[MrFotoFool]

Yesterday morning I drove up to Picacho Peak State Park, Arizona (USA), to photograph the wildflower bloom. None of my shots are that good because honestly I have never been good at photographing flowers. I don't know what it is, but they seem to be my photographic nemesis.

On the plus side I met a reporter from our Tucson newspaper (Arizona Daily Star) who asked if he could use his smart phone to take a video clip of me shooting. It turns out he had done a phone interview with me two months ago on a bobcat article they ran (along with one of my photos). The video is up now (probably not for long) on their website Tucson.com. If you are curious, click on the video link that says Bloom Underway at Picacho Peak State Park and my part is at the 2:25 time mark.

I got there early enough that I was able to get in without waiting and get a good parking spot, but when I left after 11am the line of cars to get in stretched for the entire mile from the freeway offramp to the entrance booth (and even partway up the offramp). The first of three shots attached is the one I took in the segment featured in the video; it's a focus stack of twelve images.

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[David Berry]

Mr FF, thank you for sharing.

I always appreciate reading the story behind the photos!
… David

 

[jfredrick]

Beautiful place and shots Fred! You did good! I can see why it is popular with cars lined up! It looks like you had the right idea with getting down low with your tripod for your shots. I also liked the cover photo down low with the poppies enlarged in the foreground.

 

[MrFotoFool]

The print edition of today's newspaper (March 15, 2023) featured this as a cover story with me on the cover. Top photo in the article is the same as the top photo I posted here, but it looks twenty times worse due to the poor reproduction quality of the newspaper. Photo below that is a shot the reporter took of me taking photos (standing up - not the same spot as the shot of me in the video).