Ash Creek Images
Photographs of the West by Doug Gorsline
A Field of Northwest Balsamroot and Lupine at Dalles Mountain Ranch, WA.
If you visit Columbia Hills State Park at exactly the right time (mid-April), you'll have the opportunity to see and/or photograph large quantities of Northwest Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza deltoidia) at the peak of bloom along with Columbia Gorge Broadleaf Lupine (Lupinus latifolia var. thompsonianus) in the open fields below Dalles Mountain Road. Timing is critical. Balsamroot starts to decline very quickly after it begins to bloom.
This photo was taken with a Canon 350D (known only in the US as a Rebel XT - an embarrassingly goofy name, in my opinion) and the excellent 70-200mm f/4L lens, which foreshortens the scene and makes the flowers appear much denser than they actually are.
