The Skagit Valley in Washington accounts for 75% of tulip production in the U.S., by far the largest single area outside of Holland. Tulips were first grown in the 1800’s but the Skagit Valley didn’t start large scale growing until the early 1900’s. Since 1984, they have hosted the Tulip Festival to bring in visitors to see the fields, buy flowers/bulbs, view art, and enjoy what the area has to offer. We have been going almost every year since around 1998 with just a few off years and the pandemic closure of the last 2 years. On Monday we snuck up there for a few pictures before the crowds arrived. We did the guerilla version which means avoiding the paid parking lots, crowded controlled viewing areas and tourist areas. My wife knows the drill, she drops me off on the side of the road and drives around or parks illegally while I snap a few shots before moving on. Most years it is pretty cloudy and muddy and this year was no different. We were a little early for the full blooms, that looks like it will happen in about a week or so but it is still one of the most spectacular blasts of color you will ever see! *Note: I am not sure why when I publish my image colors get muted, but these colors were much more vibrant when shot.
The daffodils come several weeks before the tulips and are pretty much bloomed out but I thought this was kind of a cool image with the ducks and the daffodil field in the background.
Most fields will be one solid color but sometimes a stray will get in the middle of the field and offer some drama to the images.
As the tourists start to flood into the fields I lose interest in shooting. Traffic can be a nightmare, especially on the weekends but we did pretty well until these last few images.
If you ever visit for the festival, come midweek if you are not a fan of crowds and people walking in front of you while you are shooting. I can’t handle the people that walk in the middle of a row next to the sign that says “please stay out of rows or stay on path”. We may go back in a week or so when they are fully blooming but I have so many pictures from previous years I will probably get distracted and not make it. Hopefully this brightens your cloudy day!
That’s astounding. Another cool one to see is sunflower fields in full bloom, which also exist on that kind of scale for agricultural purposes.
Come to think of it, sorghum fields in bloom are pretty amazing too.
I have never seen sorghum grown, had to look up what that even looks like.
We have been out to the festival, and yeah, midweek is the time to go.
We have also been in The Netherlands during tulip season. The Skagit Valley flowers are every bit as colorful and awe-inspiring. Great photos, @Loveshaq!
But you missed out on the windmills! Lol that’s all my eldest (4YO) wants to see. And to stomp around in the perfectly muddy mud. Definitely a weekday excursion.
Most of my favorite pictures from the festivals in the past were of my daughters in the tulips in their cute rain boots. When my eldest was about a year we had her in a little chair with an umbrella and as I am shooting I turn around an about 20 Japanese tourists are shooting pictures of her over my shoulder! My wife thought it was cute, I thought it was kind of rude without asking and was worried I would see her in some ads for something in Japan!
Are these grown to sell or just for tourists to see for the festival?
Beautiful pics!
I may have asked you this before and if I did I apologize – but do you have any recommendations for a good, not super expensive starter camera that is decent? I like taking pictures but I’m not very knowledgeable about any of it. I have a Sony that I bought about five years ago – but it’s super slow and isn’t good with distance or macro. I need to take a class – but I have severe social anxiety about that kind of stuff so I keep putting it off.
If you really want to learn about photography I recommend getting a starter DSLR like a Canon Rebel T series or Nikon D5600. The Sony Alphas are great cameras, especially in low light but I think their starter one is almost $2000. I have all Canon just because I started with those long long ago but I inherited some Nikon stuff I enjoyed. The reason I say that is you can just shoot in auto modes or really learn in manual modes. You can also upgrade lenses as you learn more and figure out what kind of things you like to shoot. You can learn a ton online now without having to go to a class in person. This is a great site to learn, ask questions and see other people’s stuff…
https://www.photo.net/
Thanks @Loveshaq!
As I researched cameras the big thing I learned is there’s a tradeoff between range of control vs. size. I have a Pansonic ZS200 that I love that I bought used for not too much. It’s compact but has a lot of functions, although you are definitely not getting the fine levels of control from bigger cameras. It has a lot of zoom but still pretty small. There is a ZS100 for less $ which has less zoom. Not everyone wants a ton of zoom.
The bigger mirrorless cameras can do amazing things, but I decided I just wasn’t going to want to carry that much.
If you want compact, there are also good options from Sony, Canon and Nikon. Just take the opinions of people on forums with a grain of salt. Lots of obsessive cranks.
“Lots of obsessive cranks”
I resent & or resemble that remark! I assumed she wanted more than a point & shoot camera that you can do more manual stuff that teaches you about aperture/F-stops & shutter speeds etc. While you can do that with some point & shoots, very few really offer the control of an SLR. That said, it does no good to have a SLR if you don’t bring it with you because it is too big. Many phones take better photos than most point & shoots & that has almost killed that segment of photo gear. I’m just so trained to always carry 20 lbs of photo gear that I don’t even think twice anymore.
Very nice pics! Thanks for sharing it brightened my day!!
Beautiful…reminds me of my home country to which I have never been.