Wildflowers are starting to pop up everywhere with the recent rains—best of all in an exhibit at the Main Library: Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change. 

Photographers Rob Badger and Nita Winter have been documenting California wildflowers for the past 17 years, producing images that range from spectacular landscapes to intimate floral portraits. These intrepid photographers have hiked through deserts and high mountains to capture their beautiful shots, including 50 and 100-year blooms produced by El Niño rains. The floral portraits are made with carefully draped fabrics to isolate the flower without harming the environment, as shown in the “Behind the Scenes” section of the exhibit.

The “Beast” alluded to in the exhibit title is, of course, climate change and its threat to habitat and biodiversity. Beyond revealing Nature’s beauty, these photographers intend to inspire the viewers to become like “Citizen Scientists” with an aim to protect all that remains. The exhibit contains information about California’s ecological regions—its diverse landscapes and microclimates—and how wildflowers are indicators of climate change.

Words can’t describe these magnificent images—see for yourself. 

Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change at the Jewett Gallery in the Main Library. Through March 27, 2016. 

Admission is free.

Images - 

Poppies and Giliga, Antelope Valley, California Poppy Preserve, CA

Fritillaria Recurva and Hummingbird