In a previous blog post about the San Bernardino Mountains, a local range here in southern California, the comment section filled up with people who believe in finding the beauty in your own backyard, so to speak. For this month’s image, I chose another from this range, because it represents the happiness of finding something quite unexpected and very photogenic, right in your own backyard.
A few weeks ago, we were driving to the mountains to attend a party my wife’s boss was throwing. Due to a couple of wrong turns on the way up there, I noticed more and more Pacific Dogwoods (Cornus nuttallii) that were in full bloom. I’m well aware of the huge flux of photographers into Yosemite Valley and Sequoia National Park for the spring Dogwood bloom, but I had no idea they bloomed so close to my home.
The next morning, a friend and I headed back to the mountains to spend some time with these lovely flowers.
In Bloom, May 2011
Also, I wanted to mention that I’ve put up a gallery of some of my images from the San Bernardino Mountains (click the image, or here). It really is a pleasing mountain range that continues to surprise me.
Very pretty shot, Greg. I thought your aspen shots were so nice – shooting down the trunks to the scattered leaves. I like the gentle processing in these letting the soft light and muted colors tell the story.
Sharon
Greg, great beautiful golden light on those dogwoods! A perfect pic for the month!
Very nice Greg. The blooms are pristine and lovely and I think you used the light on the flowers very well. Nice job composing them within their environment too.
I couldn’t agree with you more about shooting near home. I do literally shoot in my backyard as well as pretty much entirely within a small radius of home. Nature has so much to offer that we tend to pass by the familiar looking for what’s available in the more well known and picturesque. I’d love to travel farther, but am perfectly happy close by.
I’m glad you found these dogwoods so near at hand…you can look forward to them for years to come and have them all to yourself.
Thanks for the comments, guys. I appreciate them.
Steve G., I would have to say that I’m guilty of passing by the familiar for the famous occasionally, but I’m slowly learning to explore what’s around me. I think that’s the key, most often anyway–slowing down.
Congrats on the June image Greg, very nice indeed. I agree 100% with the backyard school of photography.
Sure we can travel around the world and take capable images while we’re there, but there is an intimacy and sense of space where we live. A familiarity that allows for prolonged contemplation of our subjects and maturing images as the seasons pass.
Great image Greg!
Love dogwood. My other favorite, which we don’t have here either, trilliums. The creamy white against the vibrant greens. What a combination.
Thanks for the comments, Ali, Kristel, and Greg.
Ali, you really said a mouthful there…I agree with you completely. Wouldn’t a year-round project of the landscapes in our backyard make an excellent study? I think it would.
Nice work, Greg! I always like seeing shots from folks’ local areas; shooting locally often seems to produce nuanced and thoughtful work. I’ll probably be sticking closer to home next year, and I may have to assign myself a project along those lines.
Great forest dogwood shots too! Those kind are harder to pull off than they look, and these are excellent.
This is a fine and unusual dogwood image.
Thanks for the comments, David and Jackson! I appreciate your comments!
Your work is very nice and I’m truly love it!
All the best!