No Destination in Mind

Something I like about landscape photography is you don’t have to have a plan. You can get in your car and drive semi aimlessly but be aware of your surroundings. On this afternoon I thought I would scout Lassen Volcanic Park’s high country but it turned out to be covered in snow so I left and headed east down one of the major highways I hadn’t driven before. I turned down one of the dirt roads and there it was.. . .. . sure doesn’t happen all the time but when it does grab it!

Part of my California’s Casdia Collection.

For those of your curious, I have an HDR version on the bottom in the version below. Very similar to each other here on the web.

Do you see any difference?

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Joshua Tree’s Cacti Bloom

For a short period of time the harsh extremes of the desert do not and exist and life florishes. If you drive into Joshua Tree’s south entrance you can’t miss the painterly scene along interstate 10. A painter must have painted the desert yellow, the brittle brush line both sides of the highways at points. At a 65 mile per hour glance I could make out beavertails blooming along with ocotillos and some arizona lupine here and there.
You can see all the brittle brush here in the background behind me here . I just met Jon Cornforth the current Outdoor Photography Magazine cover shot photographer earlier this week. Pretty hospitable guy, he was nice enough to share his I-phone shot. Hopefully I can meet up with him again after I get back from Northwestern Nevada. The photo shown was taken just outside the park’s south entrance.

Here are a few of the blooming cacti and yucca from the past couple of visits to Joshua Tree. They are all blooming now so it would a great time to stop by, especially if you’re conveniently located on the east side of Los Angeles. If you happen to smell a skunk while you’re out there it might just possibly be the breeze and the smell of an abundance of wildflowers.

I found these in both the Mojave and Sonoran sections of the park.

I found these mojave mounds at the foot of boulder piles in the main northern section of the park.

The joshua trees are in full bloom right now. This one is just at it’s beginning stage but you’ll find many in full bloom.

The beavertail cacti can grow to the size of a large ice chest with mutliple flowers on them.

The mojave yucca, whew! In my own opinion these can be some of the most beautiful yucca blooms around.

This should give a photographer plenty to capture in Joshua Tree besides just boulders and joshua trees. If you still need more just remember the park is made of mountains, washes, tanks and palm oasis. Get creative and come up with something you didn’t think you would leave with.

The Land of Lupine

This has been the hightest concentration of lupine I’ve ever seen. Thank god the sun broke through for a minute here, I was waiting for it! It was such a beautiful sight to see and I’m glad I can share it with you!

California’s Central Valley (I’m loving it!)

What’s Blooming Locally in the Santa Monica Mountains

Spring always starts early in the Santa Monicas and there is plenty of sporadic blooms of many different species.

Here are a few examples from a drive I took yesterday along Pacific Coast Highway and some of the mountain roads:

Poppies

Datura

Sand Verbuena

Bush Lupine

Red Bud

There are plenty more, I have not found any fields of flowers yet just small patches of them so I wouldn’t go driving from miles away.

Unfortunately the Sunflower Trees are all past peak but everything else is blooming. I found it more of a challenge composing then anything else.

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