Tag Archives: usa

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Redwood National & State Parks

Rhododendron Bloom, Redwood Forest

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Rhododendron Bloom, Rredwood Forest
A rhododendron tree full of flowers, Redwood National Park

Rhododendron Bloom, Redwood Forest. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A rhododendron tree full of flowers, Redwood National Park.

Redwood forests are wondrous places at any time, but when the rhododendron plants blossom they are even more magical. The redwood forest is a quite dark and quiet place, and the colors are almost uniformly muted greens and browns, with an overall bluish quality to the shaded light. Against that background the rhododendrons provide a remarkable contrast. One flower can be enough, but a tree full of them is even more special.

The rhododendrons are a new part of my photography, so I’m still learning a lot about them — where and when to find them, the best ways to photograph them, how their growth varies. The “season” is said to be a bit unpredictable, with some saying it can be at its peak in May and others suggesting June. My experience so far suggests that later may be better, and I’ve had my best luck a week or so into June.

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 and Amazon.

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Photographs: Nature

Love-In-A-Mist Flower

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Love-In-A-Mist Flower
The flower of “love-in-a-mist,” or nigella damascena.

Love-In-A-Mist Flower. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The flower of “love-in-a-mist,” or nigella damascena.

When it comes to flowers, I’m somewhat unsophisticated. It has always been this way, even with wildflowers that I have encountered for years. I only know the names of a few of them and the Latin names of virtually none. On the other hand, I often do “know” them by appearance, by location, by the annual time of their appearance, and more.

I’m perhaps even worse when it comes to domesticated flowers! I know a rose when I see one, but identify what type of rose? Nope. And there are a lot of flowers that are, to me… simply flowers. This love-in-a mist flower is in that category. I had not heard of it, so I got to have the fun experience of “discovering” it on a recent visit to a botanical garden. Everything about this flower surprises me — the blue petals, the green and purple near its center, and the wild shapes it holds.

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 and Amazon.

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

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

Photographs: Nature

Red Leaves

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Red Leaves
Red and purple spring leaves

Red Leaves. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Red and purple spring leaves.

I made this photograph during a morning visit to a botanical garden with Patty a few weeks ago. We arrived early enough that there were still areas next to hedges, under trees, and near structures that remained in the shade — the full daylight sun is often too intense and harsh for this sort of photography. These leaves, while themselves in shade, were close enough to brighter light to puck up some directional highlights.

The colors actually were pretty much this intense. The plant has very reddish (or maroon in some light) leaves, and the shadows shifted the balance toward blue. Something that only occurred to me much later — the soft, rounded shapes of the background level almost suggest the very blurry bokeh shapes in the even further distance.

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 and Amazon.

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

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

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Intertwined Trunks

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Intertwined Trunks
Tightly laced tree trunks, Southern Sierra Nevada

Intertwined Trunks. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tightly laced tree trunks, Southern Sierra Nevada.

This is an older photograph that has languished in my raw file archives for nearly a decade. Back in 2010 I was on a long Southern Sierra backcountry trip with a group of friends — roughly speaking we made a giant semi-circle around Mount Whitney, starting southeast of that peak and coming out over a week later at a point considerably north. A milestone on this trip was realizing — finally! — that re-climbing that iconic peak is less profitable than spending time in many other equally beautiful places in the Sierra. At several points on this trip we found ourselves in lonely, less-visited spots, and I treasure the trip for that reason. These trees were at one of our campsites, in a location essentially right at timberline.

Everyone’s work habits are unique, but for me it is important to periodically go back and look through older photographs that didn’t “go anywhere” at the time. I inevitably find images that are worth the second look. I’ve often pondered how and why this happens. Among my theories: perhaps I simply moved on to quickly to other projects at the time, possibly I didn’t really understand how to “see” the image, my interests and perspectives have changed. Regardless, this is one reason that I’m hesitant to delete a lot of raw files — all too often I’ve gone back and found something that I was glad I kept!

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 and Amazon.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

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

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