I am almost hesitant to let out the secret of Las Cienegas National Conservation Area.  If you did not know it was there you would easily miss it.  There are no roadside signs indicating its distance from your current location or “next left.”  But if you know where to look or just stumble up on it, this area of Southern Arizona is simply amazing.  The rolling hills and vast grasslands were once private ranch land and are now managed by the Bureau of Land Management as a national conservation area.  Landscape and nature photography opportunities are abundant.

Arizona Grasslands

Historic Empire Ranch

An Arizona Landscape

Tumacacori National Historic Park is about 45 minutes south of Tucson in Southern Arizona.  The park is made up of the mission, San Jose de Tumacacori, the remains of a cemetery, a round mortuary chapel, a store house and a visitors center with a museum.  Unlike the San Xavier Mission a little further north, Tumacacori Mission has not been restored and there are no plans for restoration.  Instead it has been preserved with emphasis on preventing further decay.  The interior is just a shell with faint remnants of what were once beautifully decorated walls.  The exterior and its surrounding buildings and grounds however, are very photogenic.  Tumacacori Mission offers some great Arizona photography opportunities and is worth a trip to explore and shoot.

Tumacacori Mission

f/9.0 – 1/400 sec – ISO 100 – Focal Length 75 mm

Arizona Wildflower Photography is Sure to be Amazing this Spring

I may be jumping ahead of myself with this title.  The Arizona wildflowers are not blooming quiet yet in most places.  But with weekend after weekend of rain that we have had over the last few months it is a pretty good bet that there should be some fantastic displays once the warmer weather has lingered around for a while.  We are getting up into the 70s with the 80s just around the corner.  So we should be seeing the wildflowers start popping up any time now.  April and maybe even May are sure to have some great wildflower photograph opportunities.

Here are some resources to keep an eye on to make sure you do not miss out of the wildflowers in Arizona this spring as well as a few spots around that state that I have seen great displays in years past.

Wildflower Resources

1. A great source for all things desert the Desert Botanical Garden’s Wildflower Info Site features regular reports from around the state on wildflower sitings.
2. Check out desertusa.com’s Desert Wildflower Reports 2010 for more regular wildflower reports and updates from around the Phoenix area.
3. An excellent resource for most everything Arizona related, Arizona Highways has a statewide Arizona Wildflower Guide that lists spots throughout Arizona to spot and photograph this spring’s blooms.

Arizona Wildflower Spots of Note

1. In Southern Arizona I have found wildflowers as far as the eye can see in the Saguaro National Park West (although the East park is sure to have similar displays).
2. In the Phoenix area South Mountain Park & Preserve is a great spot right within the city to spot several desert wildflower varieties.
3. Not too far from South Mountain the Desert Botanical Garden’s Harriet K. Maxwell Desert Wildflower Trail brings flowers from all over the state to one spot.  This is a great first stop on your hunt to familiarize yourself with all the varieties and their names.
4. East of Phoenix Usery Mountain Regional Park has had a lot to offer in years past and is sure to not disappoint this spring.

Established in 1752 as a Spanish presidio Tubac, AZ is now touted as an artist colony.  The little town south of Tucson on Interstate-19 is packed with galleries, trinket shops, restaurants and history.  Situated in Southern Arizona’s desert grasslands the temperatures are generally a bit cooler than Tucson and Phoenix.  You can easily spend several hours exploring and photographing the towns building, art and scenery.  Tubac is also home to the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park which is worth a visit to as well.