Flowers & Forests
Southern California Wildflowers
The wildflowers in Southern California that year were surprising good. With the amount of rain and temperatures, one local spot blossomed with purple lupine. That's pretty rare for Southern California and seems to happen every ten years. Upon discovering this spot, I want to capture it with hopefully some good light. It was one of those episodes when it was cloudy and I wasn't sure if the sunset was going to pop. The rim of the clouds started to light up. I grabbed my gear and rushed on the fwy weaving in and out of traffic, getting to the park, crossing the creek and trying to climb up the hill panting like crazy as the light was glowing. I found my spot and shot away dying of breath photographing as much as I could of the wildflowers. Not bad for Southern California!
We came across this old growth forest as we were out exploring the redwood groves. It was the most incredible experience hiking into this old growth maple forest. It reminded me of the old growth forests up in Olympics. The maples were were drenched with bright green moss along with the huge sword ferns covering the forest canopy. Who know how old this forest is. It was one of those magical places you didn’t want to leave.
Mount Rainier’s wildflower displays are world renown. Pinks, purples, blues, yellows seemingly every hue of the color spectrum are represented in awe-inspiring displays. From an up-close look at a delicate glacier lily, to the Dr. Seuss Bear Grass to expansive fields of purple lupine and deep red paintbrush, experiencing Mt. Rainier’s wildflowers is worthy of trip to Mount Rainier alone. That evening we hiked to Paradise Meadow while enjoying the summer air and Mount Rainier wildflowers. The sunset light was illuminating the craggy Tatoosh Range so I opted for a composition with the amazing plethora of wildflower as a foreground.
The Anza Borrego flowers are incredible. If conditions are good with the right around of rain and temperatures, the Anza Borrego desert blooms in a myriad of colors. That year conditions couldn't be any better. I couldn't believe how green the Anza Borrego desert was and then seeing patches of color and flowers everywhere. I was trying to shoot some of the fragrant sand verbenas and then came across these white evening primroses. I was hurrying to get some shots before sunrise but the fun part trying to compose a bouquet of flowers with the wind blowing. If you ever get a chance to see the Anza Borrego flowers in the spring it's well worth the experience.
The Death Valley superbloom in 2019 was incredible. The wildflower "super-bloom" is rare event for Death Valley that only occurs only when the precipitation, temperature and duration are perfect. Death Valley is famous for its spectacular, spring wildflower displays, but those are the exception, not the rule. Under perfect conditions does the normally arid desert land comes to life with a field of gold, purple, pink or white flowers. Although there are years where blossoms are few, they are never totally absent. I couldn't help but return to the same dunes in search for this prolific field of pink verbena that was mysterious hidden. I ended up going to Death Valley three times to check out the superbloom that year. The Death Valley Superbloom didn't disappoint!
Yellow aspen trees can be found in the Eastern Sierras if it's a good year for fall color. While California doesn't have as good of a fall color display as the east coast, or as prolific as the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada’s still do have quite a few groves of amazing aspen trees. If the temperatures and the seasonal precipitation is just right the aspens can turn yellow, orange and even red.
The Hood River wildflowers in the spring are stunning if you time it right. This photograph was from our last sunrise of the trip shooting the Columbia Gorge. We hiked in the pre-dawn light up a ridge to search for the elusive hood river wildflowers. To our surprise, the blooming Arrowleaf balsamroot were in prime condition showing off as we waited for the morning light. I was trying to compose my shot with the Arrowleaf as the foreground, Hood River in the mid ground with crowning Mount Hood in the background. Within minutes Mount Hood light up with a subtle alpenglow as I snapped away. What a beautiful morning!
Visiting Humboldt Redwoods State Park was a pleasant surprise. Humboldt Redwoods is one of California’s largest state parks, and comprises over 17,000 acres of primeval old-growth coastal redwoods, the largest remaining contiguous old-growth coastal redwoods in the world. The trees here are thousands of years old and have never been logged. We ended photographing Humboldt Redwoods a couple times because of the stark beauty of this place. What makes this redwoods grove unique is the lush understory of the forest; the whole forest floor was covered in the green redwoods sorrel. If you look hard enough you can find that lucky four leaf clover. That morning we headed back to Humboldt Redwoods State Park hoping for some fog. To our excitement, we found some as the fog was rolling in the valley. I disappeared in the redwood forest looking for compositions. The diffused light illuminating the forest was incredible as found this solo tree with the fog beams. Humboldt Redwoods State Park is great location for photographing the redwoods.
