West Desert wildflower blooms – Nikon D810, f8, 1/4000, ISO 800, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 55mm, natural light
Two days ago on the way to Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge I noticed huge swaths of purple wildflowers blooming in the West Desert of Utah. On the way to the refuge the light wasn’t great on the wildflowers and I hoped it would be better on the way back. It was and I felt I had to stop to take some photos of the great views combined with those purple wildflowers.
There were times that the wildflowers went out as far as my eyes could see.
Sky Island Mountains and a wildflower bloom – Nikon D810, f8, 1/6400, ISO 800, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 56mm, natural light
And times when the purple wildflowers had sky island mountains in the background.
Wildflowers blooming in Utah’s West Desert – Nikon D810, f8, 1/6400, ISO 800, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 35mm, natural light
There were also times when there were large, fluffy clouds floating over the desert, wildflowers and the mountains where I couldn’t resist photographing them and why would I want to? I don’t often see wildflowers blooming like this in the West Desert and it only seems wise to photograph them when I can.
Big sky and a West Desert view – Nikon D810, f8, 1/6400, ISO 800, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 18mm, natural light
I’ve heard that people say there is nothing to see in the desert. I have to disagree. There is always something to see in the desert. Our wet spring may have helped these wildflowers to bloom so profusely and it also helped turn a relatively brownish view to green. There was so much green to be seen it was delightful.
Blooming purple wildflowers in the West Desert of Utah – Nikon D810, f8, 1/8000, ISO 800, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 135mm, natural light
Some of the swaths of purple wildflowers were huge and some were more confined but each time I saw them it made my heart skip a little beat.
Westwater tumble mustard or Blue mustard blooming in the West Desert of Utah – Nikon D500, f9, 1/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I had trouble photographing close ups of the purple wildflowers because a strong breeze had picked up and was moving the hood of my 500mm lens around and there was also a bit if heat wave distortion going on but I refused be that touron who tramples all over the wildflowers to get a better shot. I never got out of the vehicle to photograph the delicate flowers for that reason and also because it was still very muddy from the heavy rains just the day before.
I’m not sure if these purple wildflowers are Westwater tumble mustard (Thelypodiopsis elegans) which are native or if they are Blue mustard (Chorispora tenella) which is an introduced species but I am fairly certain they are from the mustard family. I do wish I could have gotten better and closer images for ID.
Native or introduced these purple wildflowers were a joy for me to see and photograph in the West Desert of Utah.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my flower, shrub and tree photos.
Hi sweetie! Love the flowers and Mt! Will use as my screen saver!
Beautiful shots of the landscape and the beautiful purple flowers. I’m a flower person and I am always looking for them.
Wildflowers are blooming everywhere this Spring. In California there are long lines of people trampling them so they can have their pictures taken in the flowers. Your flowers should be safe in Utah. Thanks for sharing!
Heart balm at its best and most beautiful. Thank you.
Wow, that is stunning! Thank you for sharing, I don’t know what I was expecting, perhaps some cactus blooms but that has the Wow! factor.
Wonderful series of landscape shots. The wildflowers are incredible. Thanks Mia.
There is nothing like an Eagle Eyes McPherson Landscape, flower photo, insect image or cloudscape…This is so beautiful!!!
Beautiful, last time we were in St George theses were out. I wasn’t sure what they were either. I also noticed the blooms opened in the morning and sunset bit closed in the full sun of the day. We just arrived in St George again this morning so I am hoping to see the blooms again.
Just beautiful Mia, thanks for sharing!