Carlsbad's Flower Fields

[Chris Dodkin]

Around this time of year, my local city (Carlsbad CA) goes into horticultural overdrive, with a fabulous display of color (or colour) known rather inventively as 'the flower fields'.

The location is a huge hillside facing the Pacific Ocean, just down the hill from LegoLand California - and the fields contain some 700 Million bulbs!!

They stagger the growing season, so that they can pack in the tourists over a month or two - but it's really coming into bloom about now, and will be stunning over the next few weeks.

In fact, Canon will be doing a FREE macro workshop there on Sunday for anyone in the vicinity (Darren B).

Any way - here's a few starters from today - will probably return with the longer lenses and try some more compressed perspectives.

 

[Ralph Thornton]

Chris,
Wow! Very colorful. A real eye pleaser. I also like that your photos have a level horizon. That fountain in the poster looks like it's going to tip over.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

That poster cracks me up.

It's for an official Canon event and its got a wonky horizon, is over saturated, and does not show any macro photography...

 

[Darren Bradley]

Awww, you guys beat me to it. I was going to comment on that wonky poster, too. Ridiculous. I can't imagine Canon had anything to do with it. Anyway, thanks for the heads up, Chris. Alas, I won't be able to make it on Sunday, but I look forward to seeing your compressed landscape shots.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Went back this morning with the 600mm to get some more compressed perspective shots.

I'd noticed yesterday that when you got close to the flowers with a wide angle lens, you saw a lot of the gaps between the flowers. When you looked down the field, you saw more solid blocks of color.

Other lessons learned yesterday:

Don't trust the internal metering, the bright flowers fool it - I used a light meter today
Arrive earlier - sun over shoulder
Don't pay $10 to get in - shoot from the public road at the top of the hill!

Here are some 600mm shots - all ISO 400 f8

 

[Ralph Thornton]

Wow! The first shot is my favorite. What place - so much color it boggles the eyes. Thanks for putting these up Chris.

I also like the advice, "Don't pay $10 to get in...." Ha! Ha!

 

[Darren Bradley]

My first instinct would have been to pull out the wide angle and look for a good close up shotbof some flowers with the fields in the background. Sounds like you had the same idea at first. But i love these- especially #1.

 

[Bryan Hunt]

Great photos Chris my fav is #6

 

[Hamish Gill]

I like the forth one with the tra'er

 

[Pete Askew]

Wow, hayfever heaven!

 

[Darren Bradley]

Stopped by the flower fields yesterday with my wife and daughter, but only had my 50mm f1.4 with me, so made do with that. Spent more time chasing after my daughter than taking pics, though, so don't have much to show for the trip.





The flowers in the first photo are ranunculus. The second are poinsettias, but a rare variety.

 

[Pete Askew]

You should have given her a bright blue dress. You'd have ahd no trouble finding her!