A Glimpse of Spring

Hello everyone! It's been a while, but believe me, I've been itching to get out an do some photography! Since my last post, when I got up to Kamiak Butte in snowy weather, I've only been out once. In late March, I took some homework to Kamiak Butte on a particularly nice day, and also brought my camera and went up on the ridge for about an hour to look for some early wildflowers. Below is the one good image that came out of that effort - the flower is grass widow (Olsynium douglasii). You can find it in Washington's grassy meadows on either side of the Cascades. It's one of the earliest native flowers to bloom; in certain spots such as the Columbia Gorge, I've heard that it can bloom as early as late January or early February.

So, even though there's been a relative dearth of photography opportunities thus far this spring, I did accomplish one of my life goals by photographing the grass widow - I'd tried before on the west side but without luck. For this one, I used f/4.5 to blur the background. This particular perspective appealed to me due to the contrast with the reddish rock colors in the background.

Ultimately, I don't think it's too bad for being incredibly out of practice - both artistically and physically. As I (hopefully) get out more in the next few months, my aesthetic sensibilities and cardiovascular system will have a bit of catching up to do. Until then!