Southern California- well California in general is officially in a drought-not even rain-which could mean no wildflowers- no poppies…but..
We did get just under an inch of rain in the Los Angeles area and seeing a few random poppies here and there…off I went in search of Wildflowers !
Head for the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve- 15101 Lancaster Road, Lancaster, California- near the Reserve you can see patches of bright orange!! Poppies! Poppies open up in bright sunlight and if it’s windy they tend to close up!
Photo tips-Macro lens for close-ups of individual poppies-
Wide angle 18-55mm lens for the panorama of the poppies against a backdrop of mountains and hopefully a bright blue sky.
Polarizer to intensify the sky!
Wear a hat-sunscreen or long sleeve shirts to protect yourself from the UV!
Wind- it can be very windy in the Antelope Valley- hats that you can tie to your head would be helpful- windbreaker and a partner!
Be sure to weight your tripod if you use one or don’t leave it unattended-it could get blown over!
Boots preferably-there are weeds with stickers and of course watch out for snakes- I have heard of a few stories of photographers lying down only to come face to face with a rattle snake!
http://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/ca.html
The above link is a great resource for California Wildflower Reports!
Your Photo Travel Guide 