The Bristlecone Pine Forest is home to some of the oldest living trees in the world. That weekend I wanted to shoot the Bristlecone Pines Forest along with the Milky Way since it was going to be a new moon. So, I headed to the White Mountains, well above 10,000 ft. elevation where the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is located. It's hard to fathom how old these trees are, but based on their tree rings, the age of these trees is somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 years old. Put that into context this tree was a little seedling when the pyramids in Egypt were being built. This is the most iconic bristlecone tree in the White Mountains, and you can see why! I've been wanting this photograph for quite some time and finally got it. I think it fitting to capture this amazing Bristlecone Pine with the Milky Way.
In the spring, if the conditions are optimal, the Death Valley blooms as the desert comes alive with fields of incredible flowers transforming the desert landscape. That year the Death Valley flowers that year were good. We tried our luck out at the Ibex Sand Dunes as we ventured down the washboard roads into the backcountry. It was a good sign seeing yellow coreopsis flowers along the road. Plus, the whole southern end of Death Valley smelled with the fragrant with scent of the sand verbena flowers. To our surprise we found quite a good display of the pink flowers in the sand dunes. I was running around in the sane trying to find a shot of the flowers and the dunes as the sunset light started going off. And then I found these sand verbena beauties.
The Anza Borrego super bloom in 2017 didn't disappoint. Thanks to an unusually rainy year in California, the Anza Borrego State Park experienced its first super bloom since 2008. Few sites are more memorable than seeing with your eyes brilliant colors and smelling the fragrant fields stretching for miles across the normally dry sandy flats. During these super blooms, hundreds of thousands of people make the pilgrimage to Anza Borrego Desert State Park to witness this inspiring sight. For this photo, I was trying to shoot some of the fragrant pink sand verbenas with the mountains in the background and then came across these white evening primroses, so I had to arrange the two wildflowers together. We were hurrying to get some shots before sunset, but the fun part was you'd keep sinking in the sand after stepping into rabbit holes. They say super blooms happen an average of ever ten years. I'm already waiting for the next one at Anza Borrego.
The Columbia Hills wildflowers was a highlight from my trip. The Columbia Hills Wildflowers are at their peak early spring and definitely worth photographing. As we approached the mountains, you could see fields of color off in the distance and then upon closer inspection there were myriads of wildflowers. The Columbia Hills wildflowers doesn't look very promising until you get a closer look. Over every hill you’d find more. I was happy to find a bouquet of arrowleaf balsamroot and some lupine. Seriously I couldn’t stop taking pictures of this place!
Ponytail Falls, in the Columbia River Gorge is pretty easy to discover. You could spend months hiking to every one the waterfalls found in the Columbia River Gorge and still not find them all. But Ponytall Falls is one of my favorite waterfalls to photograph especially in the spring with the lush foliage.
Redwood National Park holds some hidden secrets. That spring I spend the weekend shooting with with my friend up in Redwood National Park. This was my first time exploring this area even though I grew up in Northern California. One foggy mornings we found this amazing patch of lupine covering the grassy hills. The fog was so thick we could barely make out the road. Then in a couple minutes it lifted revealing this amazing landscape. Redwood National Park is known for its spectacular redwood groves but finding this field of lupine was a highlight of the spring trip.
California's Super bloom that year was one of the best in recent decades. Thanks to an unusually rainy year in California, almost the entire state was blooming with dozens of species of ephemeral native spring wildflowers. Parts of the normally arid Southern California landscape experienced an incredibile super bloom, a once in a ten-year occurrence. Few sites are more memorable than seeing with your eyes brilliant colors and smelling the fragrant fields of California poppies and canterbury bells stretching for miles across the green verdant hills. The cumulous clouds were rolling across the landscape making for the perfect picture.
