Tag: Wildflowers

Badlands National Park, June 2025 – Part 1

In early June 2025, I traveled to Badlands National Park, South Dakota. I was not completely satisfied with my photos from this awesome national park from a visit a few years ago. I had some ideas of how to get better images during this visit.

I arrived late in the day and went directly to a BLM area south of the park that I had discovered during my last visit. At that time, I was often the only camper, at least as far as I could tell, in the area.

This time there was a camper in my favorite, quick and easy access spot. So I continued along a narrow dirt trail to find another suitable overnight location. This is a large area, so there are no shortages of possible parking/camping sites, but I was no longer alone in the area. There were no other campers nearby, but I could see one or two far away on higher locations. This place has been discovered, but is still sparsely utilized.

The forecast for the next morning was for heavy overcast and I was tired after my long journey, so I decided not to get up early for sunrise photography. Rather I explored a bit in this area and photographed the local scenery with my iPhone, including blooming cacti. As I drove around the area, I began to realize how big it was. I did not even explore to the limits of the area, before leaving and driving into the park to scout potential photography locations.

Prickly Pear Flower 1
Prickly Pear Flower and Bud
Threatening Sky
Prickly Pear Flower 2
Prickly Pear Flower 3
Mostly Clear Sky In This Direction
Prickly Pear and Companion Wildflowers
Prickly Sunburst
Rain Clouds Moving In
Prickly Back Light
Don’t Get Too Close
The Big Picture

Time to head out to see what I can find in the park,

Ken

 

California – Pismo Beach and Highway 1

When planning this road trip and picking a route between Santa Fe, New Mexico and San Jose, California, I drew upon memories from years ago, when I drove a short distance along the California coastline during a business trip to Southern California.  Looking at a map the place that I remembered driving through or near back then was Pismo Beach.  I don’t recall anything about Pismo Beach other than walking along a pleasant beach, which might not have even been near Pismo Beach, where I was the only one on the beach.

So I booked a room for a couple of nights in Pismo Beach, as our last stop over prior to our San Jose destination.  Pismo Beach is a busy tourist town with many lodging choices on or near the beach.  So there was no problem finding a place with an ocean view and from which one could be walking along the beach within a few minutes of leaving one’s lodging.

Incoming

On our first walk along the crowded beach, we walked beneath Pismo Pier and I made the image above with my iPhone.  This type image is typical of those that everyone makes below a pier.  I cropped closely to the pylons to remove people moving about near the pylons.

Staying in Pismo Beach was not very enjoyable.  It was crowded everywhere and noisy everywhere.

On our second day in the area, we drove north of Pismo Beach along highway 101 and highway 1. Highway 1 is a scenic drive near the coastline for a long distance, but we only traveled a small portion of this coastal highway.  Highway 1 was still closed north of Lucia due to damage, so we could not have gone much farther than we did.

Grounded

It was a foggy morning as we began our day, but the fog along the highway mostly dissipated quickly, but there was heavy fog offshore and in patches above the near shore hills.

Pacific Rocks

We stopped in the smallish town of Cambria, where a sign pointing to “Moonstone Beach” got my attention along Highway 1.  There was a walkway along the shoreline, where I walked a short distance and shot a few photos.

Wildflowers on Shoreline

I have seen wonderful photos of wildflowers along the California shoreline, but those here were thin and past their prime.

Rugged Coastline
Big Rocks, Big Birds and Pacific Fog
California Coast

We saw a couple of Elephant Seals along this beach, north of Cambria, but I did not have my big lens on my camera and the seals were just a bit too far away for my 24-70mm lens.  The heavy fog bank in the background completely obscures the landscape behind it.

California Coast 2

If I ever come back this way again, staying in Cambria, which has many lodging choices, will be a much better choice than Pismo Beach.

Thanks for following,

Ken

 

March 2024 iPhone Photos – Part 5

And even more iPhone scouting photos in Alabama Hills, California.

