Shot in the Anza-Borrego Desert on February 16, 2019, these Arizona Lupine (Lupinus arizonicus) seem to be quite hardy. Since my previous visit one week earlier, the recent heavy rains, heavy winds, and cold temperatures have noticeably diminished the wildflower blooms. I saw far fewer of the white flowers such as Dune evening primrose (Oenothera deltoides) and Dune evening primrose (Oenothera deltoides) today. While not prominently displayed in my photos, there are still lots of Desert sand verbena (Abronia villosa) present (round purple flowers that bloom closer to the ground). And a decent amount of yellow flowers - such as the desert sunflower can be seen. Still, purple is definitely the dominant color right now. As with my previous visit, it was quite windy today - but not so windy that photography was impossible. Fortunately the ground was still a bit damp - so this kept the dust to a minimum. I just had to use ISO 400 and some higher shutter speeds to capture the flowers without too much motion blur. I think these recent VERY heavy rains should cause another good bloom in a week or so. The experts aren't too confident in there being a superbloom this year (but it could still happen), but the consensus is that there will still be a bloom that is larger than normal. Note the the heavy rains have, of course, made the ground quite a bit softer, so use caution when driving off-road if you don't have 4WD and/or are inexperienced with this kind of driving. And since there isn't a superbloom at this time, the crowds are still quite tolerable. There are no traffic jams and there is plentiful parking. Most of the flowers are not too far off of the S-22 Highway aka. Borrego Salton Seaway east of Borrego Springs.
These were shot in various locations including Coyote Canyon, Coachwhip Wash, and along Highway S-22 aka. Borrego Salton Seaway in Borrego Springs in the Anza-Borrego Desert. The flowers in these photos include yellow desert sunflower (geraea canescens), Arizona Lupine (Lupinus arizonicus), and Desert sand verbena (Abronia villosa). Prints available from my website: www.kevinkeyphotography.com/ Yesterday was a bit more windy than the mostly calm conditions on Monday, but it still wasn't nearly as windy as the 20-30 MPH winds predicted in the weather forecast. I did have to shoot at 400-500 ISO and higher shutter speeds, however, since the flowers were moving in the wind. As with my flower photos earlier in the week, I'm doing more experimentation with very low angles, close-ups and selective focusing.
