Helen Henry's Photography Blog

Desert Institute Presents Special Programs in Joshua Tree National Park Sunrise or Sunset Photographic Workshops with a Master Photographer Let us show you where and how to take stunning sunrise or sunset images in the Joshua Tree National Park! We can create a customized program to spend four hours in the morning or evening photographing the iconic boulders and joshua trees. This workshop is perfect for those photographers looking to improve on composition and creating unique and original imagery. Working with our instructors will help you make sense of the landscape and begin to understand how to make effective images in this truly bizarre and wonderful terrain. If you’re just a beginner, no problem, this workshop will provide you with beginning instruction in landscape photography, filter use, and sunset or sunrise silhouettes. Program Cost: 1-6 people Half Day $300 7+ people Please call 760-367-5535 for rates We can also provide a list of lodging options in the gateway communities of the Joshua Tree National Park.

On April 25, Gunnar Kuepper offers a free Basics of Digital Photography class at the Frazier Park Library, 3-5 p.m. (661-245-1267).

Poppy season is coming! Are you ready?

The Jane S. Pinheiro Interpretive Center at the reserve will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends for the duration of the wildflower season.

The reserve features eight miles of trails through gentle rolling hills, including a paved section for wheelchair access, that make the park a wonderful place to hike and explore any season. Benches along the trails are good places to sit and gaze upon wildflowers and wildlife – singing meadow larks, ravens gliding in the thermals above, lizards zipping across the trail, gopher snakes and rattlesnakes. Visitors might even spot a coyote or bobcat.

Although the reserve is home to numerous wildflower species, most people are interested in the California poppy. As of Feb. 23, due to recent rains, poppy plants were starting to germinate.

It should be at least a couple of weeks before blooms start to appear.

Reserve officials expect a peak season in late April or even early May.

Admission to the reserve is as follows: $10 per vehicle, $9 per vehicle with a senior on board (age 62 and older), $5 per vehicle with DPR Disabled Discount Card. Small buses, 9 to 24 passengers, $50. Large busses, 25 or more passengers, $100. Vehicle entrance for K-12 school groups is free with advance registration. Day-use tickets are valid for entrance on the same day to any other California State Park charging the same or lower rates.

The reserve is 15 miles west of Lancaster at 15101 Lancaster Road. From Highway 14: take the Avenue I exit and head west 15 miles. Avenue I becomes Lancaster Road.

The reserve is open from sunrise to sunset. For details, call the park at (661) 946-6092.

Joshua Tree Through the Lens 

Joshua Tree, CA, March 9, 2013 – Grab your camera and put on your hiking boots for this intensive all-day photo shoot in Joshua Tree National Park!  Craig Fucile, photography instructor at University of California Riverside Extension, will guide the class in seeing the natural beauty of the park through the camera lens. The class will begin with a special “photographers only” session at Key’s Ranch, focusing on how to capture the buildings and historic remnants at this remarkable homestead. Mid-morning the focus will shift to desert landscape.  Fucile will share tips on how to record unique rock formations and vast views of the park.  Participants are encouraged to bring a tripod with their camera.  Students will find new ways to focus on Joshua Tree National Park.

 Sponsored by the Desert Institute at Joshua Tree National Park, this field seminar meets at the Joshua Tree Visitor Center, 6554 Park Blvd., Joshua Tree, CA 92252 on Saturday, March 9, 6:30 am – 5:30 pm.  This class is offered for 1 unit of credit through the University of California, Riverside Extension for $110 ($100 for JTNPA/PINE members) or for non-credit for $85 ($75 JTNPA/PINE members). For class catalog, information, and registration call (760) 367-5535 or visit www.joshuatree.org.

Hi Everyone,

Want to help out our local California State Parks? Go to www.ParkVisitor.com and rate our local State Parks by August 31, and our parks will receive $1 for each rating!

ParkVisitor.com is teaming up with many of the State Parks in California and Utah, to help with fundraising. Rate as many parks as you want! Funds from rating our local Antelope Valley parks goes to our non-profit association, the Poppy Reserve/Mojave Desert Interpretive Association, that supports our public programs and activities, volunteer programs, and park improvements- including keeping one of our parks open that was on the closure list. 

Local parks that are participating in the fundraiser are:

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve: http://www.parkvisitor.com/parks/CA/antelope-valley-california-poppy-reserve/

Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park: http://www.parkvisitor.com/parks/CA/arthur-b-ripley-desert-woodland/

Saddleback Butte State Park: http://www.parkvisitor.com/parks/CA/saddleback-butte/

Tomo-Kahni State Historic Park: http://www.parkvisitor.com/parks/CA/tomo-kahni/

Providence Mountains State Recreation Area/Mitchell Caverns: http://www.parkvisitor.com/parks/CA/providence-mountains/

It only takes a minute- spread the word, by August 31^st!  Thanks!