Petals and Granite

Behind the Image

Spring had fully arrived in Yosemite Valley. The dogwoods were in bloom, their pink blossoms suspended in the morning air. I had already scouted this location and knew the angle I wanted: a layered composition where the curved branches would counterbalance the vertical weight of the granite wall behind them.

I waited for the sun to rise high enough to create a starburst through the blossoms. Using a small aperture helped control the flare and give the image structure. The green cottonwoods in the distance echoed the color of the new leaves overhead and added depth to the frame.

This scene is about contrast: soft against hard, luminous against shadow, ephemeral against ancient. The challenge was organizing all of that into something clean, not chaotic. Timing mattered. So did patience.

Spring in Yosemite is a short, shifting window. You don’t always get another chance the next day. Sometimes, the photograph has to happen now.

About the Artist

Charlotte Gibb is an award-winning and renowned nature and landscape photographer based in Northern California. She is known for her mastery of "Intimate Landscapes" — small scenes derived from a large landscape.

The youngest of nine, she spent her early life playing and exploring the rural Northern California mountain area of her childhood home. Her father, an avid mountain climber and nature lover, made sure his kids shared his passion for the outdoors. After his death in a climbing accident, her mother continued to encourage an attachment to nature, ensuring that family vacations were spent outdoors camping, hiking, and exploring.

Charlotte earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She cut her teeth in the advertising business as an art director in the 1990s, then operated her own graphic design firm in the San Francisco Bay Area for decades. Throughout her long career as an artist, her photography was constantly infused in her design work. Her darkroom has since been replaced with digital darkroom tools, and her style has evolved from a somewhat journalistic approach, to one that pays tribute to the natural world.

Charlotte writes and publishes on the subject of photography and creativity, has been a keynote speaker and educator for several national photography events, served as a judge for international and local photography competitions, and exhibits her work throughout California.

She can usually be found tromping with her camera bag in the wilderness areas around the Sierra Nevada range and Yosemite National Park in her home state.

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Ordering Information

Original photographs are hand made and not all sizes are kept in inventory.

Special orders from the photographer may take up to 4 weeks for delivery.

Please contact us at info@anseladams.com if you have any questions about shipping and delivery.

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Prices subject to change as editions sells outs.