Color Explosion

Gallery: LandscapePosted March 15, 2013411 views15 comments

It's that time of the year out here in Arizona when all the photographers are frantically running around hoping to catch the years best blooms. The last few years have been quiet in terms of wildflowers, however, this year seems to be looking better than ever. At least that I can recall. I went out to bartlett lake on Tuesday to see if there was much going on. I was excited to see the bountiful patches of gold and purple that painted the hillsides. I decided to head back again today, to see if much had changed in the last few days. I was surprised to see that the amount of flowers almost tripled and provided a beautiful display of color during this warm spring afternoon. As the day went on, I noticed the clouds moving in, so I stayed put in hopes the clouds would light up at sunset. Sure enough, they caught a bit of color and complimented the lupine and poppies below. Hopefully the coming weeks are just as impressive elsewhere around the Phoenix area. Comments and critiques appreciated.

Canon 7d
Canon 17-40mm @17mm
ISO 100
f14
2.5 sec
CPL
Tripod
6 image stitch

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Chet Dowell on March 15, 2013 at 11:56 AM

Nice image, Peter. I love the hillside full of appealing colors and the sky. The eye naturally follows up thru the photo. I like it!!!!! Chet

Registered on December 3, 2012, 237 Posts, 1171 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Olsen on March 15, 2013 at 12:31 PM

Sweet colors!!
I like the mirroring of the flower colors into the clouds. Nicely done!

Registered on October 19, 2006, 306 Posts, 1571 Comments

Comment posted by Russell Colletta on March 15, 2013 at 1:30 PM

Absolutely electric color Peter, great light. Can't wait for the season to move north.

Registered on October 31, 2009, 114 Posts, 1008 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Gasior on March 15, 2013 at 3:37 PM

Nice colors .I like how you comp.

Registered on March 7, 2010, 99 Posts, 502 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on March 15, 2013 at 4:56 PM

Some extremely vivid colors in this one, Peter. It must be that time of year for these type of scenes to become more apparent out in the field and hopefully will make there way on to NPN. Nice capture overall.

Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Coskun on March 15, 2013 at 5:31 PM

Thanks everyone. I've only been out twice for the blooms so far and in the same spot, so hopefully other spots are just as impressive.

Registered on October 31, 2011, 170 Posts, 1240 Comments

Comment posted by Shantikara Valuska on March 15, 2013 at 6:13 PM

This is an amazing field of flowers! And you were lucky with the sky also. Small nit, I would maybe lighten up a bit the left hillside.

Registered on July 25, 2011, 38 Posts, 451 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Reid on March 15, 2013 at 6:32 PM

Beautiful capture Peter. Really nice to see this kind of colour after a dreary winter. Nice comp with beautiful colours and sky. Very nice.

Registered on January 27, 2013, 65 Posts, 2460 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on March 15, 2013 at 7:15 PM

Wow--nice flowers, Peter! I believe Shantikara was referring to the rhs, which is very dark compared to the lhs, which in turn looks rather overexposed on my (well-calibrated) desktop.

A few tweaks though and this will be sweet!

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Coskun on March 15, 2013 at 7:38 PM

Thanks Shantikara and Stan. The flowers on the left shouldn't be overexposed, but they should be quite bright anyways. The lower right falls into a wash which is in the shade so the light wasn't hitting there directly.

Registered on October 31, 2011, 170 Posts, 1240 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Baumbach on March 16, 2013 at 2:23 PM

The beautiful flowers offset by the sky work very well here. Nice!

- Dan

Registered on November 1, 2003, 473 Posts, 7980 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on March 16, 2013 at 5:42 PM

Great color explosion here Peter!

I too think it has room for a couple of tweaks, but look beautiful none the less.

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on March 16, 2013 at 8:45 PM

Just lovely, Peter. I'm heading down toward Tucson next weekend. Any good flower places around there to recommend?

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Coskun on March 17, 2013 at 12:53 AM

Thanks everyone, I'm still working on a few tweaks here and there to get it perfect.

Tony, I haven't heard much in terms of blooms down in Tucson. It seems most of the action is in the Phoenix area. Saguaro national park might have some blooms in a few weeks, but they had a couple of freezes recently so not sure. Might suggest calling the park and see if they have any info.

Registered on October 31, 2011, 170 Posts, 1240 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on March 17, 2013 at 11:28 PM

Sweet spread! Nice that the poppies had not all completely closed up yet. Nice mix of colors and good light.

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments