Fuji GX617 Panoramic Photography

Gilia Foreground at Quail Lake

Fuji GX617 panorama with light blue gilia filling the foreground and California poppies spreading across the Quail Lake landscape. — Light blue gilia fills the foreground as California poppies and a diverse carpet of desert wildflowers extend toward the distant mountains · Quail Lake / Tejon Ranch, Western Antelope Valley, California · 2005.

About the Photograph

Part of the prolific Quail Lake bloom of 2005, this panorama was composed specifically to bring the light blue gilia forward as the dominant foreground element. Beyond it, California poppies and a diverse mixture of desert wildflowers spread across the plain, creating successive layers of blue, orange and gold against the distant hills and mountains.

Technical Details

Location:

Quail Lake / Tejon Ranch, Western Antelope Valley, California

Year:

2005

Camera:

Fuji GX617

Format:

6×17 cm panoramic transparency film

Film:

Fuji Velvia 100

Aperture:

f/45

Exposure:

1/30 s

Filters:

Center neutral-density filter · Polarizing filter

Field Notes

Several panoramas were made in the Quail Lake area during this same day, but each was composed around a different part of the bloom. Here, the camera position was chosen so the light blue gilia would fill the foreground rather than simply become one species among many in the wider landscape.

The surrounding bloom contained the same extraordinary variety seen across the Quail Lake Hills: California poppies, gilia, desert dandelions, tidy tips, coreopsis, white layia and other desert wildflowers. The exceptional 2004–2005 winter rainfall produced a display remarkable for its density, variety and geographic scale.

This panorama is one of a larger group made from the same Quail Lake bloom. Only a curated selection is included in the online archive, with each image preserving a different composition and balance of color within an unusually prolific season.