Desert Wildflowers | A Journey through Joshua Tree National Park from Casey Kiernan / Joshua Tree

Timelapse and film of Desert Wildflowers, taken entirely in Joshua Tree National Park during the Winter/Spring of 2015.
Music: "River of Sky" Composed and performed by Jami Sieber (BMI 2013) jamisieber.com

Join us at joshuatreeworkshops.com for Astro/Timelapse Workshops.

During the Winter & Spring of 2015, I spent many days camping and traveling thru Joshua Tree National Park, filming the amazing splendor of Spring as it unfolded. During the month of April, at the height of wildflower season, I was in the park almost every day - and night.

With the help of the "Mojave Desert Wildflowers" guide (Pam MacKay), and a map of the Park, I set out to explore as many regions (micro-climates) as I could find - each one hides its own special collection of springtime delights. I would come back to each spot, week after week, to find different colors and different blossoms. As I set my equipment up to film the blossoms, the Hummingbirds would show up like they owned the place. They didn't care that I was filming, they were hungry!

For the plant names in the film, I met with some Botanists at Joshua Tree National Park - James, Katy & Evan. Thanks - There are over 700 plant species in the park - so identification can be a challenge!

Spring also announces the arrival of the Milky Way in the night-time sky. It appears very late in the night as first, but as the weeks progress, it appears sooner and sooner. Out East in the park is where the darkest skies are found - which is also where you will find Arch Rock.

While it is impossible to showcase every spring wildflower in just 5 minutes, I tried to fit in as many clips as I could. There are many more sequences on my hard drives. Maybe I should create a Desert Wildflowers - Part II - Let me know!

All footage (video and timelapse) was taken using a Canon 5D III on Kessler CineDrive Motion-Control equipment. My lenses include: Canon F2.8 16-35mm, Canon F2.8 70-200mm II, Rokinon F2.8 14mm and featuring the amazingly super sharp Canon F2.5 50mm Macro.

Enjoy!

Casey Kiernan
joshuatreeworkshops.com

Desert Wildflowers | A Journey through Joshua Tree National Park from Casey Kiernan / Joshua Tree on Vimeo.