Sometime in mid-March the poppies of
the Antelope Valley, bordered on the north by the Tehachapi
Mountains, begin to bloom. Miles of poppy fields provide
breathtaking fields of flowers to photograph. The fields
aren't just full of poppies, but lupines, tidy tips, owl's clover,
cream cups, and goldfields. This bouquet of wildflowers is
truly an amazing photography adventure.
After shooting the poppies in the morning we travel to Mohave for
lunch, then up into the Sierra foothills to photograph baby blue
eyes and fiddleneck. Last year we photographed a bobcat,
gopher snake, and Mohave rattlesnake as well.
The end of the day will find us along
the north facing slopes of the Tehachapi mountains near Arvin.
Again, the pastures are full of wildflowers. There is some
seasonal changes depending upon how soon or late the spring rains
come, but these two safaris are timed to put us on the wildflowers
right at their peak blooming times.
We spend a lot of our time on our knees shooting at eye level, and
even our stomach's - so bring gardening knee pads or something
similar to keep your clothes clean and not covered in pollen. Also,
a tripod is an important tool here, as the foothills are always
breezy.
Reservations
We meet at the Chevron gas station in Gorman on I-5 at 7:30am and
try and take as few cars as possible. The poppies don't begin
to open until about 9am so this gives us time to travel to the poppy
fields.
I have two dates for this safari to cater to those who may not be
able to get a weekend off. When we finish shooting in the late
afternoon we return to Gorman. |
