Wildflower Workshop at Table Mountain - Only Two Weeks Left!

There are only two weeks left before my wildflower photography workshop on Table Mountain on March 26th! There is still space, so sign up now before it fills up.

What
A wildflower field macro photography workshop led by professional photographer, Tony Dunn. You'll learn beginning and advanced photographic and lighting techniques for capturing dramatic wildflower photos, learn the settings on your camera that will give you the best wildflower photos, and do it all in the field surrounded by dramatic displays of spring wildflowers.

Where
Table Mountain, North of Oroville, Butte County. We'll meet at the parking lot at the Table Mountain Wildflower Reserve on Cherokee Rd (see map below - zoom out to see the general area). We will hike down to the waterfall where there is the highest concentration of wildflowers.


View Larger Map

When
Saturday, March 26, 2011, 4:00-7:00pm (sunset). Please arrive promptly as we will leave the parking lot for the field immediately at 4:00.

How Much
The workshop is $65 per person in advance. Because of limited space, please make your reservation in advance, as the workshop will sell out. You can pay via check or PayPal. Contact me for more payment information via email or phone (530-321-1753).

Is This Workshop for Me?
This workshop is for beginning, intermediate and even advanced photographers wishing to either begin learning the basics of wildflower photography or learn and practice more advanced macro photography techniques.

What do I Need?
We will be hiking about a half a mile each way over relatively gentle but occasionally soggy terrain to the main wildflower area, so you should wear sturdy boots and clothing appropriate to the weather. Since the flowers are very close to the ground, wear clothes that you won't mind getting down on your knees or belly in. Bring water and snacks if you wish.

You can bring a tripod for your camera if you wish, but it is unlikely that you'll use it.

You will need to bring a camera that is capable of capturing close up images of wildflowers. Most point-and-shoot and 'prosumer' cameras have some level of this capability. For DLSRs it depends on the lens. Some lenses have a 'macro' setting that does not really allow you to get close enough to take pictures of wildflowers really close up. For DSLRs, you will have the best results with a 'real' macro lens.

How can you tell what your camera will do? Try taking a photo of a quarter.

If you can get a quarter to look this big (or bigger) in your camera's viewfinder (in focus!), then your camera is OK for wildflower macro photography. If your camera won't let you get this close, then you can do general photography of wildflowers, but won't be able to capture the dramatic close ups that true macro photography gives. But that might be all you want.

Make sure your camera's batteries are charged!

What happens if it's Raining?

The workshop will occur if it is overcast and or cold. If it is rainy or extremely windy (which makes it difficult to photograph the wildflowers), then the workshop will be cancelled. If it is possible to reschedule for Sunday the 27th or for the next weekend, we will do that. If not, all participants will receive a full refund. 

For more information,  email or call me at 530-321-1753.

Crop Duster Dusting Almond Orchards

A couple of weeks ago I was out on the west side of the Sacramento Valley shooting the beginning of the almond bloom. I noticed an Air Tractor crop duster working the orchards and found a good (and safe) place to park so that I could photograph him as he made his runs through the orchards.

It wasn't really part of the shoot I was working on, but I thought it would be fun to take a little time to try to catch the crop duster as he went by.

Fortunately, I was in a great spot, so I put my 100-400mm zoom on my 7D, giving me an effective focal length of 640mm, and started firing away. It was a lot of fun and the pilot waved at me several times as he went by.

I'm certainly not an expert when it comes to photographing airplanes in flight, but it was a fun bonus to the shoot.

More Almond Orchards from the Air

Okay, I'm still going through the 1109 photos I took a week ago on a flight over the almond orchards in the Sacramento Valley. And I'm still stunned at the photos I got from this shoot - I give all the credit to the beauty of the almond orchards in bloom!

I won't say any more, but just let you look at some of the shots I got.

Rows of young almond trees

Alternating colors of almond flowers

I can't get enough of the orchards bloom

Almond flowers as far as the eye can see

There are a lot more photos from this shoot to come, so stay tuned!

