Pictures Of Wild Flowers

Machu Picchu? Not the best spot in its neighborhood

As we scrambled down from some ruins high above the Peruvian village of Ollantaytambo, a 13-year-old boy approached. With his obsidian-black bangs, ruddy face and green stone necklace, he could have been a time traveler, except for his zippered jacket and jeans. His purpose was to sell us a woven bracelet or two, but his mind took a quick turn into the past.

“The Incas,” he said abruptly, “were very big people.”

That is a widely held opinion in Peru’s Sacred Valley. Understandably. Whether those who once ruled much of South America were physically big is a matter of conjecture, but even now, almost 500 years later, their presence in this valley is enormous and their descendents are proud of it.

Nearly all tourists who enter the valley are headed for Machu Picchu, the best-preserved Inca city and deservedly touted as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. It is getting even more attention this summer; July 24 is the 100th anniversary of its “discovery” by Yale professor Hiram Bingham III. But visitors would be short-changing themselves if they don’t linger in one or more of the villages leading to the great site.

Towns such as Ollantaytambo and Pisac were built by the Incas in the 1400s. They are surrounded by ruins, some in complexes bigger than Machu Picchu, and built on mountain slopes steep enough to cause vertigo. Looking down from them is like viewing an aerial photograph. Looking up at them, remembering that the Incas had no iron tools or the wheel, instills a sense of awe.

These towns also have something Machu Picchu lacks: People. The women wear traditional clothes — vibrant, multicolored shawls and full skirts, and high straw hats, bowlers or fedoras. Long braids hang down their backs. Families chow down on benches at portable cooking carts, their plates heaped with choclo (corn with kernels the size of Milk Duds), beans, peppers, and potatoes while stray dogs watch for scraps.

The people speak Quechua, the language of their ancestors. They are living Incas.

My wife and I intended to hurry directly to Machu Picchu from Cuzco, the high-altitude city of about 300,000 that once served as the Inca capital. Friends from our hometown of Seattle who have put down roots in Peru set us straight. They told us that the best way to see the Inca heartland is to fly from Lima to Cuzco, then go directly by taxi to Ollantaytambo (pronounced O-yan-tie-TAM-bo), population 2,000, and save Cuzco for later. It was great advice. Besides introducing us to small-town life, their approach gave us time to adjust to the altitude. Cuzco, at 11,203 feet, is more than 3,000 feet higher than Machu Picchu. The towns in the Sacred Valley are between the extremes, making for a comfortable transition.

Yellowstone Wildflowers | Field Journaling

If you want to catch the wildflowers in full bloom in Yellowstone, this year should be a good one. Last year wasn’t shabby as this photo can tell you. Late July and Early August are usually good times to catch them, but if you missed them in one location, or they aren’t quite ready in another, head up or down in elevation. Usually the water lilies on Isa Lake are blooming around now – and if you’re there, bring out the binoculars and watch in the rocks (across the road from the parking lot with the information sign) as you listen for the high chirping whistle of the Pika who live there.Although I have not heard from anyone about how the wild flowers are coming on, after a snowy winter and spring - I hope my next trip to the park will give a few photo shoots largest of its kind .

I took this picture while taking the Yellowstone Association class with Susan Zwinger: The Illustrated Journal for the heart, the art and science - a pivotal point in the direction that I took to get where I am now and pointing the way to where I hope to go. In fact, I think I'm just beginning to realize the tremendous impact that is having slight lag time. It’s been nearly one year (+ one week) since I took the class – and this photo.  Our assignment was to sketch wildflowers, but with this absolute visual feast before me, that was like asking me to just pick one or two crumbs! Nope, had to use the camera here and let the flowers, sky, and hills feed into and fill the card(s). A part of what I try to capture in my photography is the essence of being there. I finally processed this image so I can still feel the lift of my heart as it soared as I wandered through the flowers, careful of my step – trying not to trample any. I know I’ve got it processed well when I can feel the sun on my back, and then the coolness from the shade of the clouds that came just as I began to feel too hot. Those whose medium is paint, colored pencils or pastels might be able to capture that same lift I felt, but my main medium is the camera and then photoshop to encourage the photo to grow into the one I have in my memory – or the one I visualized as I released the shutter.

This is one photo I’ve slated to be including in the images I’ll offer as prints hopefully in the next few weeks – it just depends on how much I can get done on this and a few other projects in the works.  I also need to order test images to make sure they’ll process how I hope they will.

Mojave Desert Wildflowers, A Field Guide to Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Mojave Desert, Including the Mojave National Preserve, Death Valley National Park, and Joshua Tree National Park

Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers 2, A Field Guide to Common Wildflowers and Plants of the Prairie Midwest

Texas wildflowers, a field guide

Ozark wildflowers, a field guide

Sierra Nevada wildflowers, a field guide to common wildflowers and shrubs of the Sierra Nevada, including Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks