Two Lake Visits

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, I had opportunities to revisit two favorite lake destinations in the Cascades. What a pleasure to spend some time in the mountains, and to see wildflowers blooming!

Hope and Mig Lakes

My Tuesday destination was the hike to Hope and Mig Lakes in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, via the Tunnel Creek trail and the PCT. I've done this hike twice in the fall - the colors are exceptional - but this was my first time coming for wildflower season. I don't imagine that I will come back specifically for wildflowers, as there are plenty of places in the Cascades with more concentrated wildflower displays in more dramatic settings. I did, however, enjoy the solitude - I saw only one other hiker all day!

I began hiking in sunshine, but while I ate lunch and photographed at Mig Lake, clouds bubbled up and occasional showers began to fall. While I was on my way back to the trailhead, a thunderstorm hit, complete with heavy rain and hail. I was thankful that the bulk of the day's precipitation fell after I'd had some photography time, and that I was able to keep all of my gear dry.

First, a closeup of a Sitka valerian (Valeriana sitchensis) flower cluster just beginning to bloom. F/5.6.

Second, Mig Lake, with what I believe is pink mountain-heath or pink mountain-heather (Phyllodoce empetriformis) blooming in the foreground. Because of the high contrast between the sky and the trees, I purposefully underexposed this one a bit, to keep the sky from having unsightly white splotches. Unfortunately, this method tends to diminish sharpness and increase noise. I think this one is good enough for standard print sizes, but I'd have to be careful about anything very large. F/18.

Finally, a more intimate view of pink mountain-heath and Mig Lake. Due to the small size of the flowers, I think this image might be more compelling as a print than it is on a computer or phone screen. F/18.

Lake Twenty-Two

On Wednesday, I hiked to Lake Twenty-Two (off the Mountain Loop Highway). For all of my images, I used my wide-angle lens. Some distortion (e.g. the apparent tilting/convergence of vertical lines like tree trunks, due to the lens being angled slightly up or down) is thus apparent in all of these compositions. Usually, this bothers me. This time, however, I find myself more accepting of the distortion; I think it helps convey the size and scale of the environment around the lake.

First, the lake itself. F/18.

Next, boulders and cliff faces along the south side of the lake. F/18.

Finally, Sitka valerian (Valeriana sitchensis), with the lake in the background. If you look closely at the background trees, you'll notice the aforementioned apparent distortion. F/18.

Emmons Moraine

About a week and a half ago, I made an early morning trip to the Emmons Moraine trail in Mount Rainier National Park. It's a short but rewarding hike that provides quick access to some stunning views. Skies were blue and the sun was bright. This meant that managing contrast was a challenge, but it also made for excellent visibility of surrounding peaks and glaciers.

All of my compositions were conceptually similar - views of mountains and the glacier-fed headwaters of the White River, set against foreground trees - so I've posted them all below without any further commentary. Apertures F/16, F/18, F/16, F/16, respectively.

And with that, this blog is officially caught up. I've got some hikes planned for this week, though, so stay tuned for summer adventures!

Favorite Places

While I enjoy exploring new parks and hiking trails, I spend a sizeable amount of photography time each year at locations that are already familiar to me. There are artistic advantages to repeat visits: when I know from prior experience what to look for, I can be more focused with my time, with clear concepts or objectives already in mind. Furthermore, I can experience and document a place in different seasons and meteorological moods. But I will admit that I also grow attached to places, particularly if my first visit represented a personal milestone, or provided needed relief during a hard time of my life. Earlier this month, I visited two trails that I've been coming back to repeatedly ever since I began hiking on my own - Goat Lake, along the Mountain Loop Highway; and Gold Creek, near Snoqualmie Pass. They feature enough scenery to make repeat visits artistically fruitful, and also bring back memories of the summer when I began to hike independently. Gold Creek, in fact, was my first solo hike in a wilderness area.

Goat Lake

First, a view of Goat Lake, with the lake itself out of focus, and what I believe are false hellebore leaves (Veratrum viride) in focus in the foreground. I think the narrow depth of field helps mitigate the effects of the high-contrast midday sunshine, keeping the image from becoming too busy. Due to the length of the hike and the unpredictability of cloud conditions, this lighting is a challenge I frequently face at Goat Lake. F/5.6.

Second, a more direct view of Goat Lake, from the lake shore at the day-use area. The contrast is a bit high, but I like the color gradient of the lake water. F/18.

Finally, three bunchberry flowers (Cornus canadensis) in the woods along the Lower Elliott trail. F/5.6.

Gold Creek

My trip to Gold Creek, in early June, was probably the earliest in the year I've ever made a visit. As such, I found different scenery than what I'm accustomed to from my summer and fall trips, including earlier-blooming wildflowers and bright new greenery. Below is one such scene, with Pacific bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa) blooming in a clearing. F/18.

