Tag Archives: trunk

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Spring Oaks and Blue Sky

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Spring Oaks and Blue Sky
Spring Oaks and Blue Sky

Spring Oaks and Blue Sky. Castle Rock State Park, California. April 24, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

New spring growth on oak trees against perfect blue sky, Castle Rock State Park, California.

This is a simple photograph of a group of oak trees starting to get spring leaves with a deep blue spring sky in the background. I made the photograph along a trail just past Goat Rock at the Castle Rock State Park along the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains. As I walked along this trail I had been looking down, trying to find potential photographs of the many wildflowers along this hillside – but without a lot of success, given that the late morning hour was making the lighting quite challenging. I happened to look up as I continued on the trail and the silhouettes of the group of trees caught my attention, along with the juxtaposition of the bright colors of the new growth against the color of the sky

This has been a wetter and colder winter in the San Francisco Bay Area than we have had for a few years. Even though the calendar says we are well into spring, the weather has continued to be (what, in California passes for) winter-like, with rain storms still coming in from the Pacific. However, this morning felt like the first real spring day of the year with bright sun and warm temperatures.

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

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM at 35mm
ISO 100, f/11, 1/80 second

keywords: castle rock, state, park, santa cruz, mountains, california, usa, north america, blue, sky, perfect, leaves, yellow, gold, new, spring, season, trunk, branch, silhouette, nature, landscape, scenic, travel, morning, light, pattern, grove, stock, plant, flora, foliage

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Redwood Grove, Morning Light – Muir Woods

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Redwood Grove, Morning Light - Muir Woods
Redwood Grove, Morning Light - Muir Woods

Redwood Grove, Morning Light – Muir Woods. Muir Woods National Monument, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California. April 17, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light slants though the trunks of tall redwood trees near Bohemian Grove, Muir Woods National Monument, California.

I was surprised by somewhat sunny conditions on this mid-April visit to Muir Woods National Monument north of San Francisco, California. When I left my home in the South Bay very early in the morning it was quite cloudy, and the forecast was for even cloudier (and more persistently cloudy) conditions north of the Golden Gate Bridge. But as I drove through the City the clouds cleared to the north and by the time I was across the Golden Gate it was almost clear, with just a bit of nice high cloudiness to diffuse the light a bit.

I arrived at Muir Woods early enough that I got a parking spot in the closest lot. (Those who visit the place often and who are familiar with the crush of tourists later in the day understand what this means… ;-) As I usually do, I wanders slowly up the trail alongside Redwood Creek, taking in as much of the scene (visual, auditory, olfactory, etc.) as I looked for photographs. Eventually I made it to the bridge (Bridge #2) that crosses the creek just above the old Bohemian Grove. This is a spot where I often photograph if the crowds aren’t too bad – there is a lot to see right here! There are some deciduous trees whose leaves can catch the filtered light in interesting ways; the creek flows through, in places with ferns right down to the waterline; and there are lots of very tall redwood trees. I’ve been working on some photographs in landscape orientation that show groups for the trees, focusing primarily on their massive and parallel trunks – in fact, one from the series on this visit consists of a stitch of something like five horizontal frames. This one is more conventional and is a single exposure.

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

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM at 200mm
ISO 200, f/16, .6 second

keywords: redwood, tree, grove, trunk, foreset, bohemian, muir, woods, national, monument, golden gate, recreation, area, trail, sequoia, sempervirens, tall, big, flora, foliage, nature, scenic, travel, san francisco, marin, county, california, usa, north america, morning, light, slant, stock

Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: People, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Urban/Street

Woman Walking Past Wall

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Woman Walking Past Wall
Woman Walking Past Wall

Woman Walking Past Wall. San Francisco, California. March 6, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Woman with coffee cup walks past a wall and behind a fire hydrant and tree, San Francisco, California.

While waiting for a table at a restaurant on a Saturday morning in San Francisco, I grabbed a few photographs of this interesting (to me, anyway!) juxtaposition of yellow wall, tree trunk, fire hydrant, and passing pedestrian from across the street. I first just thought that the light on the plain yellow/tan wall and the white window frames was interesting, and then I thought about how tree trunk and the cluster of leaves framed the central window. As I thought about this and started shooting the woman walked through the frame and, I think, added some balance to the elements in the scene.

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

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8
ISO 100, f/8, 1/250 second

keywords: street, urban, woman, walk, sidewalk, texture, wall, window, white, frame, yellow, tan, trim, blinds, angle, oblique, tree, leaves, trunk, branch, fire, hydrant, curb, shadow, light, morning, san francisco, california, usa, north america, stock, cell, phone, talk

Photographs: Southern California, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Columns and Tree in Fog

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Columns and Tree in Fog
Columns and Tree in Fog

Columns and Tree in Fog. The Getty Center, Los Angeles, California. December 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of columns, a tree, and roof in fog – Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California.

This photograph shows a detail of the columns and roof above the terrace at the Getty Center seen in my previously-posted photograph of this area. Again, the fog and rain have masked the distant view and created diffused lighting. I like the contrast between the constructed forms of the columns, roof, and faintly seen building and the single leafless tree.

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

G Dan Mitchell Photography | Twitter | Friendfeed | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Email

keywords: getty, center, los angeles, california, usa, museum, winter, travel, urban, art, column, stong, covered, square, texture, crack, roof, beam, underside, tree, branch, trunk, bare, leaves, fog, mist, rain, building, architecture, reflection, black and white, monochrome, stock