Photographing wildflowers always requires planning, anticipation, and a healthy dose of luck. I’ve studied spring flower blooms for many years and know that although there is a typical window in which they appear, you must be ready to leap into action at a moment’s notice if you want to catch the peak of the season.

In early 2013 I was living just outside of Yosemite National Park, and I had my flower radar turned up to maximum. Near the end of April, that radar went off with a bang, and I drove to Yosemite seeking flowers. Despite following one of the driest winters on record for the Sierra, that spring came to Yosemite Valley in full force. As usual the waterfalls were spouting like colossal fountains, but even more spectacular were the Yosemite dogwoods, which were blooming profusely throughout the Valley. I’ve never seen such abundance and incredible vibrancy in the blooms. The entire Merced River was surrounded by endless expanses of the white bracts, and I was overjoyed by the sheer magnitud e of this new life.

From a photography standpoint there were almost too many blooms, as it was challenging to find a composition that wasn’t overly busy. After searching all along the river I finally came to the Pohono Bridge. Climbing onto the stone walls of the bridge I spotted this delicate arrangement of blooms, their diagonal flow creating a beautiful series of layers above the deep blue waters of the Merced River.

I held my camera steady, waited for a lull in the breeze, and snapped this shot.