Yes, the super bloom is upon us, and as I write this blog post we are having very mild weather in the 60s. However, this week it will heat up to the 80s for several days. The poppies look pretty good everywhere I have seen them. I think they will last a couple of more weeks, but we are past peak by now. Here is what you might see.
Mary and I wanted to get to the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve around 9 AM. The poppies will be closed up until the temperature is past 60 degrees, so we thought this would be a good time. They like warm sunlight. By this time on a Saturday morning there was a 50 car line to get into the parking lot and Lancaster Road was already littered with parked cars. We decided to skip the Reserve and shoot around it.
Lancaster Road just east of the Reserve was very good. We also shot on the other side of the Reserve on Avenue D between 110th street and 170th street. There were no people on this street. My only complaint about this side of the Reserve is you have to shoot a bit into the sun. I would try both sides of the Reserve and drive in a circle.
If you don’t mind lots of people and waiting in line, by all means, go into the Reserve. Also, if you can go during the week you will miss much of this madness.
Check out Mary’s excellent blog post about creating a compelling poppy photograph.
To see more of (and buy) our photographs, please go to www.pamphotography.com.
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