Wildflowers at Joshua Tree, over the weekend, south entrance

[Johnny Chien]

I was chasing wildflowers over the weekend from Anza-Borrego. A lot of roads had water on them, and I did not have 4 wheel drive to explore offroad, so I left Anza and headed to Joshua Tree. The wildflowers are currently popping around the south entrance. I got there in the afternoon, and wanted to shoot the wildflowers at sunrise. I headed to the Jumbo Rocks Campground to shoot the juniper tree and that's where I met Jim Fox. Returned back to the south entrance at Joshua Tree the next morning to get this pic.

 

[AlanLichty]

Nice backlighting on these flowers.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Wow, lupine already in bloom? Nice find here.

 

[JimFox]

This is so cool looking Johnny! I really like those lupines being backlit like this. I have been contemplating another quick run out to Joshua Tree, with these flowers here it's getting very very tempting!

I think this photo is really awesome being backlit and the way you worked the sun. One suggestion I have that I would do if this was mine is I would clone out or crop out that one tiny lupine poking up at the bottom of the frame just to the right of center. If you even just scroll the window here while viewing your photo, the moment that little bright flower is not in the frame, it totally transforms the photo into an even better and cleaner photo. I would suggest the slight crop and actually losing some of the sky to make this a 16:9 pano.

Great work!

 

[Johnny Chien]

This is so cool looking Johnny! I really like those lupines being backlit like this. I have been contemplating another quick run out to Joshua Tree, with these flowers here it's getting very very tempting!

I think this photo is really awesome being backlit and the way you worked the sun. One suggestion I have that I would do if this was mine is I would clone out or crop out that one tiny lupine poking up at the bottom of the frame just to the right of center. If you even just scroll the window here while viewing your photo, the moment that little bright flower is not in the frame, it totally transforms the photo into an even better and cleaner photo. I would suggest the slight crop and actually losing some of the sky to make this a 16:9 pano.

Great work!

Thanks for the suggestion Jim, that's so funny you mention that tiny lupine poking out, because after i exported it to lightroom, i noticed the same thing, but i was headed to work, and didn't get a chance to re-edit
I do agree a 16:9 pano puts more focus on the lupine and will re-edit to that ratio. Again thanks for the tips!

 

[Johnny Chien]

Jim, I think you should go back to Joshua Tree if it snows again. You can kill 2 birds with 1 trip!

 

[Douglas Sherman]

Nice image, Johnny.

 

[JimFox]

Jim, I think you should go back to Joshua Tree if it snows again. You can kill 2 birds with 1 trip!

Oh man... I think you are right. I am meeting up for lunch, then I think I will run home and toss my cameras in the Jeep and head out there...

We’re the flowers right off the road?

 

[Johnny Chien]

Oh man... I think you are right. I am meeting up for lunch, then I think I will run home and toss my cameras in the Jeep and head out there...

We’re the flowers right off the road?

Jim, if you approach Joshua Tree from the South Entrance off I-10, and drive north to the Cottonwood Campground, you will pass fields of the lupine right off the road. You can't miss it. Have a safe drive, and I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures of the lupine!

 

[Bob Denton]

This is great!

 

[JimFox]

Jim, if you approach Joshua Tree from the South Entrance off I-10, and drive north to the Cottonwood Campground, you will pass fields of the lupine right off the road. You can't miss it. Have a safe drive, and I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures of the lupine!

Hey Johnny, I ended up not getting in to where you shot. Just as I was entering the park from the south the whole desert was covered with wildflowers and at the same time the sun broke through the storm clouds to the west, so I ended up just staying and shooting down there because the sun and then colors in the clouds were putting on a nice show. By the time I drove past Cottonwood after sunset it was dark. I got a campsite right there in Jumbo Rocks, so I am hoping in the morning that I can shoot the rock and juniper with snow on them.

 

[Leslie Hunter]

This is great to see wildflowers starting up.

 

[Dean]

Beautiful !

 

[Johnny Chien]

Hey Johnny, I ended up not getting in to where you shot. Just as I was entering the park from the south the whole desert was covered with wildflowers and at the same time the sun broke through the storm clouds to the west, so I ended up just staying and shooting down there because the sun and then colors in the clouds were putting on a nice show. By the time I drove past Cottonwood after sunset it was dark. I got a campsite right there in Jumbo Rocks, so I am hoping in the morning that I can shoot the rock and juniper with snow on them.

Did you get your snow shot? I heard it snowed this morning at Joshua Tree

 

[JimFox]

Did you get your snow shot? I heard it snowed this morning at Joshua Tree

Hey Johnny,

I got wildflowers last night. The sun was breaking through storm clouds just prior to the sunset as I was just entering the park from the south end. That area is also blanketed with wildflowers, so I just stopped there to shoot. I never did get to see the area you shot in the daylight. I drove up to Jumbo Rocks as I had gotten a campsite there. I woke up to it snowing at 2:30 am, there was several inches on the ground. I tried to go back to sleep, but at 3am I saw that it had stopped snowing and the clouds were breaking up some and the moon was shining through and the also the stars were out. So I shot the rock and the Juniper for an hour or so, and then I ran over to Arch rock and shot it with the snow and the stars until 5am. Just as I was leaving there, the clouds came back in and it snowed more. I went back to Jumbo Rock and waited for sunrise, the snow stopped about sunrise, there was some color as the sun weakly poked through, but it was still cool. There was nothing more to shoot with the rock and juniper, so then I worked my way around and shot Split Rock, Skull Rock, and lot's of Joshua Tree's. Between 7am and noon, the sun would break out with that clearing storm cool light, and then next you know, it as back to the clouds moving in. This repeated itself at least 4 or 5 times, so I ended up with lot's of amazing light in all sorts of places in the middle of Joshua Tree.

So, yeah, it was awesome! In 16 hours I went from shooting wildflowers to snow and stars all in Joshua Tree.

 

[Johnny Chien]

Hey Johnny,

I got wildflowers last night. The sun was breaking through storm clouds just prior to the sunset as I was just entering the park from the south end. That area is also blanketed with wildflowers, so I just stopped there to shoot. I never did get to see the area you shot in the daylight. I drove up to Jumbo Rocks as I had gotten a campsite there. I woke up to it snowing at 2:30 am, there was several inches on the ground. I tried to go back to sleep, but at 3am I saw that it had stopped snowing and the clouds were breaking up some and the moon was shining through and the also the stars were out. So I shot the rock and the Juniper for an hour or so, and then I ran over to Arch rock and shot it with the snow and the stars until 5am. Just as I was leaving there, the clouds came back in and it snowed more. I went back to Jumbo Rock and waited for sunrise, the snow stopped about sunrise, there was some color as the sun weakly poked through, but it was still cool. There was nothing more to shoot with the rock and juniper, so then I worked my way around and shot Split Rock, Skull Rock, and lot's of Joshua Tree's. Between 7am and noon, the sun would break out with that clearing storm cool light, and then next you know, it as back to the clouds moving in. This repeated itself at least 4 or 5 times, so I ended up with lot's of amazing light in all sorts of places in the middle of Joshua Tree.

So, yeah, it was awesome! In 16 hours I went from shooting wildflowers to snow and stars all in Joshua Tree.

What timing to hit all those spots! I'm looking forward to seeing your pics!

 

[Timmeh]

Hey Johnny,

That's a great spread of lupines with effective backlighting and starburst use! Jim already covered any critique I have, so I'll just second that.

Tim