Bald Hills Site

Temperatures range from 40 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit all year long throughout the redwood maritime region. Starting in May the California Current moves warm surface water away from the coast, bringing deeper, colder water from the ocean’s depths close to shore. This event creates a narrow band of fog which often shrouds the coast redwoods in life-sustaining moisture during the drier summer.

This Bald Hills lie further inland, slightly east of the redwood belt. That coupled with their higher altitude result in a lower humidity and on the whole more sunlight. In late May they experience a rebirth of wildflowers. The most abundant of these are lupine, followed by the California poppy.

TIMES

The Bald Hills does not have the dense canopy created by the giant trees in the redwood belt. As such it can be a good setting for “golden light” shots created by rising or setting sun.

The coastal fog that rolls into the area on some afternoons can also create a mysterious moody setting in this area. Lacking that, an overcast day will give better more saturated colors for photographing the wildflowers.

The photo above was taken at 16mm focal length on a 2x crop sensor camera.

LENS & FILTERS

LENS: 24-70mm for 35mm sensor cameras, 17-55mm for crop sensor cameras

FILMS

Slide films: Fuji Velvia 100