Purple Larkspur Flowers. Almaden Quicksilver County Park, California. April 10, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Purple larkspur spring blossoms at Almaden Quicksilver County Park, California.
I think I’ll post another spring wildflower photograph before resuming the Death Valley posts – who knows, maybe I’ll post a few more first!
I’m a bit weak on flower identification. Although I can tell you when certain flowers will come up, tell you exactly where to look for them, and even recognize the plants before the flowers bloom… I cannot always remember the common names, much less the Latin names. With that said, I’m reasonably certain that these are Larkspur blooms.
This patch is on a particular hillside along a particular sunny turn in a trail in the small “wildflower valley” at Almaden Quicksilver Park that I mentioned in an earlier post. At this spot the trail descend though a somewhat open area that faces west and the plants are in a boundary between some much more shaded forest and a bit of open grass-covered terrain. In a small area here that is perhaps no more than 20 feet across, right above a small oak tree set in the edge of the trail, I can always find a small group of these flowers right near the beginning of April.
They are not easy to photograph. The flowers are not terribly large and tripod placement is very tough on the steep hill where they grow. To make this photograph I added an extension tube to a 24-105mm image-stabilized lens and got down on my knees. I was quite close – a matter of a few inches from the flowers. Depth of field is very small, so the trick is to find a good angle that both provides the right kind of background and which puts the main flower roughly parallel to the sensor, to find an interesting composition of the flowers, and then to move the camera slightly back and forth until the primary subject comes into focus. (The camera won’t auto-focus very will with this setup.) The very dark colors of this flower also add to the challenge!
This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM (with extension tube) at 73mm
ISO 400, f/4, 1/160 second
keywords: purple, flower, bloom, petal, larkspur, wild, wildflower, spring, green, grass, bokeh, almaden, quicksilver, county, park, santa clara, san jose, california, usa, north america, nature, foliage, season, stock
We don’t have a “formal” plan for a trip yet – which is unusual in that Owen usually reserves permits way in advance – but there is some talk of a 2-week JMT trip. That would be a bit aggressive, and I need to consider whether or not it leaves enough time for photography, but we’ll see.
Dan
Dan –
Two of the reasons I shoot with diopters are that it is (1) cheap, and (2) compact and lightweight (a third reason is they really work, well). With my set up I can almost get 1:1, but not quite, but it is good enough magnification for an occasional macro shooter.
After many years of toting my diopters in my camera bag, earlier this year I almost succumbed to the call of the Sirens and came very close to purchasing a 105mm macro so I could get to that “Holy Grail” of 1:1 magnification. But, I sat down, took a couple of aspirin, and the “gear fever” eventually subsided.
Whew, almost buying that macro lens was close, but since my photo backpack is just a shade under 20lbs without tripod, water, or food, if I added another lens I would have to hire a Sherpa to carry it for me!
Keep up the good photography work!
(P.S. Are you and Owen going on another High Sierra backpacking adventure this summer? Over the years I’ve enjoyed the photos you have brought back from your summer adventures in the Sierras.)
Greg, I can sure relate the challenges of shooting wildflowers in wind! My worst story involves shooting California poppies at the Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve on a spring morning as I returned from Death Valley. The poppies were beautiful and covered the area thickly – but the wind must have been blowing at 35mph or more. I searched out small depressions where there was tiny bit of shelter, I used the fastest shutter speed I could, and then I tried to time shots for pauses between gusts. Many shots were, of course, ruined by the motion (except for those in which I wanted the motion) but among them I managed to get some good ones.
The larkspur is difficult for several reasons. It is a very dark colored flower, so you have to expose such that it still looks dark but so that you can pull some detail out of the image. Backgrounds are tricky, since they tend to be a lot lighter. Bokeh is your friend here – I shoot these at apertures that allow me to blur the background a lot. And, of course, any wind will be a challenge. When I shot these the conditions were changing between full sun and cloud cover – and in this shot the clouds softened the light a bit.
I do tend to shoot flowers at longer focal lengths. I do a lot of foliage shooting with the 70-200mm zoom – partly because I can work from a bit further back from the subject, but also because the longer focal lengths let me blur backgrounds more effectively.
I don’t use any “diopters,” though I know folks who do – I should probably give them a try at some point. I recently did get an extension tube, and I’m figuring that out bit by bit. (It doesn’t work so well with the 70-200, but it works really well with the 24-105, on which I’ve evolved an effective method of shooting hand held.) At some point I will probably get a dedicated macro lens. Even though shooting flowers isn’t my main thing, I do in enough. I’ve thought about the 180mm macro from Canon, but haven’t made any decisions yet.
I have thought about visiting the Carrizo Plain, and I’m sure I’ll do it eventually – I’ve heard great reports about the area. So far it has just been a matter of timing. When the flowers have been there other things have interfered.
Dan
Dan, I recently photographed some Larkspur blossoms over in the east bay, and I know of the challenges you write of when trying to photograph such a small (but beautiful) plant. I additionally had the problem of a persistent breeze, and with an f-stop of around f/16 to increase the DOF, I ended up having a two-second shutter speed. It required waiting with my finger on the cable release until there was a lull in the breeze before tripping the shutter and hoping that the winds would stay calm for two seconds. In situations like this, shooting lots of frames helps!
You mentioned being very close to the plants; have you thought of using a longer lens (about 200mm) in either a macro lens, or using high-quality diopters on say a 70-200mm zoom? The advantage is that there is more relief between the subject matter and the lens, and additionally the narrower angle of view of the longer focal length allows one to control what appears in the background (i.e., distracting elements can be easily positioned out of frame); just a thought anyway!
The diffused lighting is perfect and the colors come out saturated; if it had been sunny bright the contrasty parts of the image wouldd have resulted in a “blotchy” image. Wonderful photo that says “SPRING”.
Speaking of wildflowers, have you ever thought of going out to the Carrizo Plain?