Meadow View Nature Area

After another beautiful sunrise with the Bluebonnets, I followed an online tip and returned to a place that I'd checked out in the past -- the Meadow View Nature Area. My previous visit was a dud -- very few blooming wildflowers of any kind, let alone Bluebonnets. This time, a vast improvement!

It actually appeared when I first arrived that the area was going to be a bust again.  For one, the road in had a locked gate.  Of course, that's no obstacle for a determined photographer with two legs.  But walking in there were virtually no flowers in bloom until I crested the hill and got a clear view down to Bardwell Lake.  Jackpot!

The clouds were heavier than these shots make them appear.  I had to wait patiently through long overcast periods for brief windows of good light.  But those windows were worth the wait.

I regret not getting down closer to the ground for this shot.  I love the lone tree, but think the composition would be better if the opposite shoreline didn't cut right through it.

I always enjoy trying to shoot directly in the sun to see what I get.  My HDR blend of three bracketed shots actually didn't work out.  Fortunately, one of the single images did.

More experimenting.  I shot these Indian Paintbrush standing out in a sea of Bluebonnets once with as fast a shutter speed as I could...

... then again with a slow one trying to capture the movement from the heavy breeze that would blow through periodically.  I'm pretty equally fond of them both!

I actually drove past this barn, then after thinking about it turned around and drove back to shoot it.  I love the vibrant colors and the numerous mounted deer racks.  If you're going to hunt animals for sport, I guess there's no sense being shy about it.

I was only in Ennis for less than four hours, but in that time I saw everything I needed to.  Another great Bluebonnet season!