Next, a view of the waterfall in the large avalanche area a few miles in. I wanted to try setting it out of focus, with the avalanche clearing's abundant willows in the foreground (genus Salix; not sure of the species). F/5.

From the forest, a view of a wet area filled with devil's club (Oplopanax horridus). F/16.

Here's a cool shot of a trillium (Trillium ovatum) flower. Trillium petals are initially white, but turn pink or purple as they age. This is my first good picture of a trillium flower with aging petals. F/5.

Finally, a shot of Gold Creek itself, with a willow in the foreground. F/5.6.

One more post and I'll be caught up! Stay tuned for some sweet mountain views in Mount Rainier National Park!

Ohanapecosh Day

Over Memorial Day weekend, I decided to celebrate the opening of numerous roads through Mount Rainier National Park by planning a visit to the Ohanapecosh area, a place I had known of for some time but had never visited.

The iconic old-growth Grove of the Patriarchs was first on the itinerary. Here are two compositions showcasing the large trees and lush understory characteristic of that location. Thankfully, there was almost no breeze, and I was able to get the forest foliage sharp even with the long shutter speeds (several seconds) required by the dark forest environment. F/16 in both cases.

Although the old-growth trees are the obvious main attraction of the short hike to the Grove of the Patriarchs, I also enjoyed the frequent opportunities to view the clear Ohanapecosh River en route. My favorite composition along these lines is below, with vine maple in the foreground and red alder trees in the background. F/18.

Next, a nearby view framed by tree trunks. Some credit for this composition should go to my girlfriend, who came up with the initial concept of framing the river view with these two trunks. F/18.

Below is a view from the riverbank. In hindsight, the sense of depth isn't as strong as I'd like - ideally, the rocks in the foreground would appear/feel closer. F/18.

The second destination of the day was just across the road, a short hike to Silver Falls. The steeper and rockier terrain around the river make for a setting very different from the calm, lush environment around the Grove of the Patriarchs - you wouldn't think it was the same river. Below is a view of the thundering Silver Falls itself. Even under overcast skies, the contrast between the falls and the forest above was high, requiring more aggressive editing than usual. F/20, 1/5 second.

Finally, a view from a bridge over the Ohanapecosh River, downstream of Silver Falls. F/20.

Next up: a post combining visits to two of my favorite trails. Stay tuned!

May Trip Part 3: Fishtrap and Turnbull

The final full day of my mid-May trip was the only full day without rain. Furthermore, I'd spent the preceding day almost entirely indoors due to wet, windy weather. Accordingly, I planned two separate photography destinations for that final day: Hog Lake (I've also seen it labeled "Hog Canyon Lake") in the Fishtrap Recreation Area, and the Bluebird Trail in the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, both south of Cheney.

Hog Lake

First, a view of Hog Canyon Falls, with balsamroot flowers in the foreground. This composition is similar to one I made last year (first image in this post). This year, the sunlight was more filtered by clouds. As a result, the lighting is less dramatic in this year's version, but the terrain surrounding the falls is more clearly visible. F/20.

Next, a view of Hog Lake, with varieties of desert parsley (genus Lomatium) blooming in the foreground. F/20.

Here's another view of Hog Lake, with what I think might be red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) blooming in the foreground. I like the composition and lighting here, but there was a bit of distortion and loss of image quality in the distant trees at the very top of the image. F/18.

Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge

After lunch, I hiked the Bluebird Trail in the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. I had hoped to do some photography from viewpoints along the auto tour route even later in the evening, but decided at the last minute to return to my motel room instead. This time, it wasn't rain that prompted me to cut the trip short, but the discovery of ticks on my body! The first one I noticed was visible on my neck, prompting further investigation that led to more discoveries. After returning to town, I continued to find ticks on my clothing and backpack throughout the evening. I'd been scrupulous about staying on the trail that day, so I will never know what I did to gather so many.

First, camas (Camassia quamash) blooming in the woods. F/6.3.

Next, an image of a wildflowers, mostly desert parsley (genus Lomatium), blooming in a small forest opening. I think this composition was more interesting in my mind's eye than it is in actuality; the sense of depth isn't very strong. Still, it might be worth at least seeing in print, and it gives a good depiction of the typical landscape along the Bluebird Trail. F/18.

That wraps up the images from my May trip. The next post, which will hopefully be up soon, will feature a trip to the Grove of the Patriarchs and Silver Falls in Mount Rainier National Park!

May Trip Part 2: Kamiak Butte

After Fields Spring State Park, the first destination of my mid-May trip, I camped at Kamiak Butte for a night. The wildflowers and views are spectacular enough on their own to merit a visit. Adding even more interest, though, is the stark contrast between lush forests of the northern slopes (more shaded, particularly in the winter, causing cooler temperatures and slower snowmelt) and the open meadows of the south-facing slopes.

