home     galleries     new     equipment     links     about    contact

Ocotillo,   Fouquieria splendens        Images © Mark A. Chappell

Ocotillo, with its bright red blossoms and spindly, prickly stems, is a characteristic plant of deserts in the southwestern USA.   After rainfall they grow a crop of bright green leaves that fall off during dry periods.   Hummingbirds love the red flowers.   I took these photos after the very wet winter of 2017 near Palm Desert and (for the dawn scenes) in Joshua Tree National Park, California; Mt. San Jacinto can be seen in the background on some of the images.

  • Canon 5D4; Canon 100-400 Mk. II zoom or 800 mm IS or 16-35 mm F4 IS, some with fill-in flash (2017)