Bluebonnets of Spring

When April arrives in north Texas it is bluebonnet season.  We get spring wildflowers from late March through June but the bluebonnet is premier wildflower in Texas.  Most of central and north Texas is covered in bluebonnets for the first two weeks of April.  The Indian paintbrush also peaks in this time giving a nice highlight of red to go with the blue of the bluebonnet.

I see flowers all over north Texas.  Patches of bluebonnets dot the roadside and cover pastures.

You might think all those flowers make for easy flower photography.  They don't. 

The problem is not finding flowers it is finding the right location to build a landscape photo.  You need flowers and more.  A mid-ground and background to build the scene.  Great clouds help too.

It is finding all of that together that is tough.  I have put a great deal of looking at Google Maps and driving to see what might make a good location.  Since the flowers are only around for a few weeks it is tough to scout locations in summer, so the spots that look good on the map sometime lack any bluebonnets.  Luckily though, that effort has paid off somewhat and I now have a few spots I can frequent.  

Here is sunrise at my favorite location in Ellis County.

I visited here three successive Saturdays hoping for a great sunrise.  Third time was the charm and it all came together-wildflowers, distant view, and sunrise.