at Muir Woods National Monument. As I think I wrote earlier, I’m working on creating a collection of photographs of this location and obviously the trees themselves need to have a large place in all of this work. This is a bit different – really, trust me! – than some of the other recent redwood grove shots in that it was made during sunny conditions rather than the more gloomy (but no less interesting) rainiy and cloudy conditions I had photographed earlier.

And, yes, there will be more… :-)

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: forest, woods, trees, redwoods, grove, trunks, vertical, muir woods, national monument, park, california, usa, marin, county, floor, hill, slope, ferns, illuminate, nature, frond, branch, dense, light, morning, shadow, green, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Steps, Ocean View Trail

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Steps, Ocean View Trail. Muir Woods National Monument. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
Steps, Ocean View Trail. Muir Woods National Monument. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Steps, Ocean View Trail. Muir Woods National Monument, California. February 28, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Steps ascend a steep hill through the redwoods near the start of the Ocean View Trail, Muir Woods National Monument, California.

This is a scene that I have photographed before – in particular I recall photographing these steps early in the evening before one of the winter solstice events at Muir Woods, when the trails through the grove are lit by candles. On the last day of February this year I visited again, but this time very early in the morning before many other visitors had arrived. I was thinking “color” when I made this photograph (and I may still post the color version eventually) but I ended up liking this black and white version quite a bit. I like the diagonal division between the upper left half which mostly includes the vertical forms of the redwood trees and the lower right section which includes the steps leading in to the trees.

This was actually a somewhat tricky scene to photograph. While the dynamic range was quite huge, ranging from the deep shadows on the sides of the trees at the left to the almost sunlit foliage beyond the trees, overall the scene was quite dim. Because I needed great depth of field I shot at f/16. Because I wanted the cleanest image possible I shot at ISO 100. All of this meant that I ended up making a 2.5 second exposure! Still there were post-processing challenges, including bringing up a bit of detail in the darker areas of the scene while at the same time being careful to not increase the brightness in the bright spots. And after paying attention to the extremes some work had to be done on the middle tones to get some life back there.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.keywords: muir, woods, national, monument, park, marin, forest, nature, california, usa, steps, stairs, railing, fence, trail, ocean, view, redwood, grove, trees, ferns, clover, oregon oxalis, redwood sorrell, green, canopy, light, filtered, trunk, landscape, scenic, travel, outdoor, hike, stock

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

Near Leidig Meadow, Lower Three Brothers – Yosemite Valley

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Near Leidig Meadow, Lower Three Brothers - Yosemite Valley

Near Leidig Meadow, Lower Three Brothers – Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. November 2, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Forest-rimmed near Liedig Meadow and the lower face of the Three Brothers, Yosemite Valley, California.

Actually, I’m not certain I have the name of this meadow quite right*, but the closest named area I can find on my maps of the Valley is listed as Leidig Meadow – so I’m sticking with this until I get a better answer. This is one more photograph from my November 2008 rainy weekend in The Valley – and like many of the others from this shoot it features diffused overcast light and colors altered by two days of steady rain.

Update: Several people have confirmed that this area is known as Leidig Meadow. Now I just need to determine the origin of that name.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: yosemite, valley, national park, leidig, meadow, three brothers, face, lower, forest, trees, autumn, fall, season, plant, grass, green, brown, golden, southside, drive, rocky point, sentinel beach, trunk, leaves, rock, cliff, arch, scenic, travel, landscape, nature, california, usa

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Borch’s Iron Works and Machine Shop

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BorchsIronWorks20090104.jpg

Borch’s Iron Works and Machine Shop. San Jose, California. January 4, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Borch’s Iron Works and Machine Shop – old metal shop building in the downtown area of San Jose, California.

This spare old metal-sided shop building is in a light industrial area in downtown San Jose, near the arena. In early January I wandered past here while on foot photographing city subjects. I liked the very simple shape and yellow color of this building, and the contrast with the intense blue of the late afternoon sky.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: afternoon, building, california, city, county, downtown, evening, san jose, santa clara, urban, structure, industrail, street, shop, metal, corrugated, roof, trees, blue, yellow, sky, clouds, parking lot, asphalt, sign, borches, iron works, machine shop, wires, sun, light, usa, stock