Wildflower Season

The last really good year for wildflowers on the Central Coast of California was 2005. Photographers waited these long five years for another spectacular display and this year the rains did their job and we have been blessed by blooms everywhere. People suffering from allergies were miserable but couldn't help exclaiming that it was worth it.

This was the first year since my spinal fusion surgery that I ventured out to take shots of the blooms. Back in '05 I was still able to get down on the ground to get those intimate and close-up views, but no more. So it meant I had to get creative in order to take the shots I wanted.

First of all, I didn't have to go too far to try a new method. A short trot down the street I found wildflowers in abundance at the Presbyterian Church. I decided to just stick the camera in amongst the blooms and take the shot and see what would happen. The results were interesting. So I ventured a little farther down that road to the State Park.

Here I found some nice flowers but getting to them required a bit of ingenuity and prayer on my part, hoping not to stick my foot in a gopher hole and break my ankle or pick up a tick. The results here were not too bad either.

Now you have to have a liking for ANY wildflower in this area and that includes Oxalis. Most serious gardeners and people with lovely green lawns hate the stuff, but you have to agree it makes a showy display when it is at it's height. I suppose I can be smug since my gardener got it out of my garden, but don't ask me how he did it. At any rate, since it was abundantly growing everywhere, I included it in my photographic efforts.

Well, the time came for me to take my photo students out to shoot wildflowers, so one fine Spring day we drove out Route 58 to Shell Creek Road and joined the throngs of people cavorting among miles and miles of yellow, purple, and blue wildflowers.

My students set right to it throwing themselves down flat and focusing closely on Tidy Tips, Owl's clover, Baby Blue Eyes, and tiny white flowers for which I have no name. I took lots of overall shots and then set up my camp stool and my tiny low-to-the ground tripod. Mounted the camera on the tripod, leaned over, and pushed the button. Views of the blooms from insect's perspective registered on my data card.

Now I have to tell you this is not the same as doing serious macro photography, but the one thing it did for me was allow me to break out of a mold and take some photos that I might never have thought to try. Sometimes one's disabilities open up all kinds of possibilities.So here is my wildflower season of 2010. Enjoy!

It's next to impossible to get these images in on this miserable Blogger where I want them so bear with me.









Sometimes its best to type some text and then place the photos -- sometimes, but not always, this works! It isn't working this time, sorry!