For an all-too-brief period in the spring, California poppies proliferate. They’re just starting to appear here in the Bay Area. In a few weeks — maybe just a few days — there will be more patches, fields, entire hillsides of intense golden blooms shimmering in the breeze. There will be more in this space too. Here’s a preview of this year’s bounty.
(Nikon D850; AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 2.2; final editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
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What a wonderful capture!
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Thank you very much, Derek. The first of many, I hope.
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Only in the spring? They’re a weed some places here albeit very beautiful. If you’re interested Nigel took this photo 27 Oct 2018 (NZ spring) https://exploringcolour.wordpress.com/2018/10/28/thyme-and-poppies-central-otago/ and I took these photos 19 Apr 2018 (NZ autumn) https://exploringcolour.wordpress.com/2018/04/24/over-the-shaky-bridge-i-found-gold/ They flower for ages in NZ and we think they probably carry on right through from spring to autumn.
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Fascinating, Liz. Interesting to think of them as weeds but there’s an argument that anything that is strictly a volunteer is a weed. But yes: beautiful. I’m envious that they bloom for so long in NZ. Thanks for the links. Living proof. Those golden poplars are quite beautiful as well.
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The golden poplars looked wonderful, a beautiful surprise that turned up as I wandered around an unfamiliar place – while Nigel was attending some business-related event.
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An unusual and interesting viewpoint of this glorious flower.
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Thank you very much, Paula. There’s a fuzzy line between realism and abstraction. This is somewhere in that fuzz.
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Amazing portrait, like a painting of a chalice.
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Robert, you nailed it a few days ago, and now you’re nailing it again. That is exactly what I had in mind.
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Yes, chalice is the perfect description Robert! I remember looking at the photo and thinking how cup-like the poppy is, but I knew there’d be a better expression than that (haha), as Michael said – you nailed it!
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Thanks to both of you. It is a source of joy and amazement to me that each poppy seems to have its own personality. There are chalice poppies, there are party poppies, there are elegant sheath poppies, there are crazy insane poppies… The list goes on…
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That really took my fancy.. “each poppy seems to have its own personality”. Like, there’s such a mass of them at their peak. To think of them each having their own personality is a wonderful thought! 🙂 🙂 Love it
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When you are on your knees in the middle of hundreds of them looking for exactly the right one to photograph, you get to know them pretty well. Some are extroverted and exuberant, some are shy, some are demure, some are insane… Every now and then you meet a chalice.
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Tangentially, your mention of a chalice brings to mind the famous Danny Kaye routine.
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Let me get this straight:
The pixels of the chalice, they they do not present malice.
The photo of the Poppy is the view that is true.
Right?
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The apt replacement by you of “brew” with “view” rings true.
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Apropos of tongue twisters, here’s one for you:
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Excellent. I’d never seen that routine.
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One good bit deserves another.
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While the tonality of this portrait is similar to that of the previous one, here you’ve added the dimension of depth. And speaking of which: the image is abstract enough that my mind can see the rear part of the flower projecting forward over the front part, as in one of those reversing optical illusions.
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Thank you very much, Steve. As I noted to Paula, there’s a fuzzy line between realism and abstraction and this portrait is somewhere in that fuzzy area. I didn’t notice the reversing optical illusion until you pointed it out. Now it jumps out at me. It’s like the edit at about 59 1/2 seconds into Strawberry Fields Forever. I will live with this for a while and see if it has enough staying power to go onto my website in the floral portraits section.
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Wonderful perspective on such a vibrant little gem Michael.
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Thanks, Tina. There will be more…
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Hi Michael, You have achieved a wonderful artistic dimension in these close-ups. So rich in color and tones. Funny, I saw the optical illusion right away. I also in my very first glimpse saw a laughing face…but now I may be revealing a little too much about myself… haha! Terrific series. We are heading to Carrizo tomorrow. 🙂
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Thank you very much. You saw more than I did. Have a great trip. I’m going to be very interested in what conditions there are like. Very interested. You might want to email me at the address on my formal website.
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Happy to. I am a little wary but we plan on sticking to the main roads.
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This is stunningly beautiful!
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Thanks very much, Rick.
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There is a richness in this poppy that is both warming and arresting, worthy of a very long study.
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Thank you, Steve. That’s what I was aiming for.
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