Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app
Continue in app Continue in browser

BoredPanda Add post form topAdd Post
Tooltip close

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here.

Here Are Our 28 Favorite Pics From Our Book About Wildflower Fields In California And Elsewhere
User submission
1.2K
5.5K

Here Are Our 28 Favorite Pics From Our Book About Wildflower Fields In California And Elsewhere

We Spent 27 Years Photographing Wildflowers In California And Other Western StatesWe Have Been Taking Pictures Of Wildflowers For 27 Years, Here Are Our 28 Best ShotsWe Have Been Taking Pictures Of Wildflowers For 27 Years, Here Are 28 Of Our FavoritesWe Are Partners In Both Life And Photography And We've Been Taking Pictures Of Wildflowers For 27 YearsWe're Enthralled With Wildflower Blooms And We've Been Shooting Them For 27 Years NowHere Are Our 28 Favorite Pics From Our Book About Wildflower Fields In California And ElsewhereWhen We First Saw The Desert Fields Bloom, We Were So Mesmerized That We're Still Doing It 27 Years LaterWe've Been Photographing Wildflowers In Their Natural Habitat And Without Plucking Them For 27 YearsWe've Been Photographing Wildflowers Without Plucking Them In Their Natural Habitat For 27 YearsWe Were So Awestruck When We First Saw The Desert Fields Bloom That We've Kept Revisiting Them For 27 Years
ADVERTISEMENT

These are some of our favorite images in our new coffee table book, “Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change.”

How our journey began (by Rob Badger):

On a warm and windy spring day in 1992, I witnessed what was then a rare and spectacular wildflower display in the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, a California state park in the western Mojave Desert. I was awestruck by what was before me. During twenty years of photographing the West’s dramatic, iconic landscapes, I had never seen the desert so alive, shimmering with such an explosion of color and life. Experiencing such intense beauty was magnetic, intoxicating, and almost overpowering.

That evening I called home to Nita, my sweetie and fellow photographer. I described as best I could how it felt to see the wind move in waves across a vast sea of glowing orange California poppies and purple birds-eye gilia blossoms. Hearing my excitement, she knew she had to see this for herself. Because these flowers would soon disappear in the drying winds and growing desert heat, I quickly returned to San Francisco, where Nita was between photo assignments. We immediately drove back to the poppy reserve to enjoy and photograph this unbelievable beauty together. We did not know then that this was the beginning of a lifetime adventure exploring and photographing what we believed to be a limitless world of wildflowers.

ADVERTISEMENT

Nita and I share an intense desire and commitment to using our work in ways that benefit both nature and humanity. For decades, her photographic projects have celebrated human diversity and helped members of underserved communities feel a much-needed sense of pride. My work for many years focused on both land conservation and the environmental destruction caused by human activities such as development, logging, and mining. I was becoming discouraged and emotionally burned out by what I witnessed and documented.

Photographing wildflowers opened up a new world for both of us. It allowed us to collaborate in many different ways and brought us closer together as photographers and as partners. Our photography now included both the grand landscape and a variety of ways to capture the world of a single flower. Exploring new areas, developing new skills, and learning more about native plants and where they live consistently brought joy into our lives and lifted my spirits. Searching for new places and flowers was like a magical treasure hunt, for it seemed that there would always be new wildflowers to discover, photograph, and share.

You can learn more in our new book, “Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change,” co-published with the California Native Plant Society.

ADVERTISEMENT

More info: wildflowerbook.com | winterbadger.com | Kickstarter

Photographing wildflowers opened up a new world for both of us

Searching for new places and flowers was like a magical treasure hunt

California poppies, Lupine and Desert goldfields, Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve with San Bernadino Mountains in the background, California.

ADVERTISEMENT

California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), Ring Mountain Open Space Preserve, Corte Madera, California.

It seemed that there would always be new wildflowers to discover, photograph, and share

ADVERTISEMENT

Desert Canterbury bells (Phacelia campanularia) and Bigelow’s monkeyflower (Mimulus bigelovii) in desert wash during a “100 Year Bloom” in Joshua Tree National Park, California.

Set up of natural light studio and Datura wildflower, Joshua Tree National Park, California.

ADVERTISEMENT

Datura (Datura wrightii), “Wrapped” Series, Joshua Tree National Park, California.

Poppies and wildflowers on hillside, Hungry Valley Vehicular State Park, Super Bloom, Tehachapi Mountains, California.

Echo azure butterfly (Celastrina echo) on blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum), Cascade Canyon Open Space Preserve, Marin County, California.

ADVERTISEMENT

Desert sunflowers (Geraea canescens) and eroded lake deposits, Death Valley National Park, California.

California poppy and birds-eye gilia, Pepperwood Preserve, Sonoma County, California.

ADVERTISEMENT

Desert candle (Caulanthus inflatus), Tansy phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia)detail left, Hillside daisy (Monolopia lanceolata), 2017 “Super Bloom,” Carrizo Plain National Monument, California.

Scarlet Fritillary (Fritillaria recurva) and rufous hummingbird, Upper Table Rocks, southern Oregon (also found in California)

Wildflowers after wildfire, Butts Canyon Road, Lake County, California.

