Fall Arrives

It's the first day of fall as I write this, so happy fall, everyone! I hiked to Park Butte in the North Cascades on Saturday, and fall colors were appearing, particularly at higher elevations. With about 2200 feet of elevation gain, this was a more challenging hike than I usually attempt, but the trail's reputation for excellent views of Mount Baker spurred me on. While the mountain remained hidden by clouds throughout the day, I found plenty of other scenery to photograph, and was still satisfied at day's end.

Here's my favorite landscape from the day, from just below Park Butte. A fortunate moment of filtered sunshine enabled me to take this picture. Too much sunlight would have resulted in harsh lighting on the foreground; too little would have left all areas of the image too dark relative to the sky. F/18.

Next, a view from just a few steps away from where I took the first image, with trees in the foreground and the sky excluded. F/18.

Here's a view looking down to Pocket Lake. F/18.

Yet another autumnal meadow scene, this time from Morovitz Meadow, near the junction with the Railroad Grade Trail. F/16.

Finally, two landscapes from the area surrounding the aptly named Rocky Creek, with the creek itself visible in the second. I like these both, but think the first is a stronger image, due to the vivid color contrast between different sections of the image. F/18 for the first, F/16 and 1.5 seconds for the second.

Fremont Lookout Trail

On Saturday, I was able to visit the Sunrise area of Mount Rainier National Park for the first time, and I hiked the trail to the Mount Fremont Lookout. Although Mount Rainier itself remained hidden for most of the day, openings in the clouds created photogenic views in other directions.

First, my favorite composition of the day: what I think is Skyscraper Mountain through clouds. I took this while I was eating lunch beside the lookout; when this opening in the clouds appeared, I quickly grabbed my camera and made a few handheld attempts to capture the moment. Thankfully, this one ended up sharp. F/14.

Second, two angles from a vantage point along the trail, as the clouds were lifting. I am unsure which is a better image. More peaks are visible in the first; in the second, however, Skyscraper Mountain is more striking. Both F/16.

Finally, a view from near the lookout. This composition isn't as dramatic or compelling as the others, but it does depict the openness of the landscape above Sunrise. F/16.