Anyone In Or Near The Palouse?

[Brian Ellis]

I'm planning a 4 day trip to the Palouse, based in Colfax. I can go any time in June. I've photographed in the Palouse before but never at this time of year. If anyone here lives in that area or near it, I'm wondering about the status of the flowers. I understand that the last two weeks of June and first week of July are supposed to be the best times for flowers but obviously that can vary by several weeks in a given year. Also, any suggestions for specific locations would be appreciated.

I hope this isn't a silly question. I don't know anything about flowers and don't usually go out of my way to photograph landscapes with flowers. But I love the Palouse and I understand some areas are very beautiful when flowers are in bloom so I thought I'd give it a try.

[Brian Ellis]

Apparently not.

[sanking]

Apparently not.


I had never heard of the Palouse so did a web search and found an article on the Luminous Landscape, which you may already have seen. If not, it is at http://www.luminous-landscape.com/locations/palouse.shtml

Looks to be a lovely area to photograph. I am going to add it to my list of places to go. Hope to see a report of your trip there.

Sandy

[Paul Metcalf]

I was just there (Monday 6/8) and I didn't see flowers, but the wheat fields are vividly green and lush, and with the late spring storms and dramatic sky it was stunning.

[SW Rick]

Brian,

I noticed Matt Kloskowski has a brief blog from there, where he is curreently teaching a photo workshop for Great American Photography Workshops. I assume they schedule these for peaks, as this is a workshop they've give many times. His post is on lightroomkillertips.com, and workshop overview on GAPW website. Maybe he'll update with specifics, or perhaps you can email or (god forbid) twitter him.

Rick

[Jim Ewins]

Brian, usually for flowers in the Palouse area, go to a city park. For textures and crop colors they vary as the weather from the the north to the southwest by Othello. We were thru the eastern Palouse the end of April and found plenty of snowscapes and returning the 3rd week of May already tilled fields from winter wheat and new green growth from peas & grains. Plenty of barns & deserted structures. Enjoy. If you are interested in Dr Otto's One Day guide contact me by email. Jim

[Brian Ellis]

Thanks for the responses. I didn't know of the Luminous Landscape article Sandy mentioned. I just read it, thanks Sandy, you really should check the Palouse out. I've only spent a week or so there so far but I've come away with more "keepers" than on any other photography trip I can think of that was done on my own (i.e. not a workshop). I actually considered going on Matt Kloskowski's workshop and maybe I should have.

Maybe my impression of flowers in the Palouse was wrong. I didn't plan to photograph flowers as such. From things I've read I was picturing fields of flowers all over the place. Maybe I was wrong but I'm still going, whatever it is it will be different from my previous trips, which were in August-September. Thanks again for the messages.

Brian

[Eric Leppanen]

Another available resource for you:

http://shop.photographamerica.com/product-p/054-pdf.htm

[DarkroomDan]

Maybe my impression of flowers in the Palouse was wrong. I didn't plan to photograph flowers as such. From things I've read I was picturing fields of flowers all over the place. Maybe I was wrong but I'm still going, whatever it is it will be different from my previous trips, which were in August-September. Thanks again for the messages.

Brian

Brian,

Generally around this time the canola plants (another crop) are in blossom. They are bright yellow bands of the plants' flowers running along and between the green fields of winter wheat and lentils. There will also be plowed fields and short fields of the regular wheat. I don't know how the season is progressing this year. I live on the other side of the state but usually get to the palouse a time or two each year. I haven't made it yet this year.

Dan

Dan

http://www.apug.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=10530&limit=1

[Paul Metcalf]

Looks to be a lovely area to photograph. I am going to add it to my list of places to go. Hope to see a report of your trip there.
SandyThe Palouse is a fantastic place to shoot, but it's one of the most challenging for me because I'm pretty much exclusively using 8x10 (I haven't taken my 5x7 yet) for contact printing. To my minds eye the views there are wide and expansive, so with 8x10 I usually get a lot of sky, so that requires interesting skies and long lenses (18" is my longest). There are a lot of side roads for access to different views, but not a lot of roadside space to pull off safely and setup a LF system. Seems like I always get a lot of folks accessing the roads at high speeds when I've been there which makes me nervous. Many of the farmers are weary of strangers because of the problems they've had with hunters during hunting season, but asking for access might help. Wide LF systems (e.g. 7x17 or such) would seem to excel in this area, especially Pt/Pd. Camas Prairie south of Lewiston (toward Grangeville) is similar in landscape plus there are numerous wooden railroad trestles with huge spans, always a nifty subject.

[Rick Russell]

Brian,

I returned from shooting at the Palouse a week ago today. Neither the canola nor the mustard fields had yet fully blossomed. It is my understanding that the mustard was a few days from their peak, while the canola was a week or two away. This is generally the time the canola blossoms, as I was there a year ago last week and one canola field in particular was very vibrant.

Rick Russell

[Brian Ellis]

Another available resource for you:

http://shop.photographamerica.com/product-p/054-pdf.htm

Thanks Eric. I had that and I've used it on previous trips, it's been very helpful. I somehow lost it and just ordered another copy today.

[joseph therrien]

I have done some photo shooting in Palouse Falls Park. It was stunning. I think it would be beautiful in any season. The posted speed in Colfax is 25 mph, and is strictly enforced.

[srbphoto]

a little off topic. Did ayone else see the video of the guy who kayak'd off Palouse Falls? It was a new record. The video is pretty wild.