Basic Earth 4
Life Cycles 2
Grassy Gap 2
Cyclops Arch, Alabama Hills, California
Cyclops Arch, Alabama Hills, California
Boot Arch, Alabama Hills, California

This monochrome version of an iPhone photo was chosen for Flickr’s Explore page July 25, 2024.  The bright white clouds behind the arch draws the eye to the arch.  Against a clear, bland sky, a photo of this arch would be much less interesting, maybe even boring.

Boot Arch and Sierra Nevada
The Head

I called this natural rock feature “The Head”, because it looks like a head on a neck looking across the broad valley into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, maybe thinking it would be cooler to be in those mountains, under a blanket of snow, rather than stuck down here forever.

The Eye

The arch on top of the weathered, massive rock outcrop is called The Eye of Alabama Hills.

The Eye of Alabama Hills, California

From this view point, The Eye feature reminds me of a big eyed puppy draped over its owner’s body, peering into its master’s eyes.

Thanks for following my posts,

Ken

March 2024 iPhone Photos – Part 4

More iPhone scouting photos of Alabama Hills, California.

Cloudy Day in Alabama Hills
Basic Earth
Aperture
Frayed and Bent
Cloud Reverence 5
Grassy Gap
Basic Earth 2
Life Cycles
Basic Earth 3
Evolving Earth

Until next time,

Ken

March 2024 iPhone Photos – Part 3

This is a continuation of iPhone photos shot in and around Alabama Hills, California in March 2024.

Rocky Underpass
Sign of the Times?
Did Someone Drop a Marble?
Astragalus Coccineus
Underpass
Alabama Hills Rocks and Sierra Nevada
Alabama Hills and Sierra Nevada
Grassy Path to the Sky
Alabama Hills and Sierra Nevada
Astragalus Coccineus 2

More later,

Ken

Texas Wildflower Spring, April 2024, Part 2

This is a continuation of photography in my local area during the Texas spring wildflower season.  I photographed handholding my camera with the usual Texas wind moving the flowers around.  I tried to use a sufficiently high shutter speed to freeze the wind induced motion and my hand shake, shooting in burst mode, hoping to get useable images.  This resulted in many images to sort through and many that I had to pass over.  Even so, some of the images that I elected to process and present publicly, are not entirely satisfactory.

Texas Bluebonnet
Texas Spring
Happy Home
Texas Wildflowers
Background Lurker
You Stay on Your Side and I’ll Stay on Mine
Edible Home
On the Edge
Evening Primrose

When I was a very young, my playmates and I smashed these “Buttercups” into each others noses, covering them with yellow pollen.  It is fortunate, none of us had severe allergies.

Here’s Looking at You

More later,

Ken

Texas Wildflower Spring, April 2024, Part 1

Texas is famous for its spring wildflower season.  It starts in the south in March and progresses northward as the weather warms.  Here in northeastern Texas, the season usually arrives in April with flowers peaking around the middle of April.

This spring has been warmer than normal (if normal is even a thing anymore, due to climate change) and the wildflowers began to show up in late March and peaked well before the middle of April.

Some years, my schedule causes me to miss the best portion of the wildflower season here, but this year, I took time to get out on several occasions to view and photograph the wildflowers.

Indian Paintbrush
Individualism

The Bluebonnet is the Texas state wildflower and these abound in the spring in fields and along highway medians and borders.  There are many other wildflower varieties, with the Indian Paintbrush, being maybe the second most prevalent in many locations.  I’m more partial to the paintbrush for its color and shape.  So even in masses of bluebonnets, I am drawn to the paintbrush.

Texas Springtime
Texas Wildflowers

The mass of tall yellow wildflowers (mostly cropped out of this image) at the top of the image above is an invasive Mediterranean species that is threatening to crowd out native wildflowers.

