Posted by John Williams on March 31, 2010 at 1:55 PM
...now's a good time to visit SE Arizona.
I'm visiting my folks from the NW this week, and wanted to pass along the word that the poppies (and hyacinth) are really good out here this year. There are good areas across the San Carlos Apache Indian Nation as you head east, but the real treat is the triangle formed by Safford/Duncan/Clifton in Graham and Greenlee counties. My folks, flower fans always eager for a good flower chase, have lived here for 40 years and never seen anything close to this. Slope after slope is magnificent.
I'll post a few photos, but please consider them documentation only. I am borrowing my Mom's laptop, so no calibration and only the crudest of resizing/sharpening adjustments. Please be so kind as to ignore all of the obvious issues; I'll fix them when I can do some proper work at home.
The poppies are at peak. Petals are just beginning to shed, and there are few to no buds left to open. I'm a poppy newbie photographically, so I really can't predict how long they will last. A storm is predicted for this evening through
Thursday night, and poppies typically close up with cloudy and windy weather. This weekend is supposed to be good weather again, and if the flowers survive the wind the photoop window should hold well through Sunday. Also, from a distance the poppies disappear into the hillsides in the morning, so be sure to do your scouting after midday.
Hopefully this helps!
John
Posted by John Williams on March 31, 2010 at 1:57 PM
Posted by John Williams on March 31, 2010 at 1:57 PM
Posted by John Williams on March 31, 2010 at 1:58 PM
They are all great, but the first one is just stunning! What I wouldn't give to witness this spectacle...
Posted by Jared Atencio on March 31, 2010 at 5:05 PM
This is AMAZING! Thanks for sharing John - I like the 4th one of you're able to balance the tones a little-I think I am (cough cough) coming down with something all of a sudden
Posted by Eric A. Rosen on March 31, 2010 at 6:29 PM
WOW! pretty awesome... I knew I should have made a long weekend to AZ this month..
Posted by Kalin Wilson on March 31, 2010 at 9:39 PM
Awesome! I've got a poppy trip planned to Lancaster, CA the 16th. Can't wait. I wonder if they are peaking out there. Maybe I'll have to move my plans up. Thanks for the primer.
Posted by Guy Schmickle on April 1, 2010 at 12:08 PM
Holy crap! Man o man, I wish I could've heard about this sooner as I'm now back in snowy southwest Colorado after a week in the desert down there. That absolutely kicks butt over anything I saw in the Phoenix/Tucson area. Incredible!
Discussion
22 repliesI'm visiting my folks from the NW this week, and wanted to pass along the word that the poppies (and hyacinth) are really good out here this year. There are good areas across the San Carlos Apache Indian Nation as you head east, but the real treat is the triangle formed by Safford/Duncan/Clifton in Graham and Greenlee counties. My folks, flower fans always eager for a good flower chase, have lived here for 40 years and never seen anything close to this. Slope after slope is magnificent.
I'll post a few photos, but please consider them documentation only. I am borrowing my Mom's laptop, so no calibration and only the crudest of resizing/sharpening adjustments. Please be so kind as to ignore all of the obvious issues; I'll fix them when I can do some proper work at home.
The poppies are at peak. Petals are just beginning to shed, and there are few to no buds left to open. I'm a poppy newbie photographically, so I really can't predict how long they will last. A storm is predicted for this evening through
Thursday night, and poppies typically close up with cloudy and windy weather. This weekend is supposed to be good weather again, and if the flowers survive the wind the photoop window should hold well through Sunday. Also, from a distance the poppies disappear into the hillsides in the morning, so be sure to do your scouting after midday.
Hopefully this helps!
John