Just Follow the Water

Eastern Washington is often stereotyped as a desert, and for much of its acreage, this is true. The ecosystems can get very interesting, however, as you approach more consistent water sources - be they creeks, lakes, wetlands, or even a depression or north-facing slope that retains more water.

The Asotin Creek canyon is one such area. Between the steep basalt canyon walls, on which grow mostly sagebrush and grasses, is a lush riparian environment, full of cottonwood, alder, Ponderosa pine, and plenty of shrubs. I visited this area both to get a chance to see this environment and to get out in a wildlife refuge before hunting season really gets underway.

This morning's adventure also continued my ongoing saga of lonely trailheads in Asotin County: I only saw one other party all day. The area does see more use, though: There were horse prints and droppings along the trail, and plenty of garbage around the trailhead parking lot. And nothing makes you feel safe and at home like some of that garbage consisting of spent shells...

Anyway.

The first image comes to you courtesy of Headgate County Park, which is right along Asotin Creek Road. There are no trails, bathrooms, or established campsites; the park consists of a gravel road, with signs marking the places where you can camp and drive and the places you can't. That's it. As far as walking, you can stomp your way through the grass on some very overgrown vehicle tracks. So, although the setting is pretty, it's not necessarily a place I'll be chomping at the bit to make a million return trips to.

I liked the way the early morning sunlight was falling on the cottonwoods, and wanted to include some of the desert cliffs in the background to tell the story of this interesting environment. In retrospect, it would have been nice to have the cliffs be a bit more prominent, but this does pretty well. F/22.

The rest of the images come from the Asotin Creek Wildlife Area, along the North Fork Asotin Trail. It's a similar concept to the one above, with red rosehips in the foreground. This one is looking up the canyon a bit more diagonally, which makes for a slightly more interesting perspective. F/29.

Below is Asotin Creek itself, surrounded by lush growth and overshadowed by the dry canyon walls. F/22.The shutter speed was 1/3 of a second, which blurred the water a bit. I wouldn't have minded more blur, but it was actually quite bright, and that was the best I could do.

The next three images feature aster flowers in various stages of blooming. All of them used fairly wide apertures to blur the background and isolate the flower/bud.

A Butte-iful Afternoon

If you ever want to get away from it all - and I mean actually get away from it all - I have the place for you. Go to Asotin County. Once you get south of the Clarkston-Asotin "metropolitan area," it's a whole lot of very empty country - wide-open farmed plateaus, and lots of ridges and deep canyons, many of which are a part of wildlife refuges or the Umatilla National Forest.

My destination yesterday was Fields Spring State Park, which I think marks the beginning of Blue Mountains topography. Even on a nice Saturday, the campground was half-full at best and hardly anyone else was on the trails. (Just try getting that within an equivalent distance of Seattle!) The hike to Puffer Butte within the park is short, and the forest isn't all that interesting, largely because the understory is very dense and kind of scraggly (although the service roads give better views of the forest proper, something to remember for any return trip).

But that's not why you hike to Puffer Butte - you make the hike for the views (and wildflowers if you're there in the spring). You can see down into the dramatic Grande Ronde River canyon, look at parts of the Snake River canyon and, if the weather's right, catch a far-off glimpse of the Wallowa Mountains (they were faintly visible yesterday, but did not show up very well in photographs).

Given the nature of the hike, then, most of these images are variations on a theme, so bear with me. All were taken at wide apertures - in fact, all of the images in this post were shot at f/22, because I wanted everything in focus in all cases. The sunny weather played a bit of havoc with my metering, so a fair number of the shots are a bit underexposed, but not too badly.

The first pair looks at the view with some grasses and spent flowers in the foreground. I thought that would add some depth, as well as creating a very late-summer, desert-y sort of mood. These are both basically the same angle, but at different tripod heights and focal lengths. The second was shot lower and at a slightly wider focal length. The first places more emphasis on the view; the second highlights the dried-up flowers in the foreground. I'm not sure which I like better; they each tell a different story.

The next image incorporates the sky into the composition. I really liked the billowy clouds that were all over the sky, and wanted to put those against the view. The polarizing filter really helped in this case, deepening the blue sky and, thus, bringing out the clouds.

In the next, a sagebrush-like plant (genus Artemisia?) fills up the foreground. In this case, I used a graduated neutral-density filter to darken the sky. I think that it's ultimately overdone, but that's an easier problem to deal with than having it overexposed!

