Tag Archives: usa

Photographs: Nature

Tulip Bud and Leaves

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Tulip Bud and Leaves
“Tulip Bud and Leaves” — A spring tulip bud, just before blossoming.

While a field of wildly colorful tulips is impressive and hard to resist, I like photographing individual flowers, usually before they are fully bloomed. I love the transition from the early green buds, though the first tentative appearance of the flower’s color, to the moment when the blossom begins to open.

This one is at the state where its eventual color is just starting to appear, taking over from the green early-bud stage. At the upper tip, especially, there is a bit of yellow and a tiny spot of pink. By the way, with this photograph I’m going to do something a little unusual for me: before long I will share a monochrome interpretation of the same image.

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: Europe, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel

Sunset Crowd, Florence

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Sunset Crowd, Florence
“Sunset Crowd, Florence” — People gather on steps at the Piazzale Michangelo to watch the sunset over Florence, Italy.

When traveling there is a fine balance between following the crowd to the iconic, popular sites and sights or striking off on your own to find more obscure things. We kind of like doing the latter, and we often spend a lot of time doing what might look like aimless wandering. But that wandering often gets us to interesting places that might be a bit more obscure. However, sometimes joining the crowd is the right choice, and this was one of those times.

We had been to Florence before and knew about the nightly trek up the hill to the Piazale Michelangelo to watch the sun set over the city. But we had never gone there. This evening seemed like the right time, so we headed up the hill, soon becoming part of a crowd with the same idea — perhaps despite some misgivings we continued and then arrived to find hundreds of people already there. These steps were filled with visitors, and some fellow began to do an impromptu comedy act at the base of the steps. Drinks and snacks were available from vendor carts. Before long everyone began to sing along with a solo street musician at the top of the steps. It was one of the most wonderful, magical moments we’ve had while traveling… and one that only happened because this time we joined the crowd.

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: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Winter Trees, Dusk

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Winter Trees, Dusk
“Winter Trees, Dusk” — A row of bare winter trees silhouetted against the a colorful dusk sky.

This photograph lets me recall how we greeted the New Year. It was the same way we’ve done it for the past decade or so — joining a group of photographer friends to photograph migratory birds in the winter landscape. A few of us arrived the day before, but everyone showed up before dawn on New Year’s Day to greet the first sunrise of the new year together.

This photograph comes from New Year’s Eve. We arrived in the middle of the afternoon, in time for the late-day light. It was a quiet evening, with a few clouds forming when I made this photograph of a row of winter-dormant trees in the post-sunset dusk light.

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: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Southern California

Badlands, In Shadow

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Badlands, In Shadow, Death Valley
“Badlands, In Shadow” — Badlands formations in early morning shadows, Death Valley.

This is another is a series of photographs I made one morning at Zabriskie Point during my late February visit to Death Valley National Park. Previously I mentioned that I rarely photograph at this spot any more — after a couple of decades it takes some pretty special conditions to persuade me to join the crowd there. I stopped when pre-dawn clouds suggested the potential for a very colorful sunrise. Alas, that did not happen, but I did get some interesting light before the direct sunlight came to the formations at Zabriskie.

I’m a big fan of photographing in subdued light and especially in shade and when reflected light fills in the shadows. That is what we see here. The morning sunlight was striking nearby subjects, but it had not yet penetrated down into this little valley. The light produced a kind of soft glow and it picked up colors from the sky and reflected light from nearby prominences that were in the sun. Once again, the Death Valley landscape is a sort of canvas that is colored by light.

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.