​I, like everyone else in southern California decided to take a trip to see the super bloom. I packed some gear and piled in my car along with water and snacks and hit the road. It’s a good thing I pack because it was if everyone else in California went to see these flowers.

Super bloom is the term affectionately coined to describe the seeming overnight explosion of flowers. A few days before there were no flowers, now there’s all the flower. This particular super bloom was caused by an increased amount of rainfall. For more than 7 years California has been in a severe drought. This is primarily due to the states lack of rain, and it’s high population. The states had a wet couple of months and this not only ended the drought but brought these beautiful fields of flowers. 

The golden poppy, as they are commonly called, happens to be the state flower of California. They officially became the state flower in 1903 and can be several different colors. Orange is the most popular. Red and yellow poppies are less popular but are common enough to make an appearance. Pink poppies however are the most rare to find. 

If you would like to visit the poppies now, or anytime in the future, please be sure to stay on the Path. California Parks department did close some of the parks this year from people trampling the flowers. Keep this land beautiful. ​

If yo thought the Poppies were cool, you should check out the time I went to Peru. Moreover, the very beautiful and impressive city of Arequipa 

​Episode one is one YouTube and we’re looking for feedback. ​

On day 21 of our 30-day challenge we talked about color. Today we are going to dive a little deeper into the effectiveness of a color. When taking today’s photo try to stay within one color. Sure you can take a pic of a blue wall and call it a day, or you can try to focus on one color...​

There are certain items that we own that carry with them personal significance. Choose one of those objects. Ideally something you can easily move. Now place that object somewhere else either outside or some place in your home where you normally wouldn't find that object. The goal here is to express your affection for this object in your photos. Down to the examples.

I feel I should have included in daylight in the title of today’s challenge, but I digress. Technically speaking, there’s a lot that goes into capturing an image. There are a few things we can do to learn how to better use our camera as a tool. Texture is a great way to play around with capturing detail....

In a previous challenges we played with several elements of composition, like lead lines. Lead lines are dramatic elements that help to pull your gaze toward another element in your frame. We’ve also played with balance, which is evenly dispersing those elements. There was also pattern, which are recurring elements. All these things work together. Dramatic tension is where we play with these elements and start working on telling a story. ​

Lead lines are your friend ​

Yesterday our challenge centered around color in photography. Today we focus on black and white photography. The question I have for you; is black and white photography the opposite of color photography. I hope you will use the tools from earlier challenges. Let’s look at our examples gathered from the net.

Contrast, in photography, is about the striking opposition between two elements. In the case, color. Black and white is literally the go to example of opposites. ​

The importance of color cannot be overstated in modern photography. Color pulls at our emotions and draws from our memories. Today we are working with the use of color. What that means is entirely up to you. Here a few cool examples of the use of color.

I enjoy this photo and how it simples expresses color. The shallow depth of field draws our attention to the pencils. ​