Next, I noticed a little spot in the midst of the butte's dry face that had an aspen tree and some little shrubs. I am not sure why this oasis exists as such, but I thought it would be interesting to juxtapose it against the ridges and canyons beyond. The contrast and white balance look a bit odd, but I think it's an interesting composition; white balance and contrast can be improved.

The next image is not as striking as the others, but I posted it because I think it highlights a cool aspect of the view from Puffer Butte - look closely at the lower right and you can see the Grand Ronde River snaking through its canyon. Quite a ways down!

Below is the one image I walked away with from the forest. Check out the wolf lichen! It was all over this Ponderosa pine. It was a more greenish hue than shows up in this image.

Palouse Yourself

Well, this is the first of my posts living on the dry side of the state (or so they tell me - it's rained every day since I've been here!). This morning I went out to Phillips Farm Park near Moscow, ID. While not spectacular, it's pleasant, and was a nice way to start easing back into photography after my  busy two-week hiatus. (Photography is like playing an instrument; you have to stay in practice). It might be worth a return trip in the fall, though, when the aspen groves start to turn color.

Near the trailhead, there is some old farm equipment set out for display at some point. The machines and the signs describing them are a bit old, but I think that makes them look more interesting, at least from a photographic standpoint. The flowers and seed heads in the foreground belong to teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris). I used f/16 to get everything in focus.

Below is a ponderosa pine in the foreground, with some aspen and other trees in the middle and the rolling hills of the Palouse in the background. Although even this picture shows human influence - there are faintly visible power lines in one spot - this gives a glimpse of the diversity the Palouse possessed before its thralldom to the plow. F/20.

The third is again of teasel, this one still flowering. I think it's pretty and deserving of a second look, even if it is invasive (a Class C noxious weed in Washington). This image has a nice symmetry to it, I think. F/4.5.

Return to Paradise, Pt. 2

Lake Ann Trail

Like the last time I visited the Lake Ann trail, I never made it to the lake - this time be design, as I knew I would be at the lake during mostly-useless (particularly so at an open location like the lake) midday lighting. Even as it was, I arrived later than I would have liked, but with lighting still acceptable for landscapes - within about three hours of sunrise. I've heard some use the rule of thumb that as long as your shadow is at least as long as you are tall, you have good lighting, and that usually works fairly well.

The first pair of images show basically the same perspective, with one using the sun and one not. I haven't decided which I like better - including the sun itself is always compelling, but the second image has less dead space. In both cases, I used f/22, to get everything in focus and achieve the star/ray effect in the sun. I also used a polarizing filter. I've read in a few places that it's unnecessary to use one when looking directly toward the sun, but it can still sometimes reduce glare from leaves and other surfaces, as it did in this case. The mountain in the background is Shuksan.

The image below is very similar to one I took last year at the same location (see it here). The contrast is higher in this one, but the side/backlighting gives this one more depth. F/25 to get everything in focus (at least as much as possible - the background is still not quite as sharp as I'd prefer).

Despite the early hour of the next landscape, the contrast was quite high. I like the composition, though, and think it might be worth some experimentation in Lightroom. I used f/22 to get both the valerian flowers and the background mountain in focus.

Now we'll move on to some closeup/detail shots from the trail. These are easier to do all day because you need only a small shaded area to achieve good lighting, and you have more ability to even shade the shot yourself if need be.

For the first one, a grass or sedge of some kind/ F/4.5.

The next image is of western red columbine (Aquilegia formosa) - don't need a book for that one! I liked how these blossoms were clustered in sort of a line. I used f/3.3 to isolate the front flower as much as I could.

Below is foamflower (Tiarella trifoliata, I think). There's a bit of dead space on the bottom left, unfortunately, but otherwise I like this one. And I've never gotten a respectable image of foamflower before, despite the fact that it's incredibly common. I stopped down slightly to f/5.6, as the background was still blurred adequately.

This flower belongs to a shrub that I found in my plant guide a while ago, but didn't write down, and now that guide is buried. I'll update this post when I get a chance next week to dig it back out. I liked how dark the background was; I think that really brings out the flower and the leaf patterns. The white balance is a bit warm, but that's an easy problem to fix in Lightroom when editing from RAW. F/3.5 to isolate the flower as much as possible.

Artist Point

On the last evening of my trip, I visited the viewpoint of Artist Point for evening and sunset lighting. The first image looks at Mount Baker itself. I liked how the view was not just of the mountain but also of cliffs and steep slopes surrounding it. I included trees in the composition to add some depth. F/22 to get it all in focus. In this and all my other blue-sky images of the post, I used a polarizing filter to deepen the blue of the sky. (In some cases, not too much, though...I'll explain later.)