The weather took a turn for the worse during my visit, and I had to contend with intermittent breezes and rainfall. My initial plan was to camp for two nights, but I cut my stay short due to the predicted possibility of strong thunderstorms (and indeed, one hit the Butte just as I was driving away!). For these reasons, my photography time was challenging and more limited than I would have liked, but I came away with a few interesting images.

First, a characteristic view from the ridgeline of the Butte, with balsamroot flowers (Balsamorhiza sagittata) in the foreground and rain-threatening clouds in the distance. To achieve a sufficiently wide depth of field, I used a relatively narrow aperture (F/22). I've noticed that image quality deteriorates noticeably at this setting. As such, I'd need to be careful about large sizes were I to print this image. Nevertheless, I like the way it looks. I made a conceptually similar composition on Kamiak Butte a few years ago, but the image quality in this one is actually better, and there are fewer distractions (such as roads) visible in the distance.

 

Here's another landscape that turned out well: the lush forest of Kamiak Butte's north side, with star-flowered false Solomon's seal (Maianthemum stellatum) blooming in the foreground. F/22, with the same image-quality limitations as the above image.

Here's a composition from the ridgeline with a narrow depth of field; the yellow flower in focus (left) is desert parsley (genus Lomatium). F/5.6.

Next, a closeup of blooming phlox flowers, with phlox buds in the background. My guess is that these are showy phlox (Phlox speciosa), judging from the flower color and notched petals. F/3.3.

Finally, a medley of wildflowers: paintbrush, desert parsley, and balsamroot. Because the flowers were moving in the breeze, I deliberately underexposed the image a bit. This enabled me to use a shutter speed short enough to get the in-focus paintbrush flower sharp, but the lower light caused a loss of image quality that could be noticeable at large print sizes. F/3.5.

Stay tuned for Part 3, which will include images from two locations in the Cheney area: the Fishtrap Recreation Area, and Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge!

May Trip Part 1: Fields Spring

Every spring, I try to visit eastern Washington to photograph wildflowers. This year, I traveled there for nearly a week in mid-May. Although early bloomers like balsamroot and shooting star were slightly past their prime, the wildflowers were overall in full force in all of the locations I visited. Weather conditions, however, were less than ideal, and I found myself dodging rain and thunderstorms on many of the days. Because of that and other challenges, I spent less time in the field doing photography than I would have liked. Nevertheless, it was a satisfying trip, with opportunities to revisit some of my favorite places.

My first destination was Fields Spring State Park, one of my favorite places in Washington state, where I camped for two nights. The highlight of the park is Puffer Butte, where wildflower meadows and canyon views are accessible via a short hiking trail. The weather changed rapidly during my full day there: a warm and sunny morning became a cold and showery afternoon. But I discovered that it was possible to wait out rain showers in relative comfort on Puffer Butte, courtesy of an unlocked ski/snowshoe warming hut with a covered porch. I'll even go so far as to say that I enjoyed the rain showers there - it was mesmerizing to watch them move over the surrounding terrain.

First, what might be my favorite composition from the trip: a meadow of phlox (pink) and paintbrush (red and yellowish) on Puffer Butte. The scene was backlit, requiring creative use of a lens hood and my hand to shield the lens from sun glare. F/16.

Next, an early-morning view from the trail to Puffer Butte, where the trail emerges from forest cover into open meadows. Balsamroot are prominent in the foreground, and the snow-covered Wallowa Mountains are visible in the distance. F/16.

Here's a view from Puffer Butte on the same day as the previous image, but in the afternoon, with advancing rain showers visible in the distance. Phlox (pink), desert parsley (yellow), and larkspur (purple) are the prominent flowers in the foreground. F/18.

Generally speaking, I concentrated on landscape images rather than flower closeups, but here's a closeup that turned out well: shooting star, from near the summit of Puffer Butte under forest cover of mostly ponderosa pine. F/5.

Next, an early morning view from open forest along the trail to Puffer Butte. The distant views are a bit hazier than would be ideal, but I think there's enough definition to make this image work. Serviceberry shrubs are blooming in the foreground. F/16.

Below, an open area on the Morning Song trail. I wanted to juxtapose the color variations of the paintbrush flowers. F/20.

Here's another landsacpe from Puffer Butte, with balsamroot in the foreground. This composition is not as visually striking as some of the earlier ones, but it has a greater sense of open space. At center left, if you look closely, you can see the Grande Ronde River in the distance. F/16.

Finally, two compositions in which I experimented with a narrower depth of field. Balsamroot flowers are in the foreground of the first, larkspur in the second. I think the second composition would have been better if the larkspur flowers were more prominent in the frame, but there was no way to do that without sacrificing background context (by zooming in) or going off trail (by moving closer). Both F/5.

Part 2 will feature photography from another favorite place, Kamiak Butte County Park in Whitman County. Stay tuned!