On our December trip to California, we spent some time photographing in the Alabama Hills after we left Death Valley. The Alabama Hills on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains near Lone Pine, CA. If the area looks familiar to you, it’s probably because you’ve seen it in the movies or on TV. The rocky terrain has been used as filming locations for everything from westerns to Star Trek movies.
We spent a few hours in the Alabama Hills late one afternoon. The rocks were incredible. I struggled with how to photograph the rocks, and finally decided not to concentrate on them. Instead, I took some time to photograph the rugged plants that were growing in the area.
Since we were there in December, most of the plants were dried out. But even dormant for the cold weather, they were beautiful. They also made me want to return some year in the spring. I’d love to see what they look like green and flowering.
The first few plants I photographed were some grassed growing in the cracks of the rocks.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
In one of the small canyons, I was able to photograph not only the plants growing on the rocks, but also the wide variety of plants growing in the rugged terrain.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins
And finally, one plant set against a background of the incredible rocks so typical of the Alabama Hills.
(c) 2009 Patty Hankins