North Cascades part 2: Landscapes

Here are the landscapes from my recent trip. I was blessed with fairly good conditions for photography - some clouds in and out, and frequent lulls in the breeze.

Maple Pass Loop

Here's the classic view of the area, looking down through heather meadows to Lake Ann. There's a bit of perspective distortion here, due to the wide focal length and downward angle, but I think this composition lends itself relatively well to that. F/20.

Next, some paintbrush and penstemon with Lake Ann in the background. F/22.

Same deal here, with cow parsnip as the featured flower. F/22.

One more lake shot, with a wider array of flowers in the foreground. F/16.

Next is a view from near Maple Pass, looking into the national park. F/18. The views up here are unreal. Plus, you can watch the orographic effect in action: looking to the southwest, I could see showers drifting in and out through green, snowy mountains (as in this image). Looking in the other direction, I watched the clouds breaking up over much drier-looking peaks.

Here is another scene near Maple Pass, downhill on the steep side. I like how things are placed in the image, but the perspective distortion is quite visible in the trees. I might be able to correct some of this via Lightroom, but I'm not sure how much. Perhaps a square crop would lessen this problem by eliminating the more highly distorted trees on the right-hand side, but square images aren't as versatile. F/22.

Blue Lake

Finally, two views of Blue Lake, accessible via a comparatively short and gentle trail. F/22 in both cases. I'll have to brighten up the left side of the first one, but it'll probably be doable.

North Cascades part 1: Wildflowers

I just returned from a little camping trip in the North Cascades Highway area. This post will feature some wildflower closeups I did, and the next one will feature the landscapes. With the exception of the first image, all of the flowers in this post are from the Maple Pass Loop trail, which begins at Rainy Pass.

First is pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata), near the Klipchuck campground on the east slopes. I'm not sure whether I like how everything is placed here; the out-of-focus bud in dead center is particularly unfortunate. My attempts at other angles, however, were unsuccessful: since this flower's height was in the gap between the coverage of my tripods, I had my small tripod set up on a little pile of dead branches that I gathered up. Hardly a recipe for maximum sharpness. This was the only one acceptably sharp. F/4.5.

Here is Western anemone (Anemone occidentalis), also known as pasqueflower. I really liked the look of the leaves and wanted to get them into the composition. F/5.

Here is white-flowered rhododendron (Rhododendron albiflorum). F/3.3.

Below is what I believe to be Veronica cusickii, or Cusick's speedwell. F/5.

Below is what I believe to be swamp laurel (Kalmia microphylla). F/4.5.

Finally, a paintbrush (genus Castilleja). I was taken by the yellowish-green coloring on some of the bracts (I think). F/5.

Peninsula Trip 3: Hurricane Ridge

For the final post about my trip to the Olympic Peninsula, I'll be sharing images from near the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center. Great views are available with minimal walking, making the area a good option for dawn/sunrise photography.

First, the meadows by the visitor center. F/22. This image took some doing - I tried this composition the first morning, only to be stymied by the wind (I couldn't get the lupine sharp). The second, morning, however, I tried again, and was able to succeed quickly due to the much calmer conditions.

The next two are from a nearby picnic area at sunrise. The first is looking at what I believe to be Mount Ferry on the left end Stephen Peak on the right. The second looks over the Elwha River valley. F/20 in both cases.

The next two images are from near Sunrise Point, north of the visitor center. I liked the way the sunlight was shafting through the hills. F/22 in both cases.

Finally, magenta paintbrush, probably Castilleja parviflora var. olympica, a subspecies endemic to the Olympics. I'm not sure whether I like the bright background, but it was a sunny day, and there wasn't much I could do about it. F/4.

Peninsula Trip 2: Hurricane Hill

While staying on the Peninsula, I hiked Hurricane Hill, which is a fairly short and sweet walk through wildflower meadows with killer views. It can also get quite crowded - but I started early enough in the morning that this wasn't a huge problem. Furthermore, the trail corridor was generally wide enough that I could set up my tripod to take a picture and still leave room behind me for hikers to pass.

First is a closeup of avalanche lily (Erythronium montanum). F/4.5.

Here's a view from near the summit. Lighting's a bit harsh, as I took this image after 10am, but I think it still works. F/22.

Next is a more backlit scene. Ideally, the contours of the distant hills would come out more clearly, but that might be improved in editing. F/22.

Finally, two more meadow and mountain views. Not as striking as the first one in this post, but still nice. In each of these, I used a graduated neutral density filter to prevent overexposure of the sky and mountains. F/20.

Peninsula Trip 1: Odds and Ends

I recently returned from a trip to the Olympic Peninsula. May main goal was to do photography in the Hurricane Ridge area, but before I get to that, here are some odds and ends from other locations.

First, a dawn view from the Hurricane Ridge Road. I used a graduated neutral density filter to keep the sky color from getting blown out. F/20.

Next, a dawn image looking out toward Mount Baker, from an overlook on the Hurricane Ridge Road, with some fog or low clouds creeping over the water. F/16.

Next, a couple flower closeups from the "Heart O' the Forest" trail, adjacent to the campground where I stayed. First is pink wintergreen (Pyrola asarifolia). F/4.5.

Next, Pacific waterleaf (Hydrophyllum tenuipes). F/5.

Goat Lake

Yesterday, I took a day trip to Goat Lake in the north Cascades. The lake is a challenging location to do photography; the length of the hike essentially prevents being present for the best light (unless you're backpacking). I booked it to the lake and got up there just after 10 am. The lighting was still a bit angled and there were some pretty drifting clouds; even so, there was no getting around the day's harsh lighting. So a lot of these images will need lighting work when I take the RAW files into Lightroom.

The first is an image involving the lake itself, from the path that extends around the shore past the main trail and day use area. F/22. I believe this mountain is Cadet Peak.

Next, two compositions involving clouds and the flanks of Cadet Peak, also from near the lake. F/22.

Below, some paintbrush (Castilleja) from a dry creek bed that intersects with the trail, with alder trees and a distant mountain in the background. F/4.5.

Next, a view of Elliott Creek early in the morning. Although the trail frequently puts you within sight of the creek, unobstructed views are hard to come by. This was my best attempt at a composition involving the creek. F/22, 1.6 seconds.

Another variation on the theme of mountains and clouds. If these peaks are named, I haven't yet identified them. F/16.

Finally, cow parsnip (Heracleum maximum or Heracleum lanatum) and old-growth forest. F/22.