California Photo Scout

Bear Valley Poppy field

The remote area around Bear Valley road cannot be found in many guidebooks, but holds one of the most spectacular wildflower displays in Northern California. Flower lovers and macro photographers will enjoy the blossoms along this long stretch of partially unpaved road.

In mid spring, the fenced meadows around the road can hold an array of wildflowers painting California with vivid colors. It requires quite a stretch of imagination to expect something as beautiful as these California poppies on this dusty stretch of road, but it is worth taking the drive, regardless of the road conditions.

How to get there

Trail Log:

Highway 20 turnoff:

• 39° 0’42.57″N 122°21’38.17″W

Left turn:

• 39°18’7.17″N 122°29’18.62″W

Continue toward:

• 39°30’52.13″N 122°31’40.11″W

Right turn:

• 39°47’31.30″N 122°31’9.19″W

to Highway 5:

• 39°45’6.10″N 122°12’29.03″W

Google map link

Bear Valley Flower Map (click to enlarge)

GPS position

A good patch of poppies 39° 7’23.89″N 122°25’58.17″W

How to photograph Bear Valley and Its Wildflowers

Bee in Poppy Bud

Macro photography is always an option, even when the fields are not covered with flowers. You can always find a bush of poppies or other flowers to shoot up close. The farmers around here produce honey. If you dare, stop within 300 yards of a beehive (white boxes), to photograph bees as they pollinate the poppies.

Get low on the ground and photograph the blossoming flowers against the sun. The sunlight will make the buds almost translucent, thus greatly improving the look. Underexpose your photographs to retain all the detail in the brightly lit flower buds.

Farmers put up barbed wire to fence off the meadows. I advise you respect the signs telling you to keep off the properties. You can photograph macros directly at the shoulder of the road and you can photograph the meadows through the fence. This will restrict your compositions, especially when that perfect patch of flowers is just out of reach, behind the fence. However, it is still preferable to getting your head shot off, since the farms are “patrolled”. Take your zoom and make the best of the situation without becoming a nuisance to the farmers who do not want photographers crawling all over their property. Use the barbed wire in your compositions instead.

Barbed Wire and Poppy flowers

Take your wide-angle lens and get low on the ground to perform your magic. Wide-angle lenses distort space, making everything seem much farther stretched apart. Even a relatively small patch of flowers can look like a large meadow stretching toward infinity. The insect perspective works very well with flower patches. Use aperture priority and dial in a small aperture (large f-number) to increase your depth of field. Focus at the hyperfocal distance point.

If you do not know the hyperfocal point for your current focal length, you can use an alternative method. Enable only the center focus point, put it on a remote mountain, and turn down the focus ring until the focal point stops indicating focus. Turn the ring back slightly and look at the focus distance on your lens. Everything from ½ of that distance to infinity will be sharp. That’s just a rule of thumb and may not hold up to a critical eye for large scale printing.

Macro lenses usually have a longer focal length (e.g. 60mm – 100mm). Shoot a vertical frame with a poppy bush in the foreground and some other poppies in the background, out of focus. This too will give the illusion of an infinite field of flowers, but will look much different.

Further north on Bear Valley Road, you will get the chance to photograph many different colored wildflowers. Usually these grow in meadows around trees (shade and water), next to creeks and on the curb of the road. Look for places where water runs off and collects. Here you will be able to find flowers during years of less rain. Use your zoom lens and wide-angle lenses to make it look as if the fields stretch out forever. By cropping tight around patches of flowers, the viewer will draw the conclusion that the field goes on forever.

Flower Macros

Best Time of the Day and Best Season

The best time to see the flowers is in April, maybe during the last two weeks of April. The conditions are hard to predict as it depends on the weather. Wildflowers need a strong rainy season and about 10 days of warm sunny weather. A good time to visit is after a sprinkle or light rain has washed the dust off the flowers.

It is hard to predict which side of the road will be blooming. The only strong patch during my visit (see GPS) was better during the early afternoon.

Time required

It takes at least three hours for the entire drive from Highway 20 to Orland with frequent stops to photograph the flowers.

Equipment

• Macro Lens
• Tripod and Cable release if you are a serious macro shooter
• Wide-angle lens
• Normal zoom lens
• Blanket for laying down to take shots
• Knee-pads
• Picnic basket, since there is no food in this remote valley
• Macro filter and extension tubes
• CP filter

Difficulty Photographing

You shouldn’t be afraid to get dirty and lie down wherever there is a colorful flower. Pay attention to the cow droppings and to the barbed wire that came off the fence in some areas and lies on the ground. Make sure you do not tear your cloth when you photograph through the barbed wire fence. Cover your gear when a car drives past you on the dirt road and wait for the dust to settle.

Close Locations

• Clear Lake
• Lake Berryessa

A little further

• Sacramento
• Lake Shasta
• Mendocino
• Lassen Volcanic National Park
• San Francisco and Bay Area

Useful Resources

• Apogee Magazine
• Somebody else blogs about it

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