Almond Bloom from the Air

Last weekend I finally got up for an aerial shoot of the almond bloom. Saturday was a cold but clear day, coming right after a storm and right before a big freeze.

Rows of almonds in bloom

I took over 1100 photos in a little over two and a half hours, so it was a very productive shoot, but I've barely had a chance since then to look over the photos I took. Here's the first part of the path of our flight (Google divided it into two parts):

View 2011-02-26 in a larger map

But despite that, I thought I should try to upload at least a few images from the shoot. These were all taken at the very end of the shoot, when we were flying in circles around one particularly beautiful orchard southwest of Durham.

Intersecting orchards

More almonds in bloom

Interesting "V"-shaped almond orchard south of Chico.

The last shot I took shows the setting sun turning the almond flowers bright pink!

I love the patterns that the rows of trees make, and I love images that show off those patterns in interesting ways. 

I'll lots more images from this shoot in the coming days (weeks?), so keep tuned. 

Gallery Opening - Reception this Friday, 3-7PM

My photography will be on display at the Orland Art Center and Gallery from March 4th to 26th. There will be a reception at the Gallery on Friday the 4th from 3-7PM.

My work - focusing on rural and agricultural landscapes of the Sacramento Valley will be part of a exhibit titled "Beautiful Northern California" and will include works of three other artists - James Gregg, Charlie Osborn and Richard Verkuyl.

I will be there from 5-7PM to sign copies of my book of photography of the Sacramento Valley (Under the Endless Sky) and to talk, so make sure to come by!

The show will run from March 4th through March 26th. The Gallery is open 1pm - 7pm Tuesday through Saturday, and is located at 732 Fourth Street, Orland, CA.

Here are a few of my images that will be in the exhibit:

More Almond Flowers

Well, it's that time of year, and with the weather as iffy as it's been, I've taken every opportunity to get out and photograph the almond bloom before the wind and rain do it in - and the almond crop with it.

I had intended to go up in the air to do an aerial shoot of the almond bloom last weekend, but the clouds made that an iffy proposition, particularly given the cost of chartering a plane. So instead, I headed out in my truck. Turned out to be a beautiful day - go figure.

I got a lot of nice photos of the flowers, and was rewarded with a colorful sunset at the end.

Close up of almond flowers (Glenn County)

Row of almond trees (Glenn County)

Close up of almond flower

More almond flowers - they are beautiful

An almond tree glows in the light of the setting sun (east of Willows, Glenn County)

And finally, the day ended with a dramatic sunset.

I'm still hoping to get up in the air this coming weekend to get the bloom before it ends, but the weather is not looking cooperative - they are predicting snow on the Valley floor, which could ruin the almond crop.

Keep your fingers crossed that doesn't happen and we get some clear warm weather.

An Early Year for Almond Flowers

One of the wonderful things about agriculture is it's cyclical nature. Every year, the same processes occur, blooming, budding, sprouting, fruiting, harvest, etc. They don't always occur at the same or with the same intensity (ask any farmer about the lateness of last year's harvest), but they do occur.

One of my favorite cyclic events of the year is the almond bloom that starts in mid-February and lasts for about two weeks. Historically (I've been shooting the almond bloom since 2004), the bloom starts around February 18 and peaks around February 28th, as can be seen in a chart of the dates of photos of the almond bloom that I've taken in the past 7 years:

Chart of the dates of almond flower photos I've taken since 2004.

However, this year got an earlier start than I've ever seen: I took my first batch of photos on February 12th - far earlier than any previous year!

This isn't really much of a surprise since we have had six weeks of warm, dry weather in January and early February, with many days getting all the way into the 70's. 

I'm not sure what effect this will have on the length of the almond bloom, but knowing that a series of storms was coming, I wasted no time getting into the field this year. True, most of the orchards were just starting to bloom on the 12th, but there were enough flowers blooming to get a few nice shots (below).

All of the photos below were taken at Cal Worthington's ranch in Glenn County.

Hopefully, the weather will clear enough for me (and the bees) to get out again before the bloom is over. If I'm lucky and I get some really good weather, I might be able to even get some aerial views of the almonds again this year.