Texas Springtime
Texas Roadside Wildflowers
Texas Roadside Wildflowers
Indian Paintbrush
Indian Paintbrush and Bluebonnet
Indian Paintbrush
Texas Roadside
Indian Paintbrush

More Texas Wildflowers next,

Ken

 

Badlands National Park, South Dakota, Part 6

I returned to the Yellow Mounds area of Badlands National Park for sunset golden hour photography on my third full day in this area.

Yellow Mounds, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

I had to watch closely to keep my shadow out of a number of my late day images.  Looking closely, one can see the shadow of that foreground Rabbit Bush on the far side of the ravine.

Yellow Mounds 2, Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Yellow Mounds 3, Badlands Np, South Dakota
Yellow Mounds 4, Badlands NP
Badlands and Grasslands, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

That’s it for this shoot,

Ken

 

Badlands National Park, South Dakota, Part 2

I had decided to shoot at one of the overlooks in Badlands National Park my first morning here, but when I arrive at that destination, I did not like the view and proceeded down the roadway to another pullout.  That pullout was intended as an overview of an area to the north, but I climbed a grassy slope on the opposite side of the roadway, anticipating better sunrise lighting on the features on that side of the roadway.  That is, if there was a sunrise this heavily overcast morning, after a storm came through during the night.

Sky Notch
Overcast Ridge
Dark Morning
Into the Badlands

Looks like no golden hour this morning, but the clouds are dramatic.

Into the Badlands 2

With the sun just barely peeking through the heavily overcast horizon, I decided to move on down that roadway and look for other photographic opportunities.

Clearing Storm Clouds over Badlands
Hitchhiker
Pastel Morning
Morning Spotlight
Morning Color
Badland Morning
Badlands Meander
Mirrored

To be continued,

Ken

 

Wichita Mountains, Oklahoma – Mount Scott Scouting Photography, Part 1

The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge campground hosts recommended Mount Scott as a place for sunset photography and so did the rangers in the visitor center, so I drove up the scenic drive to check out the views.

The steep drive up Mount Scott passed by large boulder fields and scenic views across the Oklahoma landscape.  I stopped at a number of pull outs to check out the local views.

View From the slope of Mount Scott, iPhone Scouting Photo
Lichen on Mount Scott Granite, iPhone Scouting Photo

Many of the granite boulders here are covered with yellow and grey lichen, forming interesting patterns on the rock faces.

Mount Scott Granite, iPhone Scouting Photo

There are massive granite rock faces along the route to the top of Mount Scott.

Yellow Wildflowers and Yellow Lichen, Mount Scott Granite, iPhone Scouting Photo
Shoe Rock, Mount Scott Granite, iPhone Scouting Photo

I’ve labeled this photo “Shoe Rock”, since I can see a shoe shape in the rock on the bottom left.

Blocky Rocks and Sky, Mount Scott Granite, iPhone Scouting Photo

When I reached the parking lot on the top of Mount Scott, I initially walked around the perimeter of the lot, looking out over the views.  I was discouraged to see much litter in the area around the parking lot.  I picked up a few plastic bags and put them into my trash.  I did not see any trash receptacles in the area.  When I am shooting photographs in such public areas, I often have to remove trash from the scene, prior to shooting.

The Duck, Mt. Scott Tree Remnant, iPhone Scouting Photo
View from Mt. Scott, iPhone Scouting Photo

From the parking lot, I worked my way down and into the area just below the parking area.

Mt. Scott Tree, iPhone Scouting Photo

This sprawling tree offered a number of photographic opportunities.

Artistic Sprawl, Mt. Scott Tree, iPhone Scouting Photo
Pom Pom Tree, Mt. Scott Tree, iPhone Scouting Photo

After this brief scouting of the area, I decided that I did not like all of the human infrastructure that would be visible in wide angle images across this area.  I decided not to return here, during this short visit; but I still wanted to explore more, in case I changed my mind or came back another time.  I retrieved my DSLR with 24-70mm lens from my vehicle and began a more extensive exploration.

Until next time,

Ken