Wildflowers in Sequoia National Park
Wildflowers in Sequoia National Park are abundant in the short summer months as the snowpack melts and runs off into small streams and waterfalls. The rich soil along with prescribed forest wildfires allows for an abundance display of summer wildflowers in you know where to look. I heard stories of the fields of lupine that could be found in the sequoia groves and I wanted to find out for myself. I hiked a couple miles to a remote sequoia grove and came across these amazing field of lupine in this beautiful sequoia forest. My only challenge were them mosquitoes that loved the wildflowers too. The wildflowers in Sequoia National Park did not disappoint.
Chino Hills State Park Wildflowers
I had heard that the blooms were pretty impressive in Chino Hills State Park, so I set out to find out myself how good the wildflowers were. To my surprise, the wildflowers were at their peak. As we hiked up and along the ridge, you could see fields of orange and purple off in the distance and then upon closer inspection there were myriads of wildflowers mixed in with the green grass. The Chino Hill State Park wildflowers didn't look very promising until you get deeper into the park. Over every hill you’d find more and more color. Seriously I couldn’t stop taking pictures of this place!
That lupine field at the top of the hill with the tree was peaking. It was such a beautiful scence and I was determined to photograph that lupine field at sunset. When there was the slightest signs of what might be a good sunset, I jumped in my car and headed to my secret spot. Sure enough on the forth try, the light was truly magical illuminating the purple lupine with that lonely oak.
The Carrizo Plain superbloom in 2017 was off the charts and one of the best in the last ten years. I heard it was good out at the Carrizo Plain so made the three hour drive out to the badlands. Upon driving up some backroads, I was happy to come across this spectacular scene. It just put a smile on my face. The yellow coreopsis wildflowers were endless as far as the eye could see! I've been the Carrizo Plains for a number of years but I've never see the wildflowers quite like this. Normally it's a dry grassland with rolling hills. But this year with all the rains we've had and after all the years of drought the hills exploded in color. You can find fields of purple, orange and yellow as far as the eye can see. Not to mention the fragrance of the flowers. I couldn't get enough of photographing Carrizo Plain and the superbloom. Hopefully we'll get another one soon!
The Santa Monica Mountains in the spring come alive with colorful wildflower blooms. A few years back, the western area of the Santa Monica Mountains was burned in a huge devastating fire. One year later, with plenty of water there was a prolific display of wildflowers. One of the first wildflowers to bloom after a fire are the broadleaf lupine that help restore the barren dirt and add nitrogen back to the soil. I was hiking over a hill and discovered this vast field of lush lupine. Sometimes good comes out of adversity.
The desert in California comes alive with wildflowers blooms hopefully every spring. Southern California has a typical Mediterranean climate. Most of the year there are desert-like conditions with plenty of sunshine and blue skies. But when the rainy season come the landscape completely changes from a desert into a green paradise. About every ten years Southern California receives an overabundance in precipitation the creates an amazing display of wildflowers in the desert. On the edge of the Mojave Desert and the Tehachapi Mountains you can find these incredible wildflower blooms. This one morning we hiked up into the hills awaiting the sunrise and photographed this display of wildflowers as the sun came up.
The Dalles Mountain Ranch wildflowers were past peak so we went out to investigate. We discovered it was prime time and ended up returning three times to this place to shoot the arrowleaf balsamroot and lupine. I couldn't get enough of this place! The Dalles Mountain Ranch, a part of the Columbia Hills State Park is such an amazing place especially in the springtime with the incredible wildflower blooms. But there is also so much more than wildflowers. There are old ranch buildings, an abandoned rusted car, sweeping vistas especially of the Columbia River, rolling hills divided by creeks and lush oak trees and many varieties of blooms that assail the senses. This photograph was take outside the Dalles Mountain Ranch as we wandered down one of the valleys to find these oaks surrounded by a vast display of colors.
California wildflowers are a sight to see. California's spring wildflower blooms can be so incredible that it's hard to believe they are real. Then if you're lucky every ten years or so there might be a superbloom. After years of drought in California this winter there was record levels of precipitation transforming the arid landscape into a verdant painting. On top of that the timing of the rain during the winter months, the amount and favorable temperatures led up to a spring full of wildflowers all over the state of California. Photographying California wildflowers is one of my favorite subjects to shoot. Once the wildflower reports surface I'm canvasing all of Southern California starting early spring lasting all the way until summer.