About a week ago, I hiked the Esmeralda Basin trail, which is one of my favorite wildflower hikes this time of year. Every time I go, I notice something new, and this year's visit was no exception.
First, two classic flower-and-mountain landscapes, with lots of scarlet gilia (or skyrocket) in the foreground. These were from the same vantage point. I think the lighting and depth are more interesting in the first, but I do enjoy the valley perspective in the second. Both F/14.
Next, a meadow of shooting star and a lone paintbrush that caught my eye. The Esmeralda Basin has a fun diversity of flowers, partially because some meadows are quite dry (like the one above, with the scarlet gilia) and some are wetter (like the one below; shooting star likes these conditions). F/18.
The summit was quite cold and windy, and I wasn't able to do much photography. I did, however, like this shot of Hawkins Mountain through short, weather-worn trees. F/16.
Now for some closer flower shots. First, what I think is a color variant of scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata), which is usually red. I've never seen it growing in a different color like this. F/6.3.
Next, shooting star (genus Primula). I like the linear contrast between the angled foreground stem and the straight background stems. F/5.
Below is a flowering shrub that I'm guessing is something in the genus Rhododendron. Best guess is either western Labrador tea (Rhododendron neoglandulosum) or white rhododendron (Rhododendron albiflorum), probably the former. F/5.
Lastly, some sort of buckwheat (genus Eriogonum), perhaps arrow-leaf buckwheat (Eriogonum compositum). I had to do this one handheld, so the sharpness isn't fantastic, but it's still fun to have a closeup of a new flower. F/4.5.
