By David Halgrimson
This was my 4th workshop as a volunteer and my first one-day workshop. The shooting location was near Bartlett Lake/Reservoir, about 60 miles northeast of Phoenix. Our group met at Rattlesnake Cove where there is a covered picnic area.
From our meeting place we carpooled about 2 miles to an area where there were poppies and brittlebush blooming. We photographed in this area until lunch time. A few of us had fun with some cholla, a cactus with sharp spines. The cholla did not like us, and it hurt when the spines were pulled from the skin—ouch! That did not stop anyone from getting some great images, however.
After a box lunch back at Rattlesnake Cove we headed back to our new friends, the chollas. There were some great clouds in the sky so a few of us shared polarizing filters and included the clouds in our images.
Later we moved on to some Mexican poppies, some of which were white or pink and white, a rare find.
Overall, it was a great day out amongst the wildflowers and cholla be damned, we got some great images.
Watch for the Arizona Highways PhotoScapes Macro Wildflowers workshop coming in March 2022. It should be another great workshop with amazing wildflowers.
David Halgrimson is a Photo Guide with Arizona Highways PhotoScapes
