Maple Pass Loop

The Maple Pass Loop (along the North Cascades Highway) is one of my favorite hikes, and I had the chance to pay it a return visit earlier this week. Diverse wildflowers, natural environments, and mountain views characterize the trail. For my visit, wildflowers in the higher meadows were at their peak, skies were generally overcast (with most peaks still at least partially visible), and the breezes were moderate, adding up to excellent conditions for photography.

To begin, here are three landscapes juxtaposing wildflowers and mountains, each with a wide depth of field. Paintbrush (genus Castilleja) are the prominent flowers in the first and third of this set, lupine (genus Lupinus) in the second. F/16, F/14, and F/14, respectively.

Next, two landscapes with a narrower depth of field. Aster flowers (genus Aster) are in the foreground of the first, subalpine spiraea (Spiraea splendens) in the second. F/6.3 and F/5.6, respectively.

Next, a few landscape compositions that aren't quite as good as the images above, but that are still worth posting and discussing. The image below is from the same vantage point as the image above, with a wide depth of field. I deliberately underexposed the image to avoid washing out the sky, resulting in poor detail quality. In print, I could get away with an 8x10 or 8x12 size, I think, but would need to be cautious about anything bigger. The lighting was easy enough to fine-tune in Lightroom that I wish I had tried just a bit harder to perfect this one in the field, perhaps using an exposure setting a touch brighter - a good lesson for next time. F/18.

Below is a view of Lake Ann. I liked the tangle of trees in the foreground, as well as all of the different shades of green. F/14.

Here is a view from Heather Pass. Again, I was inspired by the vibrancy of the multiple shades of green. F/14.

Finally, a closeup of a wildflower that is new to me. I spotted it near Heather Pass, and believe it to be bird's beak lousewort (Pedicularis ornithorhyncha). F/5.6.