The next image looks down the Swift Creek Valley; Baker Lake is in the background. When I unpack my maps next week or something, I'll figure out what peak that is in the background and update the post. F/22 to keep everything in focus, from the foreground tree to the far background. I included the foreground tree in the composition for some depth/contrast.

Next, we return to Mount Baker, with the leaves of some sort of mountain ash (genus Sorbus) in the foreground. (As with my maps, my plant ID books are all packed away so that'll have to do for now! I'll update this post if I get it figured out.)

Below is Mount Baker again, this time at sunset. I zoomed up on the mountain to call attention to the smaller sunlit areas. I included a bot of the ridge at the lower right for some depth. I used a polarizing filter, but didn't rotate it all the way as I sometimes do, because the sky would have looked odd. (Mountain air is often more responsive to polarization, perhaps because the air is clearer. Under the right conditions, at the right time of day and at the right angle from the sun, you can make a blue sky look black with it!)

Below are two almost identical shots of Mount Shuksan, with Shuksan Arm in front of it, just before and just after sunset, respectively. I love how rapidly the colors change at sunset. Again, I used a polarizing filter; I was facing almost directly away from the sun, so its effects were not as dramatic as they would have been had I been at a right angle.

Return to Paradise, Pt. 1

These images come from a recent midweek camping trip I took in the Mount Baker Highway area. The weather was much sunnier than I would have liked, but this was my last chance to visit that area this year, so I had to make do!

Horseshoe Bend Trail

I arrived in the area during the mid-afternoon of the first day. Not having the time to do anything ambitious, I sauntered on over to the Horseshoe Bend Trail, which departs from the Douglas Fir Campground and travels along the North Fork Nooksack River.

The first image looks up the aforementioned river, which Church Mountain (I think) in the background. I was a bit worried about contrast but it isn't too bad - the sunlit and shaded areas don't line up well horizontally, ruling out the use of a graduated neutral density filter, which I initially considered using. Thankfully, it wasn't necessary. F/14 was enough to put everything in focus, and a shutter speed of 1/3 of a second blurred the water nicely.

The second image is from a somewhat higher viewpoint, with a bigleaf maple in the foreground and red alder branches and trunks also visible. I wanted to portray the lushness of the forest there while still including the river in the composition. F/14 was enough to get everything in focus in this case; a shutter speed of 1 second blurred the water's motion.

Ruth Creek and Hannegan Pass

The first image comes from the road to Hannegan Pass; there are a few spots with views over Ruth Creek to Mount Shuksan. I remembered these views from an earlier trip, but not exactly where they were. When I passed them, I made an odd noise with my voice, reversed the car down the gravel road, and parked to make this image. I was attracted to the side lighting on the mountain, as well as to the fact that Ruth Creek was still shaded, adding to the effect of the early-morning lighting. I used f/20 to put everything in focus and achieve a shutter speed of 1/3 of a second to blur the water.

Now we'll look at my images from the actual trail. Most of them are from the early stretches of the trail, simply because, by necessity, I was at the end of the trail at midday when the lighting was not good. This is unfortunate because the views of Ruth Mountain and other peaks from the final switchbacks to Hannegan Pass are spectacular, as are the wildflowers.

The first image looks up the valley with fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) in the foreground. Being sunlit, the contrast is a bit high, but it was only 9am, so not too bad. I used f/22 to get everything into focus. A polarizing filter helped deepen the blue of the sky and reduce glare from the leaves and flowers.

The second image is of a paintbrush (genus Castilleja). I liked the green-and-red patterns on the bracts (yup, those are the bracts; the flower is small and hidden inside). I used f/4 to blur the background and isolate the paintbrush.

The third comes from one of the forested areas of the Hannegan Pass trail; I liked the way this stream was coming down in several branches from the mossy rocks. I made sure to include the ferns and foamflower in the composition to emphasize the lushness of the scene. F/22 put everything in focus and 2 seconds exposure time blurred and smoothed the falling water.

The last two images are again from the beginning of the trail, this time in the late afternoon. They're similar in concept to an image I took on an earlier trip to the trail (see it here), but the lighting is more angled in these ones and thus more compelling; plus, in the first of these two, I made the addition of including the sun in the composition. In both cases, I used f/22 to put everything into focus. In the first image, the narrow aperture and two other factors - a relatively wide angle and having the sun peeking out from behind a leaf - made the sun as much of a point source of light as possible, getting the ray/star effect that you see.

I am going through a bit of a transition right now and am not sure when I will be able to post Part Two. Hopefully soon. In the meantime, enjoy life and the summer!