Tag Archives: wild

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Nature

Desert Sunflower

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Desert Sunflower

Desert Sunflower. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Blossoms of the Desert Sunflower (Geraea canescens) on a gravel fan in Death Valley National Park, California.

This is the first photograph I posted from my 2009 spring trip to Death Valley (March 32-April 3), from which I returned only yesterday. I’ll post more on the trip itself in the text accompanying additional photographs as I post them. I made this photograph on my last evening in the park. My basic daily plan in Death Valley is usually some variation on the following: shoot a location or two in the morning, “hang out” during the hot and harshly-lit midday period, and then shoot a couple more locations in the late afternoon and evening. On this afternoon I decided to first look for some of the colorful flowers that grow along the washes this time of year, and then to head over to Mesquite Dunes (aka “Death Valley Dunes” or “The Dunes”) to shoot at the very end of the day.

I drove to a point perhaps halfway between Stovepipe Wells and Furnace Creek where these flowers grow in profusion alongside the road when the timing and conditions are just right. Finding the flowers is almost embarrassingly easy – they grow right next to the road! Shooting them can prove to be a bit more difficult, especially in the typical Death Valley afternoon winds. While the late afternoon light was beautiful, the flowers were blowing so much in the wind that shooting them was almost impossible. I finally figured out that one key was in locating flowers with shorter, stronger stems that seemed to move less. Another key is using an appropriately fast shutter speed, which fortunately goes right along with using a large aperture for narrow DOF. Finally, once I found a flower or group of flowers, set up the composition, and focused (Live View rocks for flower photography!) it was a matter of patiently waiting for slight lulls in the wind and making several exposures as insurance against the inevitable motion blur from wind whipped plants.

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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.



Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Larkspur Flowers

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Larkspur Flowers

Larkspur Flowers. Quicksilver Hills, California. March 28, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Larkspur in spring bloom along a trail at Almaden Quicksilver Park, California.

These flowers were also photographed along the little section of trail running through the valley at Almaden Quicksilver Park that I mentioned in an earlier post or two. This valley holds a wonderful collection of spring wildflowers, and I visit it each year during the several weeks of late March and early April each year when the wildflower display is at its peak. There is a bend in the trail on a downhill section where the ground is shady in the morning and open to the sun in the afternoon where a small garden of these flowers is found – the entire patch contains perhaps a dozen or two plants, and the flowers come and go quite quickly.

I find this flower to be one of the most difficult to photograph – and for a series of reasons. It is not seen that widely; you will find it if you are out and about, but it certainly is not ubiquitous. Its blooms are only visible, much less attractive, for a short time somewhat early in the wildflower season – the flowers can quickly turn dry and drab looking. Sometimes a very nice flower will share a stem with others that are way past their prime. And, finally, the flower’s color is very dark – this can make it very tricky to shoot in even the best light. Its details can easily disappear into the dark tones, and its color can be overshadowed by almost any other plant that shares the frame. In this photograph I was lucky to fine a group of flowers still in pretty good shape, that had a slightly redder tint than some might, and which was illuminated by back/side light that wasn’t too harsh, and which were in front of background plants that were not in full sun. Using a long lens with its narrow depth of field also helped to diffuse the background and set the flowers off a bit.

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: larkspur, Delphinium depauperatum, flower, wild, wildflower, purple, blue, green, plant, foliage, stem, bokeh, spring, season, california, usa, almaden, quicksilver, county, park, santa clara, san jose, trail, hike, hills, san francisco, bay area, nature, stock, bud, bloom, blossom

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Blue Dicks Flowers

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Blue Dicks Flowers

Blue Dicks Flowers. Quicksilver Hills, California. March 28, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Intertwining stems support two spring Blue Dicks wildflowers along a trail at Almaden Quicksilver Park, California.

The bare stems of these two spring wildflowers intertwine in the trailside sunshine at Almaden Quicksilver Park, California.

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: Dichelostemma capitatum, blue dicks, flowers, stem, blossom, bloom, wild, wildflower, spring, nature, foliage, plant, lily, amaryllis, season, new, quicksilver, county, park, santa clara, san jose, california, usa, stock

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: Wildlife

Flock of Pelicans in Flight

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Flock of Pelicans in Flight

Flock of Pelicans in Flight. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. January 25, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of a half dozen pelicans in flight approachs with partly cloudy sky beyond, Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

Getting this shot required preparation, the use of particular photographic equipment, quick reactions… and, as always when wildlife is concerned, a fair amount of dumb luck.

I am fascinated by the pelicans found along the Pacific coastline. For me they seem to stand apart from the other seabirds – they are bigger, their flight pattern is different, and they somehow look prehistoric when they coast by. I’m certainly no bird expert, but I’ve watched these birds enough to start to pick up on certain patterns that help me when I try to photograph them. One of the most important things I discovered is that successive groupings tend to fly almost identical paths near the coast. If you locate one of these spots and are patient and prepared, there is a very good chance that you’ll have a chance at photographing them.

On this occasion I was at Point Lobos and I had driven down to the south end of the park road and parked at the trailhead for Bird Island and China Beach. Originally I had planned to shoot seascapes, but the conditions were not quite what I had in mind, so I decided to pay more attention to the birds. Right by this parking lot there is a small cove, and along its left side as you face the sea there is a small and somewhat low peninsula of land extending seaward a bit. As I was unloading the car the first flock came by, seemingly only a few feet from the edge of the bluff. Because they were flying into a stiff wind they were not only close to the shore by they also coasted by very slowly. Needless to say, I quickly put on the long lens (100-400mm), grabbed my tripod, and took up a position opposite this peninsula and waited for the next group to come over. As luck would have it, not only did they come over – flying almost directly toward my camera position – but the clouds cleared enough to light them but stuck around enough to provide an interesting background! (Like I wrote earlier, luck…)

In this shot there is something about that bird at the upper left with wings aloft and slightly separated from the rest of the group (with their wings horizontal or lower) and, lucky for me, I managed to get the focus right on this bird. In the large version you can actually see the reflection in the eye of the bird.

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.

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