Fish Out of Water

No, I'm not referring to the excellent 1976 solo album by Yes bassist Chris Squire. I'm describing myself during the last week of shooting in the deserts of Nevada and southern California. Never have so many miles been driven for so few photos. I swear, it seemed like everywhere I went I was too late or too early. To top that all off, the weather was a nightmare - nothin' but blue skies. I could shoot for maybe 30 minutes at sunrise and maybe an hour at sunset, and everything in-between was harsh, harsh, harsh.

After spending the weekend in Vegas getting my NASCAR on (and having my guy wreck himself and Matt Kenseth out of a third-place finish with four laps to go), I headed towards Joshua Tree, where I heard the flowers were great. I don't think I've ever been so confounded by a place so beautiful in all my life! What an extraordinary place! But midday light was not my friend. The flowers were in a part of the park away from the joshua trees and intriguing, monolithic, granite boulders, and everywhere they were, footprints were there, too. So I headed back to the trees/boulders part, only to misjudge the distance and get to a favorable spot (after passing many even more favorable spots) with just minutes to spare before the sun set. I need to remember the saying, "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." If you need help with that one, let me know. Anyways, here's one from JTNP.

And another...

The best flowers I saw were many miles away. They were so vast that I could actually see the hillsides stained with yellow from the time I made the turn and could see my destination six miles away!
To retain their detail and color, they're too big to post here, so here's a link to a couple:
http://www.toddcaudle.com/desertflowers.htm

I came back through Colorado via the San Juans, and had better luck finding clouds. I won't bother posting any of those right now, but this might be my fave from the entire trip, taken on the last day of the trip once back on more familiar territory. This is below Red Mountain Pass. Note the small animal tracks tracing across the snow.

For now...

That'll teach ya. There's nothing good about a trip to California. In fact I am somewhat skeptical of those fellers over in Utah.

The last shot is nice.

Those are some impressive wildflowers!
I hope you got a lot more to share with us.

On my monitor, your reds in the first two posts look strange - clipped?

The Colorado image is great. Sure can tell where you are most comfortable.

Those wildflower shots are sweet! I can't believe how green the desert is in that purple flower shot. The last shot is awesome.. just the tips of some much bigger trees. I think it would be worth trying to clone out the top-left shadows, just to see... it might add to the simplicity, if you're willing to do that sort of thing.

Todd, wow, love those flowers! That must have been incredible. Sounds like at least you were a happy fish out of water

Looks like the desert has her flowers on! I feel your pain with harsh light and missed opportunities. I'd love to get back to JTNP.
The snow shot is great! Nice and serene.

All kidding aside. The flower shots are pretty incredible. It would be really cool to see the desert in bloom like that.

Mel-

Yep, nice flower shots esp the first. I also like the CO shot here, the shadows make it.

Great stuff, the purple wildflower shot is incredible. and the last shot is beautiful as well.

Damn, I didn't even see the wildflowers the 1st time - killer golden-whatever flowers! I like the J tree sil too.

Welcome back, homey.

Nice work Todd. I like them all, but especially the last one. Looks like you made the best of a somewhat frustrating time. Plus, now you have all the spots staked out for the next time.

The second image from your link is killer! As for the ones on this page I like the last one. And the animal tracks, however small, help with the impact of the image.

Nevada this weekend for me!

That last photo is killer, Todd. The desert definitely has a different quality of light than the mountains. The key to mid-day light is to find a canyon to hike up. Lots of reflected light and hidden gems inside those canyons. Despite your challenges you came away with some really great images, Todd. Those wildflowers are THICK!

It's amazing how light can make beautiful places such a challenge to photograph! We've all been there, unfortunately. I remember spending 4 days along Big Sur in CA a few years back and never seeing a cloud. You did well with what you were dealt. Those wildflowers are amazing and that last one at Red Mtn pass was well seen. I'd like to see more of what you got in the San Juans.

Dang, those wildflowers are unreal! Is this a banner year for them or is this somewhat normal? Hopefully we will see some displays like that around here in about 4 months - if that's long enough for all the snow to melt!

Diggin the San Juan's shot too!

Was that third one just so you could regain your sense that all is well in the world?

I always struggle on my first trip to someplace that's quite different from what I'm used to shooting; you came away with some really nice work, though. The wildflower shots are sweet, the first being my favorite.

Similar to you, I went to Joshua Tree a few years ago and left thinking that I've never been so shut out by a place so beautiful. I think she's a wicked demon that you have to woo for a while before she reveals herself to you. I'll definitely go back, but I'll pick a time when it's not 114 degrees.

p.s. come check out Oregon some time; we have just a teeensy weensy bit of fog up here.

Well Todd, I have to agree with everything said here! I like the San Juans shot just as it is - NICE! Your JNTP shots brought back many memories of trips there. So, I spent the afternoon in the basement looking for the few remaing 4x5 negs I have from there. Durn, all I found was a few medium format negs from my Bronica GS1. Where can I get these scanned in COS?
John

I like the first photo the most. Besides the reds being too saturated on my monitor, everything else is perfect. Thank you for sharing.