Tag: poppy

Keep on Moving

Last weekend I made a short two day trip to the Palouse – an area in Eastern Washington famous for its rolling hills covered with patches of fields. It is very beautiful and photogenic place. Some call it American Toscana.

My first day of the trip in the Palouse was dreadful. Grey solid sky, no light, little color. Just as if it could not get any more discouraging, suddenly the rain started. It was pouring down heavily. Most people would stay home in that weather. Not me. I went on scouting around.

The rain stopped just as suddenly as it started. Heavy clouds and soft light were majestic.

I even caught a glimpse of warm pink glow in the sky from a light of the Sun settling for the night.

Just one small piece of advice: don’t drive dirt roads there when it is wet. The dirt is a fine grain clay that becomes extremely slippery when wet. You’ll lose any control over your car. I am talking about it from experience.

Freeway Poppies

California poppies can be found in Western Washington only along roads. I’ve spotted one of such places along one of freeways while driving my son to gymnastics. The hills was burning orange covered with poppies.

The next morning I woke up a little bit earlier to get to that hill and photograph poppies before work. I parked the car at the nearest parking lot next to a store and walked to that hill. The poppies were as good as the day before – an island of the Nature beauty in the middle of a city.

So, there I was, lying on a ground photographing poppies with cars passing by at a high speed. Here are a few photos I took:

Flower Hill

As I wrote in my previous post (Good Night, Ladybug) there is a hill close to my house that has various wild flowers blooming every year. Here are a couple more photos that I took at that hill recently.

Zen

The question that I here the most is where do I get an inspiration. The answer is simple – I don’t get it, I wait for it.

When I’m on a photo trip I start photographing without inspiration, even without clear goal in my mind. I’m photographing and waiting; waiting for that one image after which everything becomes clear. Suddenly, my mind and my soul opens up to the world. I start seeing everything differently. The world becomes part of me and I become part of it.

Here is that photo from my last trip to California. After it I started seeing beyond flowers; seeing lines shapes and light.

California Poppy

What if that doesn’t happen, you may ask. Well, that means I was not in tune with the world was around me. Maybe next time or next place.

%d bloggers like this: