35mm Film Photography

Man in Blue

Lone photographer standing on wildflower-covered hills in Gorman, California, as sunbeams break through stratus clouds during the 2003 super bloom.
A lone photographer stands amid blue wildflower-covered hills as sunbeams race across Gorman, California · 2003.

Persistent clouds cast the Gorman Hills into muted shades of blue and gray until brief openings in the fast-moving stratus allowed shafts of sunlight to sweep across the landscape. Phacelia, coreopsis, California poppies, lupines and gilia cover the hills while a lone photographer provides a sense of the immense scale of the bloom. The colors shown in the photograph are natural and were not enhanced.

Location:
Gorman / Peace Valley, California
Year:
2003
Camera:
Canon T-90
Lens:
Canon 80–200mm L
Aperture:
f/22
Film:
Fuji Velvia transparency film
Filter:
UV filter
Support:
Bogen tele-lens support mount
Field Notes

With persistent clouds and shadow, I was about to call it a day when sunbeams suddenly broke through the fast-moving stratus. Shadowed hills flickered with bright patches of light racing across muted tones of color as phacelia, coreopsis, California poppies, lupines and gilia covered the landscape.

Note the lone photographer on the hillside, nearly lost within the scale of the surrounding bloom.

The alternate working title for this photograph was Rhapsody in Blue.

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