ADVERTISEMENT

Cobweb Thistle (Cirsium occidentale) with dew drops, Mt. Tamalpais, Marin County, California.

2017 wildflower super bloom, Carrizo Plain National Monument, California.

Leopard lily (Lilium pardalinum), Mt. Tamalpais State Park, Marin County, California.

2017 wildflower super bloom, Temblor Range, Carrizo Plain National Monument, California.

Giant Red Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata), “Contact” series, Inyo National Forest, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California.

Common Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia), Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington (also found in California).

ADVERTISEMENT

Ground iris (Iris macrosiphon), “Wrapped” Series, Ring Mountain Open Space Preserve, Corte Madera, California.

Cover of our new award-winning coffee table book

6Kviews

Share on Facebook
WinterBadger

WinterBadger

Author, Community member

Read more »

Internationally acclaimed, award-winning photographers Rob Badger and Nita Winter have been life partners and creative collaborators for over 3 decades. In 1992, they discovered and fell in love with California's spectacular wildflower blooms in the Mojave Desert's Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. This inspired their 27 year journey photographing wildflowers throughout the West. In 2016, their documentary art project became a traveling exhibit, “Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change.” Their new award-winning book a companion to this exhibit has 190 images and essays by 16 passionate environmental leaders, scientists and nature writers to inspire hope and action.

Read less »
WinterBadger

WinterBadger

Author, Community member

Internationally acclaimed, award-winning photographers Rob Badger and Nita Winter have been life partners and creative collaborators for over 3 decades. In 1992, they discovered and fell in love with California's spectacular wildflower blooms in the Mojave Desert's Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. This inspired their 27 year journey photographing wildflowers throughout the West. In 2016, their documentary art project became a traveling exhibit, “Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change.” Their new award-winning book a companion to this exhibit has 190 images and essays by 16 passionate environmental leaders, scientists and nature writers to inspire hope and action.

Titas Burinskas

Titas Burinskas

Moderator, Community member

Read more »

This dude right here? He works as a Community Manager at Bored Panda. Has no back-story, cause his spine works just fine. He writes about himself in third-person, and in first-person about others. Fell in love with storytelling and cannot let that love go. Now, he's here to help you make your own story simply beautiful. Secretly makes cute music samples and writes stories in the dark that nobody has ever heard of before.

Read less »

Titas Burinskas

Titas Burinskas

Moderator, Community member

This dude right here? He works as a Community Manager at Bored Panda. Has no back-story, cause his spine works just fine. He writes about himself in third-person, and in first-person about others. Fell in love with storytelling and cannot let that love go. Now, he's here to help you make your own story simply beautiful. Secretly makes cute music samples and writes stories in the dark that nobody has ever heard of before.

What do you think ?
Add photo comments
POST
kimskinner avatar
Kim Skinner
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Beautiful photos! Thank you for sharing and bringing some joy to my day!

nita_4 avatar
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank you Kim. You are most welcomed. Bringing joy into people's lives was our intention. So glad it is working.

Load More Replies...
hazescarawesome48 avatar
SilverRozFox
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The flowers are so beautiful 😍!!!! Thank you for your work on helping people realise the destruction that we cause.

nita_4 avatar
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You are most welcomed. We hope to also reach people who don't realize there are other options than just destroying nature for our own species's benefit and enjoyment. Our book includes 18 short stories by 16 passionate environmental leaders, scientists and nature writers with 25 simple steps you can take to make a difference. Hope to get this into thousands of libraries and people's homes over the next year. It's our commitment to use our art and talent to inspire action.

Load More Replies...
aarushishah avatar
that one sushi
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

one of my hobbys is photography and i wish to be able to take photos like that

nita_4 avatar
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We didn't start that way. Rob has been photographing for over 50 years and Nita over 45 years. Practice, practice, practice with a lot of patience helps. Keep at it. Having fun is so important.

Load More Replies...
Load More Comments
kimskinner avatar
Kim Skinner
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Beautiful photos! Thank you for sharing and bringing some joy to my day!

nita_4 avatar
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank you Kim. You are most welcomed. Bringing joy into people's lives was our intention. So glad it is working.

Load More Replies...
hazescarawesome48 avatar
SilverRozFox
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The flowers are so beautiful 😍!!!! Thank you for your work on helping people realise the destruction that we cause.

nita_4 avatar
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You are most welcomed. We hope to also reach people who don't realize there are other options than just destroying nature for our own species's benefit and enjoyment. Our book includes 18 short stories by 16 passionate environmental leaders, scientists and nature writers with 25 simple steps you can take to make a difference. Hope to get this into thousands of libraries and people's homes over the next year. It's our commitment to use our art and talent to inspire action.

Load More Replies...
aarushishah avatar
that one sushi
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

one of my hobbys is photography and i wish to be able to take photos like that

nita_4 avatar
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We didn't start that way. Rob has been photographing for over 50 years and Nita over 45 years. Practice, practice, practice with a lot of patience helps. Keep at it. Having fun is so important.

Load More Replies...
Load More Comments
You May Like
Related on Bored Panda
Related on Bored Panda
Trending on Bored Panda
Also on Bored Panda