G Dan Mitchell | Photography

Quicksilver Wildflowers. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Deep purple spring wildflowers at Almaden Quicksilver Park, California - photographed on an early spring hike near the peak of the central California wildflower season.

The flowers are larkspur, or delphinium. They are interesting flowers and somewhat difficult to photograph. Their color is a very deep purple, so it is almost necessary to photograph them against a much lighter background. These were photographed along the New Almaden Trail, not far from the Mockingbird Hill entrance.

keywords: wild, flowers, wildflowers, deep, purple, five, petals, trail, hike, nature, spring, almaden, quicksilver, county park, santa clara, san jose, california, usa, stock

G Dan Mitchell :: May.31.2008 :: Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature :: No Comments »

As a result of my attempt to install a plug-in earlier today, this site was offline for perhaps an hour or so. Things appear to be back to normal now. (Thank you to the people at siteground for their quick and effective response.)

G Dan Mitchell :: May.30.2008 :: Commentary :: No Comments »

Oak Tree and Fence, Dutch Flat. Grant Ranch County Park, California. April 20, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of an oak tree and fence on the ridge near Dutch Flat in Joseph Grant Ranch County Park.

This is a wonderful and, I suspect, infrequently visited location high above Santa Clara Valley. This trail begins in Joseph Grant Ranch County Park and in fairly short order ascends to the top of a oak and grass covered ridge overlooking Santa Clara Valley.

keywords: oak, tree, silhouette, wood, fence, meadow, hill, black and white, dutch flat, joseph, grant, ranch, santa clara, county, park, diablo, range, nature, photo, photography, stock, grass

G Dan Mitchell :: May.30.2008 :: Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature :: No Comments »

Dario wrote with a question about filters:

Your nature photographs are absolutely amazing. I don’ t have any experience in nature photography (but I want very much to start learning about it). Do you recommend any specific filters for a 24-105L lens? (slim circular polarizer + ND filter / some specific brand?) Thank you very much for your help and congratulations for your highly professional photographs!

First, thanks for writing and thanks for your very kind words about my photography. I decided to answer your question with a post in my forum. I hope you find it useful!

G Dan Mitchell :: May.29.2008 :: Commentary :: No Comments »

Purple Wildflowers. Grant Ranch County Park, California. April 20, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Spring purple wildflowers photographed in the grasslands of Grant Ranch County Park east of San Jose, California.

I’m told that these are Vicia villosa or winter vetch. All I know for certain is that the hillside was covered with these beautiful small flowers, and that I had to get down very low on the ground to photograph them. :-)

For those interested in photo equipment issues, this photo is evidence, I think, that you can get decent out of focus background bokeh from the Canon 24-105mm f/4 L.

keywords: purple, wildflowers, wild, flowers, grant ranch, santa clara, county, park, joseph, green, leaf, grass, stem, bloom, blossom, spring, nature, stock, california, usa, photo, photography, Vicia villosa, winter vetch

G Dan Mitchell :: May.29.2008 :: Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature :: No Comments »

Lupine Flowers. Grant Ranch County Park, California. April 20, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Spring lupine wildflowers photographers at Grant Ranch County Park in the hills east of San Jose, California.

Photography was not my main goal on this spring afternoon hike - I simply brought my camera and one lens in a pack and left the multiple lenses and tripod at home. Fortunately the lens I was carrying was appropriate for the many wildflowers I found along my hike to the top of a ridge overlooking Santa Clara Valley.

keywords: lupine, flower, wild, wildflower, blossom, plant, nature, spring, stalk, grass, bokeh, joseph grant, ranch, santa clara, county, park, scenic, stock, purple, bloom

G Dan Mitchell :: May.28.2008 :: Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature :: No Comments »

Andy Frazer is a night photographer and author of the Night Photography blog by Andy Frazer, but he is also a film-maker who has produced a wonderful film about a group of night photographers, The Night of the Living Photographers. Whether you are new to night photography or already have an interest in the genre, you really should view this film - and visit Andy’s blog for much, much more on the subject.

G Dan Mitchell :: May.27.2008 :: Commentary :: No Comments »

Purple Wildflower. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Purple spring wildflower (Dichelostemma capitatum, blue dicks) photographed at Almaden Quicksilver Park in central California.

I want to thank Gina Zolotar for helping identify this and other wildflowers I photographed this spring. I know these plants and flowers well - I can tell you when they bloom and where to find them and I can locate the plants even when they are not in bloom. But I’m absolutely pathetic when it comes to remembering the common names of plants and flowers, much less their scientific names.

keywords: flower, wild, wildflower, purple, one, single, stem, green, bokeh, almaden, quicksilver, park, santa clara county, san jose, california, usa, nature, spring, plant, stock, Dichelostemma capitatum, blue dicks, bluedicks

G Dan Mitchell :: May.27.2008 :: Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature :: No Comments »

A lot of photographers sweat the decisions about what long lenses to purchase. Among Canon users a common decision is whether to get a high quality telephoto prime (plus one or more teleconverters) or to get a telephoto zoom. Perhaps the most common question is whether to get a 300mm L prime (f/2.8 or f/4) or the 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 L IS. Continue Reading »

G Dan Mitchell :: May.26.2008 :: Commentary :: No Comments »

I’m a bit embarrassed that, as a long-time Californian, I had not thought to go to the redwoods to photograph flowers. However, Inge Fernau has and she is currently posting a wonderful series of photographs that make me think I need to get up there. Soon.

G Dan Mitchell :: May.26.2008 :: Commentary, Locations, Photographers :: No Comments »