Antelope Valley 4-12-05
One would expect that a record-breaking rainfall year like this one would lead to record-breaking poppy blooms at the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve. That’s not always the case as this year’s bloom will attest.
Poppies are sensitive flowers that don’t bloom when there’s no rainfall nor when it rains too much. When they do bloom, they are frustrating to the nature photographer to photograph. They don’t open when it’s overcast (the best light for flower photography), when it’s windy, and only open when the sun is high above the horizon (closed during magic hour).
I’d been reading news stories about over-crowding at the reserve this year and figured there might be some good blooms there. After checking www.calphoto.com and www.desertusa.com for a few weeks I found the reserve wasn’t worthwhile but the areas surrounding the reserve were of interest. So I headed out on Tuesday before dawn to Lancaster. There were a fair amount of poppies on J Street directly east of the Poppy Reserve but I took a pass and drove past the reserve where I didn’t see much color, and headed directly to the hill to the south facing the Poppy Reserve. I saw a camper on the dirt road and a fair amount of color so I drove up there.
The flowers were amazing there. Poppies, goldfields, owl’s clove, lupine all blooming on the hillside. I shot there for 3+ hours until it got too hot. When I was wrapping up, I met the couple who were there shooting before I was. They were from Nevada and were nice so we spoke for a while then exchanged business cards back at the car. They shoot for Index Stock and a few other agencies. It’s always fun to exchange stories with other photographers and find out their background.
The flowers I was most impressed with weren’t the golden poppies, but the Owl’s Clover. There were several large patches that could be spotted from the road. Just look for the purple patches in the distance and be careful not to trample all the flowers on the way over to them.
Bring:
1. Polarizer (you will need this for every shot here if you want good colors)
2. Tripod.
3. Water.
4. Sunscreen.
5. Jeans.
6. Hat.
Poppies are sensitive flowers that don’t bloom when there’s no rainfall nor when it rains too much. When they do bloom, they are frustrating to the nature photographer to photograph. They don’t open when it’s overcast (the best light for flower photography), when it’s windy, and only open when the sun is high above the horizon (closed during magic hour).
I’d been reading news stories about over-crowding at the reserve this year and figured there might be some good blooms there. After checking www.calphoto.com and www.desertusa.com for a few weeks I found the reserve wasn’t worthwhile but the areas surrounding the reserve were of interest. So I headed out on Tuesday before dawn to Lancaster. There were a fair amount of poppies on J Street directly east of the Poppy Reserve but I took a pass and drove past the reserve where I didn’t see much color, and headed directly to the hill to the south facing the Poppy Reserve. I saw a camper on the dirt road and a fair amount of color so I drove up there.
The flowers were amazing there. Poppies, goldfields, owl’s clove, lupine all blooming on the hillside. I shot there for 3+ hours until it got too hot. When I was wrapping up, I met the couple who were there shooting before I was. They were from Nevada and were nice so we spoke for a while then exchanged business cards back at the car. They shoot for Index Stock and a few other agencies. It’s always fun to exchange stories with other photographers and find out their background.
The flowers I was most impressed with weren’t the golden poppies, but the Owl’s Clover. There were several large patches that could be spotted from the road. Just look for the purple patches in the distance and be careful not to trample all the flowers on the way over to them.
Bring:
1. Polarizer (you will need this for every shot here if you want good colors)
2. Tripod.
3. Water.
4. Sunscreen.
5. Jeans.
6. Hat.
Labels: California, flowers
posted by Richard @ 12:37 AM
2 comments
Richard Wong Photography: Image Boutique
2 Comments:
It will be a shame if the Windmill
farm goes in, check out friendsofthepoppyreserve.org
First, the Poppy Reserve was really great this year but the poppies peaked in mid March - very early. Although the poppy displays were not as good as some years, the variety of wildflowers was simply outstanding and when the flowers came they came in large numbers. We also had beautiful displays of Owls Clover (for the first time in at least 10 years) along the North Poppy Loop trail. They were mixed with poppies, Goldfields, Cream Cups, wild onion etc. The Evening Snow covered several hill sides - starting to give their show for the late visitors at dusk.
I could go on about the variety of wildflowers seen on the Reserve this year but there is an even more important topic to discuss. The Reserve is threatened by several potential developments around the edges of the Reserve. The first comment referred to the hundreds of 400 foot tall wind turbines planned to be erected along the southeast, south and western boundaries of the Reserve. If this happens, the undisturbed vistas the visitors come to enjoy will be lost forever as well as the photo opportunities. These turbines will stand 100 feet taller than the highest vista points on the Reserve. By the way, the hill that Richard talked about will be closed to visitors because that is where some of the turbines will be located.
At the same time, a developer has plans to build a race track just north of the Poppy Reserve. He expects to rent out the track for racing every weekend and many of the week days. The continuous noise of racing will likely drive away many of the Reserve visitors. At least, in a recent survey taken at the Reserve, 47% of the respondents said that they would not come back if the race track is built. These developments are not planned for some time long in the future. Both are planned to be built this or next year. These threats are now!!!
If you are concerned about how these possible developments might destroy the Reserve and would like to help stop them, visit the web site http://www.friendsofthepoppyreserve.org
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