Poppy Overlook
From a high overlook on Tejon Ranch, California poppies, globe gilia, coreopsis and goldfields flow across the slope and into the shallow valley below. The panorama was composed to preserve that sweeping movement through the landscape, using the Fuji GX617’s broad 3:1 frame to carry the eye from the immediate hillside into the western Antelope Valley beyond.
This photograph was made during a series of trips to Tejon Ranch over several weeks. The season was unusually favorable, with moderate temperatures, relatively little wind and a bloom that remained strong longer than in many other years.
Reaching the overlook required a long hike while carrying the Fuji GX617 system, its separate wide, medium and telephoto lenses and additional 35mm camera equipment. The GX617 is a large, fully manual camera, and working with it in the desert meant managing exposure and focus by hand while protecting film from direct sunlight during loading. Opening the camera in the field also meant watching for gnats and other insects that could find their way into the film chamber.
Once at the overlook, the process became quieter. Before setting up the camera, there was a need to stop, look and allow the composition to resolve itself—to work through where the camera should be placed and how the lines of flowers should move through the frame. It was almost a visual chess match, with each possible position changing the balance of the landscape.
The final composition was chosen to capture the sweeping flow of poppies, globe gilia, coreopsis and goldfields descending into the shallow valley. The broad Fuji frame allowed the flowers to remain connected to the larger landscape rather than becoming an isolated foreground subject.