I live in Eastern Washington and we have been having a lot of thunder clouds. Most of the actual thunder storms have been over the Blue Mountains but it has produced awesome cloud formations!!!

[lfgary]

Brian I am going to the Palouse area July 3rd and 4th. I live in Portland. Let me know your impressions of the area and what you recommend. I have read that there are lots of barns to photograph, which is a favorite subject of mine.

[Glenn Thoreson]

See if you can contact Michael Harris in Grangeville. He has done some stunning work on the area. You definitely should be there for the Canola field bloom. The rolling terrain and the beautiful colors are awesome. There are lots of cool barns and such to seek out and photograph, too.

[DeBone75]

When I lived in ID my wife and I drove through there in early July. Absolutely beautiful. I was told they also grow lentils there. As a side note if you like train bridges and trestles, as you are dropping down toward Winchester and the Clearwater there are several that can be seen from the road, Now this was 9 years ago so I don't know for sure if they are still there. Gorgeous drive.

[oris642]

I'm here right now. The Canola has bloomed west of Palouse (Washtucna to Dusty), but not here.

A few tips:

1) Sunrise is around 4:30 AM. I got up this morning at 4 am and by the time I drove to a spot I was already about 15 minutes late. Sunset is about 9 pm.
2) It's getting hot. The weekend is supposed to be 85-90 degrees. Bring water.
3) Have high shoes/boots if you are going to hike into a field. It gets dusty.
4) Dust. Bring lens cleaning stuff and a can of air.
5) There is virtually no shoulder to park on. Bring a 4WD if you have one.
6) I've opened my 4X5 once. I've shot everything with my 6x17 Gaoersi so far.
7) Bring the longest lenses you have. I'm using the 180mm and am wishing that I have a cone for my 300mm. The main reason is the roads are usually built in between the hills - so the hills are quite a distance from the roads.
8) If you want a sunset you'd better get to the top of a hill before sunset; otherwise, the rolling hills block your sunset.
9) New paving on Hwy 27 between Palouse and Pullman.
10) Check the tire pressure in your spare. Not a good place to have a flat tire.

[Turner Reich]

The temperatures should be nice, you will probably be able to pop popcorn on the hood of your vehicle. I would like to go there but at a different time of year, cooler. Just checking the temp, tomorrow will be 87, I guess that is not too bad. Drink lots of water!

[Don7x17]

The temperatures should be nice, you will probably be able to pop popcorn on the hood of your vehicle. I would like to go there but at a different time of year, cooler. Just checking the temp, tomorrow will be 87, I guess that is not too bad. Drink lots of water!

Temperature in Colfax on July 2, and July 3 was running 95 at 3pm. Wheat was turning from green to brown as the weekend progressed. West of Colfax, the wheat was already golden brown. Cutting has not started, but a caravan of threshers was noted southbound out of Pullman. Exceptional but brief sunset on the 3rd. Rosalia community gas station (restoration) had an old guy dressed up in a 20's uniform. A good weekend in the Palouse.

[Jan Pedersen]

This one was taken a week ago a few miles South of Colfax 4x10 with split dark slide.
Colors look dull on this little Jpeg, the yellow flowers were really vibrant.

[Brian Ellis]

This one was taken a week ago a few miles South of Colfax 4x10 with split dark slide.
Colors look dull on this little Jpeg, the yellow flowers were really vibrant.

I spent a lot of time photographing that same field of mustard seed plants (or canola, I didn't get close enough to be able to tell which it was). Unfortunately I can't post any of the images because they weren't made with a LF camera. There was also a nice field of mustard seed plants on the way to St. John (north and west of Colfax). I spent some time talking with the farmer who owned that field. He jokingly said he could make more money by charging all the photographers who photograph it than he can by harvesting and selling the plants.

The trip was great, I'll be going back (for the 4th time) this August. Again, sorry I can't post any of the images.

[Jan Pedersen]

I will be going back soon to, it was my first trip there and it was actually initiated by your post here. Thanks.
Believe i saw that field up by St. John but that was also the only two in the Palouse area. There was another large yellow field just East of Dayton.

[Brian Ellis]

I will be going back soon to, it was my first trip there and it was actually initiated by your post here. Thanks.
Believe i saw that field up by St. John but that was also the only two in the Palouse area. There was another large yellow field just East of Dayton.

Thanks Jan, I'm glad you liked the area.

There was another canola or mustard seed field on a bluff way above downtown Colfax that looked great from the street but I never could figure out how to get to it.

I think you might like August in the Palouse even better than this time of year. That's when they're harvesting the wheat so you get all the patterns cut into the hills by the combines. If you go to Don Kirby's web site you can see a lot of that kind of thing though he photographs in black and white. It was his book "Wheat Country" that first brought the Palouse to my attention and made me want to photograph there. I haven't been disappointed.

[Brian Ellis]

Brian I am going to the Palouse area July 3rd and 4th. I live in Portland. Let me know your impressions of the area and what you recommend. I have read that there are lots of barns to photograph, which is a favorite subject of mine.

Sorry I didn't see your message until today, which is obviously too late for me to be of any help.

[Don7x17]

And another Canola field between Thorton and Rosalia.

You are correct about harvest -- its outstanding up in the Palouse.

And for those in the Bend/Portland area, the wheat harvest in the Dufur area is also quite interesting. The hills aren't the same as the wind driven loess of the Palouse, but close.