Tag Archives: garden

Photographs: Nature

Tulip After Rain

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Tulip After Rain
“Tulip After Rain” — Rain drops on a spring tulip blossom.

Patty and I had a plan to visit a Bay Area garden where she often photographs spring flowers. According to the calendar, it was time for the tulips and other flowers to be at peak bloom. But as the day approached, it was clear that there was a chance of rain which, to say the least, can make this sort of photography challenging. We headed there early in the morning anyway, and it rained on us during the drive. The clouds were still thick when we arrived. Things were looking a bit uncertain.

But what had looked like deal-breaker weather actually turned out to be nearly perfect. The rain stopped, and we had intermittent sunshine and clouds — all kinds of interesting light. And while the rain ended, there was water everywhere, including on these colorful tulip blooms.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Acanthus Leaves and Stem

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Acanthus Leaves and Stem
Macro photograph of leaves and stem.

Acanthus Leaves and Stem. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Macro photograph of leaves and stem.

These plants were abundant in a public garden we visited back at the end of spring. Remember spring? Back when California was still green, and before our summer golden brown arrived? That aside, in this San Francisco Peninsula garden something is always green no matter what the season.

Most of my photography on this visit focused on flowers, but here it is more about the plant itself — sturdy stem with thick leaves growing upwards and with thorn-like appendages along their edges. The faint purple coloration at the edges of the leaves sets of the bright green.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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Photographs: Nature

Viola Flower

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Viola Flower
Close-up photograph of a colorful viola flower.

Viola Flower. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Close-up photograph of a colorful viola flower.

This viola almost seems to me to have a flame-like quality, at least if you can see the purple on the petals as seeming to emerge from that bright yellow center. If you look closely you may spot a surprise — a couple of small bugs hanging out on the petals.

This is another — and almost the last — of the photographs we made on a late-spring evening at the San Francisco Peninsula garden that has been the subject of so many recent images. In some ways this might have been the perfect lazy photographer evening: show up, get some snacks and a drink, sit next to a meadow and watch the evening light come on, the walk a few steps to nearby gardens to make photographs.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Acanthus

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Acanthus
Acanthus plants in a San Francisco Peninsula garden.

Acanthus. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

Acanthus plants in a San Francisco Peninsula garden.

This clump of acanthus stalks was growing in a lush, green area of this garden. We were there in the early evening, and the soft light fills that shadows and reveals details that might be hidden in harsher conditions. In many places the stalks were growing close to other plants, but here they grew along and provided some distance to separate them from the rest of the garden.

The stems are striking — almost vertical (though these do lean a bit) and thick, covered with thick, patterned leaves that include green, purple, and almost black colors. Up close you can also see that there are stickers on some of the leaves.

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” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.