Memorial Weekend part 1

Over Memorial Day weekend, I took a long drive over to Fields Spring State Park, which is south of Clarkston/Lewiston. It's one of my favorite places of all time, I think. Due to the cold and wet weather earlier in the spring, the wildflowers were still in good shape. Conditions were challenging - almost entirely clear skies the whole time with full sunshine. This makes photography hard due to the high contrast of the lighting, the uniformity of the sky, and the difficulty of reading the camera display in the sunlight. Nevertheless, I was grateful for the fact that the weather was quite pleasant for camping.

In the first three compositions here, I omitted the sky to emphasize the views down into the canyons. There was a bit of haze in the air, but I think there is sufficient detail to make the images work. In fact, in hindsight, I like the blue color added by the haze. The flowers are desert parsley in the first, paintbrush in the second. F/25, F/20, and F/20.

Next, a closeup of what I believe to be sticky geranium (Geranium viscosissimum). F/4.5.

Finally, two more "conventional" shots that include the sky. Editing these will be a challenge due to the uneven polarization and the fact that blue sky always seems tricky, at least for me. F/20 in both cases. The flowers are phlox in the first image, lupine in the second.

Adventures in Transportation

This morning, I made my first ever photography trip via bicycle! I visited the Snoqualmie Valley Trail near North Bend and Snoqualmie (the trail extends farther north as well, to Duvall). My total round trip mileage was a bit over thirteen miles, which I'm pretty happy with considering the fact that I hadn't biked for probably more than a year and a half. It went well, with lots of good ideas and lessons learned for the next trip!

First is a view of Mount Si over the Snoqualmie River from the Three Forks Natural Area. I'm not too thrilled by that bit of overexposure at the top right. I might get it to look better in Lightroom, and otherwise, I like how this composition turned out. F/18.

Next, two views of the river from farther upvalley, just as the sun was starting to come up in the late morning. F/20 in both cases. They'll need some lighting and color work, but pretty doable.

A Walk in the Woods

Yesterday, I had a nice walk in the woods on the Baker Lake trail (starting from the north end, along the Baker River). I didn't make it very far, as there was so much to photograph! The Baker River valley reminds me a bit of the Olympic rainforest, particularly the Hoh River valley that I visited last year. One wouldn't mistake one for the other - the Baker River area doesn't have much if any Sitka spruce, is colder, and has different surrounding topography. But they both offer scenic river valleys, luxuriant old-growth forest, stands of mossy maples, and opportunities to see wildlife.

First, a view of some red elderberry bushes (Sambucus racemosa) blooming with bigleaf maple trees in the background. F/25.

Next, a forest view with some hillside boulders in the background. F/22.

This next one is similar in composition to some other old-growth images I've made, but the difference here is that the featured trunk is not alive; rather, it belongs to a standing snag. Snags are an important part of old forests, providing food and shelter for insects, birds, and animals. F/18.

Now a wider forest perspective. This one is actually fairly representative, if you're wondering what the forest in this area tends to look like. Floods and other disturbances often result in younger patches of forest near the river, hence the alder and maple in the background here. F/16.

Next, a cool closeup - a berry just beginning to emerge on a salmonberry bush. F/6.3.

The last three images are some wider views, taken while a bit of rain was falling. Rain makes it challenging to operate photo equipment, particularly out in the open, but can also make for interesting views by pulling the clouds down and softening background shapes. This first one looks across the Baker River itself. Due to a persistent breeze, the motion isn't perfectly frozen in all the branches, but I think it still works. F/22.

The net one looks down the valley; I'd like to work on this one in Lightroom a bit to make the greens more vivid, like they were in person. F/20.

Finally, a view of Blum Creek and the hills beyond in the rain. F/22.