Spring wildflowers in Little Panoche Valley

Spring Wildflowers, Little Panoche Valley

Posted by Don Smith (California, United States) on 21 March 2010 in Landscape & Rural.

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Amateur photographers love to share tips! Thankfully, today's image involved a tip from a long-time San Benito County resident. While on a recent shoot, this gentleman stopped by to let me know he had just driven from the central valley across Little Panoche Road in Fresno County and saw what he described as some of the best spring wildflower cover in recent memory.

Some people have vivid imaginations when it comes to describing scenes, but I will have to say, this guy wasn't pulling my leg. Friends Mike Hall and Scott Schilling braved an early wake-up call to join me as we drove about an hour to this desolate location for sunrise. I came across this scene near the end of our 90-minute session just south of the Mercey Hot Springs Resort (think clothing-optional) along Little Panoche Road.

Fortunately there were no nudists out for a stroll, just this incredibly colorful field of wildflowers (the yellow flowers are fiddlenecks, but I'm not sure what the purple ones were). Fortunately this scene was best photographed from north to south placing it at a 90-degree angle to the low morning sun. Because the sky was void of clouds, I decided to crop it out so as not to be a distraction to the eye.

I captured this image with my 70-200mmL at f/11, but to ensure focus from near to far, I bracketed five frames with various focus points to yield an image with incredible depth of focus. I combined the five frames with Helicon Focus Software. There was absolutely no wind, which allowed the five frames to blend seamlessly.

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Comments (17)

KriKridesign from Cully, Switzerland

;-)
look there:
http://scottschillingphoto.aminus3.com/image/2010-03-19.html
Great eyes are walking together...

(very fubny!) have a wonderful Sunday!

21 Mar 2010 7:40am

@KriKridesign: Scott, Mike Hall, and I were together on this shoot. The funny thing is (and I see this all the time on my workshops) that you can put a group of photographers together and they will all come up with something different and unique. Scott is a tremendous photographer with his own unique personal style.

Babzy from Besançon, France

what a beautiful scenery , i think it comes from a fairy tale !

21 Mar 2010 8:48am

@Babzy: This was from the last set of images that I took on this particular morning. I would have liked to have seen this just as the sun crested the horizon, but I will settle for this view.

Tamara from Aarschot, Belgium

Beautiful landscape... Spring has arrived now, we've waited long enough ;) Have a nice sunday Don !

21 Mar 2010 9:51am

@Tamara: Thanks Tamara, you too.

Steffie from Wijk bij Duurstede, Netherlands

Amazing shot. Definitely worth the trouble.

21 Mar 2010 10:06am

@Steffie: Perhaps not trouble, just a bit of extra time and effort. Thanks for joining in on my blog Steffie, I hope to hear from you again.

Marie-Jezaria from Paris, France

But... where is "The little house in the meadow" ?? :-) It's so a gorgeous country view ! So fresh, so quiet, as a dream of a place you will built a wood hot and live with respect of the Nature ! 5* without hesitation !
(I noted your invitation to call you if a day I will come in USA ! :-)))) Thank's and enjoy !!)

21 Mar 2010 12:04pm

@Marie-Jezaria: The invitation is open Marie. I appreciate all your kind words regarding my images. I really love teaching other photographers. I think of it more as sharing my passion of this fantastic medium.

MK from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Definitely worth waking up at mid nite, this. Spectacular colors perfectly captured. Well done Don

21 Mar 2010 4:22pm

@MK: Thanks MK.

Yonatan from Bronx, United States

Wonderful scene that you captured here. I like the different layers of colors and the road perpendicular to the flow of the hills. A lovely image all around. I had thought that Stockholm was warming up as my trip to the Stockholm Archipelago greeted me with beautiful 46F temperatures. Unfortunately it's been snowing all day today and I hear through the grapevine that it's going to get colder before spring arrives.

21 Mar 2010 5:03pm

@Yonatan: Our flower display is just beginning out here Yonatan. We are still getting cold nights. This image was captured inland on the eastern side of our coastal range near the great central valley.

Bethany from Michigan, United States

The farm windmill is icing on top for this photo. One of my favorites!

21 Mar 2010 5:10pm

@Bethany: Thanks Bethany. I normally try to avoid man-made objects in my scenes, but these old windmills are everywhere and seemingly become a part of the landscape.

Judy from Brooksville, Florida, United States

Such gorgeous color from the wildflowers and the green hills; the path and windmill balance the hillside off to the right. Just plain BEAUTIFUL!

21 Mar 2010 5:22pm

@Judy: I always play the "what-if" game with my images Judy, and the only "what-if" I came up with for this image was in wishing I could have been there just as the sun crested the horizon to my right. But this image was so much about color and depth, that I felt it could stand on its own.

Tracy from La Selva Beach, United States

Wow! I think I need to plan a field trip! :) I was there a few weeks ago, and not a sign of flowers yet- So I hope I don't miss them! They are always gone so quickly! But even if I do miss them, I can still enjoy your vision of them!

21 Mar 2010 5:42pm

@Tracy: One constant about wildflowers, is they seemingly have a mind of their own as to when they will appear. I just drove the entire length of Carmel Valley Road on Saturday and could only find limited patches. It will be nice in another week or two if our current weather holds.

Olivier from Hainaut, Belgium

superb view!

21 Mar 2010 6:23pm

@Olivier: Thanks Oliver.

Ralph Jones from Detroit, United States

This is so lovely!

21 Mar 2010 11:49pm

@Ralph Jones: Thanks Ralph.

DarkElf from Perth, Australia

wonderful mosaic of colours and very lovely flow and curve to the landscape culminating in the windmill...

22 Mar 2010 5:41am

@DarkElf: Personally, I loved the little S-curve of the dirt road. Thanks for your comments.

Gina from Azores, Portugal

Absolutely breath-taking landscape. WOW!5 stars

22 Mar 2010 6:21pm

@Gina: Thanks.

dkc from Xanthi, Greece

So great to see that spring already reached your area! Great photo!

23 Mar 2010 1:02pm

@dkc: We have had above average rainfall this winter, but in the last two weeks, the spicket has turned-off and our weather has been in the 70"sF!