Baker River sunshine

On Saturday morning, I paid a visit to one of my favorite places, the Baker River trail in the north Cascades. The hike was shorter than expected, due to a washed-out section of trail that I wasn't comfortable crossing. The sunshine was also a challenge at times, as I was contending with high contrast and glare. On the other hand, since I rarely visit that area in clear conditions, it was fun to see all the hilltops and distant peaks.

First, an image from the Baker Lake road, inside the national forest boundary, with Mount Baker appearing through the mist. Although it's never final until I've seen it in print, as always, I like how this turned out. The mist adds some drama to the scene, but there is still an adequate amount of detail on the mountain itself. F/18.

Farther up the valley, conditions were foggier. Here, a view of maple and alder trunks. If I had come to this spot a few minutes later, this composition would not have been possible, as the sun soon rose high enough to illuminate this area, clearing away the fog and mist. F/18.

Just for fun, compare the image above with this one, from the same spot during late spring of a prior year. Quite the change in mood! No matter how many times I hike this trail and stand at my favorite vantage points, there is always something new to see. In addition to biological seasonal variation, the Baker River and its tributaries regularly change the landscape. (Indeed, I saw a sign at the trailhead stating that access to this trail might change in the future to be a couple miles downstream, due to washouts encroaching on the current access road.)

Back to this past Saturday. As the fog and mist lifted, the mountains came out! I am still working on perfecting the lighting and white balance, but it's getting close. This composition was particularly hard to pull off due to glare from the sun. Of all my tries, this was the best, and while you can still discern a bit of the glare, with some more editing it'll probably be workable. F/18.

Next, two images looking over the river near the trailhead. I wanted to convey that last-gasp-of-fall feeling. F/22 in both cases.

Lastly, a well-framed view of what is either Hagan Mountain or an adjacent peak. The sunlit areas on the mountain are on the verge of being overexposed, but it looks okay on the screen and would be worth seeing in print. F/18.

Island of Wildness

This morning, I visited the short Sultan River Canyon Trail in the Spada Lake area. It's a fun journey: The forest around the hike-in access road is very clearly second growth, but as you descend down the short hiking trail, you quickly find yourself surrounded by a much older and more diverse forest. Old-growth cedars steal the show, as they tend to do. Indeed, the forest near the end of the trail is so dark, lush, and quintessentially Washington that, when I shared a few phone snapshots, someone requested that I add "Edward the glittering vampire" to one of the images. Tempting, but as I don't really have the time to find or revise my artist's statements, I'm going to have to stick with my usual aesthetic here.

First, my favorite composition from the morning. Fall in the lowland forests of western Washington can be tricky, as deciduous leaves (particularly in the understory, it seems) can turn brown or pale yellow and droop down, without putting on much of a photogenic fall color display. There's a bit of that going on here, but there are enough reds and residual greens to keep things interesting. The bare alder trunks and the distant Sultan River in the top third of the photograph also provide some contrast. F/18.

Second, my favorite old-growth cedar trunk from the trail, with a few yellowing leaves for contrast. This one's not as unique or as much of a show-stopper as the first, but it gets the job done. F/20.