I always photograph a lot of wildflowers. This Spring season has been an exceptional wildflower season in California, perhaps the best in my lifetime, and I've photographed hundreds of different species.
Occasionally, I seek out particular wildflowers, or make particular wildflower photo compositions, especially for people who are important to me. I'm hoping you'll enjoy a few examples, here.
This is a white variation of a California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica). California poppies are quite common; white variations of them are a little more rare – you can sometimes find a few in a large area with many millions of normal poppies. I photographed this one on the Hite Cove trail, in the foothills just outside Yosemite National Park.
I photographed this for a friend, a woman whom I've recently been getting to know, and dedicated it to her, and printed it for her. With her as my inspiration, I tried to show the poppy as the essence of delicate beauty, presented as a radiant light amidst the darkness.
This is the Monterey Paintbrush (Castilleja latifolia). I photographed this one at Point Lobos.
I sought this out, and photographed it for my two closest friends, and dedicated it to them and printed it for them, since they both went to a special high school named Castilleja, and this is our prevalent local specie of Castilleja.
This is the Tiburon mariposa lily (Calochortus tiburonensis). I photographed this one a year ago, in the only spot they can be photographed: a little patch of serpentine soil on Ring Mountain.
I made this photo for my ex-fiancée, and dedicated it to her, and printed it for her. I specifically sought this out to photograph for her and dedicate to her, because it is the rarest known wildflower in the world. (Unfortunately, she turned out to be untrue, hateful, and evil – so I have since un-dedicated this from her; but it is still interesting for its rarity and its strange beauty.) On the day I shot this, I photographed every Tiburon mariposa lily in the world – a few dozen, in an area not much bigger than my apartment.
I very pointedly chose to photograph it in a "straight, documentary" style. The more common a specie is, the more I can choose to be interpretive with it; but with something so rare, where there are literally rather few well made photos of it available in the world, then I need the photo to convey as much morphological information as possible, so I choose to try to show such subjects clearly and plainly.
I hope you enjoy.
Mike
Edited to add: I was carrying a Busse Game Warden, and a Cold Steel Gunsite, for all three of these outings.
Occasionally, I seek out particular wildflowers, or make particular wildflower photo compositions, especially for people who are important to me. I'm hoping you'll enjoy a few examples, here.
This is a white variation of a California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica). California poppies are quite common; white variations of them are a little more rare – you can sometimes find a few in a large area with many millions of normal poppies. I photographed this one on the Hite Cove trail, in the foothills just outside Yosemite National Park.
I photographed this for a friend, a woman whom I've recently been getting to know, and dedicated it to her, and printed it for her. With her as my inspiration, I tried to show the poppy as the essence of delicate beauty, presented as a radiant light amidst the darkness.
This is the Monterey Paintbrush (Castilleja latifolia). I photographed this one at Point Lobos.
I sought this out, and photographed it for my two closest friends, and dedicated it to them and printed it for them, since they both went to a special high school named Castilleja, and this is our prevalent local specie of Castilleja.
This is the Tiburon mariposa lily (Calochortus tiburonensis). I photographed this one a year ago, in the only spot they can be photographed: a little patch of serpentine soil on Ring Mountain.
I made this photo for my ex-fiancée, and dedicated it to her, and printed it for her. I specifically sought this out to photograph for her and dedicate to her, because it is the rarest known wildflower in the world. (Unfortunately, she turned out to be untrue, hateful, and evil – so I have since un-dedicated this from her; but it is still interesting for its rarity and its strange beauty.) On the day I shot this, I photographed every Tiburon mariposa lily in the world – a few dozen, in an area not much bigger than my apartment.
I very pointedly chose to photograph it in a "straight, documentary" style. The more common a specie is, the more I can choose to be interpretive with it; but with something so rare, where there are literally rather few well made photos of it available in the world, then I need the photo to convey as much morphological information as possible, so I choose to try to show such subjects clearly and plainly.
I hope you enjoy.
Mike
Edited to add: I was carrying a Busse Game Warden, and a Cold Steel Gunsite, for all three of these outings.
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