Rainy Day at Gold Creek

On Saturday, I paid a visit to the Gold Creek trail, one of my favorite hikes. Weather conditions made this visit a bit challenging. Overcast lighting was helpful, but intermittent rain showers and frequent gusty breezes limited my photography. But with some patience, I was able to make a few compositions work.

First, something a little different: a lush forest view, looking down a ravine of sorts. In the foreground is a fallen tree long enough to span the ravine. The darker forest setting required a shutter speed of three seconds, so it took some patience to wait for an appropriate lull in the breeze. I'm not sure what to think of this composition, but I'm pleased that I saw this opportunity and was able to make it work. F/18.

Below, bunchberry flowers (Cornus canadensis) growing among deer fern (Struthiopteris spicant, or Blechnum spicant). These plants seem to grow near each other frequently. F/6.3.

Next, two compositions from the same vantage point, with different approaches to the depth of field. Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) is blooming in the foreground. I'm not sure yet which I prefer. First, a wide depth of field (foreground and background both in focus), at F/18:

Now, a selective-focus approach. F/5.6.

Here's Gold Creek itself. F/18, 0.4 seconds.

Finally, a view of the Gold Creek valley where I turned around (just to the right of the frame is a washed-out section of trail). The waterways are running very high right now, and it appears that either a channel of Gold Creek or a tributary has jumped its banks and is forging a new course through this area. I don't know whether I'm thrilled by this composition, but it was a cool experience to stand there and see and hear all of the extra water thundering through the valley. F/18, 0.5 seconds.

Return to Perry Creek

To celebrate the beginning of summer, and to make the best of a sunny day, I recently returned to the Perry Creek trail, which I visited about a month ago, to take advantage of the expansive valley views. I also made a stop in the Big Four Ice Caves area. The bridge across the South Fork Stillaguamish River is closed, so the final section of trail to the actual ice caves is inaccessible. The picnic area is still open, however, and from there the trail to the river is accessible, making for a short but scenic walk with plenty of mountain views.

First, a view down the Perry Creek valley toward what I think is Hall Peak. The look of the water isn't perfect - I wish it were either more blurred, or more frozen in motion - but I like the perspective. F/16, 1/15 second.

Next, Big Four Mountain, with the South Fork Stillaguamish River in the foreground. I was surprised by the clarity of the water and the rocks beneath. F/14.

Here's something a bit different: a small stream near the top of the Perry Creek trail. Despite the challenges that I was having - high-contrast lighting, and breezes moving the leaves around - I think this picture actually works. F/16, 1/13 second.

Finally, an old tree with the opposite side of the Perry Creek valley in the background. The trail is interesting in this way - lots of open areas, punctuated by maple groves and isolated old trees like this one. F/13.

Pleasant Valley

Earlier this week, I hiked the Pleasant Valley trail east of Chinook Pass (not the whole fourteen-mile loop - I made a roughly eight-mile round trip hike from the eastern trailhead). I had never been east of Chinook Pass. The scenery visible from the drive was reminiscent of some stretches of the North Cascades Highway, and tempts me to visit further. The Pleasant Valley trail itself, though flat, is fairly diverse, with old-growth forest, river views, and regenerating wildfire areas.

First, a colorful forest scene. The understory of vanilla-leaf, depicted here, was extensive in many areas. F/14.

Next, a view of the American River, or at least a channel of it. F/14, 0.5 seconds.

Below, a view over the American River under afternoon sunshine. The contrast was a challenge, but I think this one worked fairly well. F/13.

Next, lupine blooming in a surprise opening in the tree cover. Due to the high contrast, low perpective, and wide angle, there was some distortion and loss of detail quality. Still, I think it'd be fine at least as an 8x10. F/18.

Here's one from the burned area, looking out to Fifes Peaks on the other side of the valley. F/16.

This next one was a bit of an experiment: a view of the river through trees. The lighting worked, which was a pleasant surprise. I'm not so sure about the composition, as I wish the river were even more clear and obvious than it is. F/14.

Finally, two river-view images that I'm not so sure about. In each case, I like the composition, but the clouds ended up a bit overexposed. Since the eye expects the clouds to be white, though, they might not look too bad in print. Both F/14.

Scenes Along the Middle Fork

Yesterday morning, concerned about the possibility of afternoon rainfall, I hiked the Garfield Ledges trail, which is short and a relatively quick drive from my house. This turned out to be a bust - just a few minutes after I reached the viewpoint at trail's end, rain began to fall, blown toward my camera lens. This and the lowering of the clouds, obscuring the view, precluded any photography. I gave up after about half an hour of waiting for conditions to improve.

Happily, I found a way to salvage the day: by stopping at some of the short trails and river access points along the Middle Fork Road. These stops proved much more conducive to photography, even under low clouds and intermittent showers. As an added benefit, I now have a much better concept of the photography possibilities that these places offer. I've always been curious about them, but would not otherwise have devoted a day to investigating them. There are some that I'd definitely go back to, particularly in the fall or a bit earlier in the spring.

First, a view of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. I think I like the horizontal composition better, but I'm glad I tried it both ways. F/16, 0.4 seconds and 0.25 seconds.

This next one is a bit busy, but I still like how it manages to incorporate the river, the lush trees, and the low clouds. F/14.

Here is a view of a willow of some sort, with alder trunks on the opposite bank of the river in the background. I liked how colorful the new spring growth was. F/11.

Finally, a forest view from one of the river access trails. The forest in the area is generally second-growth, but it's still pretty lush and mossy. F/14.

Sunshine at Goat Lake

The hike to Goat Lake is one of my favorites of all time; the trail passes through old-growth forest, has multiple opportunities to view the impressive Elliott Creek, and ends at a lake with a stunning view. The length of the hike, however, means that I often find myself at the lake at midday, under full sun. My hike here on Wednesday was no exception, and I had to get a bit creative to work with the high-contrast lighting.

First, my favorite landscape image from the lake. Most photographs of the lake (mine included) involve the snowy slopes beneath Cadet Peak on the far side of the lake. The sunlight on said slopes, however, threatened overexposure. I ventured a bit beyond the day-use area and tried this view, looking more southwest. Despite the harsh midday sunshine, it turned out pretty well, and the color of the lake water comes through clearly. F/16.

Next, a salmonberry flower (Rubus spectabilis) with the classic view of the lake in the background. I think the selective focus approach worked well here; since it wasn't necessary to preserve as much detail in the background slopes, the high-contrast lighting wasn't as much of an issue. F/6.3.

Here's an image that is very similar in concept, only with the leaves of another plant (I'm not sure what species) in the foreground. F/6.3.

Next, a view of the lake with willows in the foreground. It doesn't quite fit the rule of thirds, but I like the diagonal linear element that the willows create. F/14.

Finally, Elliott Creek near the start of the lower trail. The sunlight in the upper portion of the composition isn't ideal, but it isn't too bad, and I like the look of the water. F/16, 0.8 seconds.