Goose Rock time!

On Saturday, I hiked to Goose Rock in Deception Pass - almost exactly two years after my visit in March of 2019. There are a lot of early-blooming flowers in the area, in both the forests and the meadows, making it worth coming to regularly. I'd like to visit later in the spring, though - there will be different flowers in the meadows, and I think I spotted some Pacific rhododendron in the woods!

My favorite image of the day shows red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum) growing along the trail to Goose Rock. It was bright enough in the forest that I was able to use a shutter speed of 1/40 of a second, which was enough to get the center flowers sharp during a lull in the breeze (I did have to boost the ISO to 400). F/6.3.

 

Low clouds meant that the views from the summit of Goose Rock weren't quite as jaw-dropping as they would have been on a clear day, when you can see distant mountains. They were still impressive, though. Here's my best shot of those views. I like the way the gnarled trees look in this one, and the madrone adds some needed color. F/14.

Next, a closeup of death-camas (Toxicoscordion venenosum). F/5.6.

 

Below, small-flowered blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora). I wanted to depict the massed blooms fading gradually out of focus in the frame. I'm not sure if I've done that very well here; I think they might fade out of focus too quickly. F/5.6.

Finally, a new wildflower for me. I think this is Micranthes integrifolia, or whole-leaf saxifrage. I'm not fond of the lines visible in the background, so it'd be fun to try again. But, hey - a new flower! F/5.6.

First Trip of Spring

It's officially spring, my favorite season! To start it off properly, I hiked to Whistle Lake and Sugarloaf in the Anacortes Community Forest Lands yesterday. Maybe the off-and-on morning rain showers kept people home, but the trails were surprisingly quiet for a Saturday. Thankfully, the showers were never long-lasting enough to preclude any photography, the mostly overcast lighting was easy to work with, and there were lulls in the breezes when I needed them. I've done this hike a few times now, so I started with some ideas of what to expect and where I would stop.

First, some grass widow (Olsynium douglasii) growing on Sugarloaf in an open meadow. Stumbling upon these was exciting for me, as I've tried without success to find and photograph these flowers on the west side. They are low to the ground and the flowers often face down, so unless they're blooming en masse, they're easy for me to miss. F/5.6.

Next, the view from the top of Sugarloaf. Under clearer skies, I would have been able to see more mountains, but the views over forests, waterways, and islands are impressive in their own right. Due to the high contrast, the image quality in the darker areas of these images suffered a bit, but I think it's still adequate. F/16 and F/14, respectively.

 

Finally, a view over Whistle Lake, just after a rain shower. I tried this composition a few times over the course of several minutes, as the mist kept changing. I like the one below the best, and it's a bit of a middle-ground choice - the mist is definitely there, but the trees in the distance aren't totally lost. F/16.

Happy spring, everyone!

Adventures in Harsh Lighting

On Saturday, I hiked to Green Lake in Mount Rainier National Park. The hike starts on a closed road paralleling the Carbon River, then climbs moderately to the lake. Compared to a lot of the hikes I do, the mileage is relatively high (almost ten miles round trip), but the three miles (each way) on the closed road really breeze by. The sunlight and intermittent breezes made photography challenging, as you'll see below, but it was still a pleasure to hike in springlike conditions and eat lunch in warm sunshine.

First, a view of Green Lake itself. Frankly, I'm surprised that this one worked at all. The glare from the sunlit lake created a very high-contrast lighting environment. More practically, I couldn't see my results on the display screen. A few factors were working in my favor, however: I'm getting better at using the histogram to evaluate the lighting, and the air at the lake was completely calm, so I didn't have to watch the leaves for a lull in the breeze. F/14.

The road/trail mostly stays away from the Carbon River, but just before the Green Lake trailhead, there's a nice view of it and the surrounding hills. I wouldn't have been able to include more of the hills without overexposing some sky, but here's a shot of the river. F/16.

Most of the trail passes through lush, mossy forest. Sunlight makes any photography in such a setting difficult, but I actually had some success in the late afternoon light. Here are two shots from the same vantage point; I think I like the first more, but I keep going back and forth. Both F/16.

In addition to the lake, another "destination" on the trail is Ranger Falls. I had trouble getting a good shot of the falls due to winds blowing the branches around, and eventually gave up on getting them all still at the same time. As such, I'm not crazy about this shot, but I'm glad I tried. F/14, 1.6 seconds.

Finally, one with an old cedar trunk in the foreground. This was another instance were winds were making it hard getting all of the tree branches sharp. To achieve a faster shutter speed, I didn't use as narrow of an aperture as I otherwise would have, thus sacrificing some image quality in the background. F/16.

Signs of Spring

Spring is coming! On Saturday, I visited the Lime Kiln trail, and there were hints that my favorite season is approaching, including flower buds, catkins, and lots o' mud. I realized that even though I've hiked the trail several times, I've only ever done so during winter. I don't know whether the Lime Kiln trail would hold up as a summer destination - I'd rather get to older forests, or higher elevations - but the idea of a spring or fall visit intrigues me.

Anyway, I'll start with one of the aforementioned buds, this one of salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis). Getting this one right was a struggle. Under the cloud and tree cover, it was fairly dark outside, so I used a shutter speed of 1/25 of a second. This made it hard to set the focus point properly and get the bud sharp; the wind, though light, frequently caused the bud to move. At long last, an image worked well enough to use. F/5.6.

Next, two versions of a view of the South Fork Stillaguamish River from the trail's end. I think I like the vertical version better - you see more of the trees in the upper third of the image - but I'm glad I tried a horizontal version. In any case, I think the striped rock at bottom right really helps anchor the foreground. Both F/16, 1 second.

Here's another view of the river, with more of the river shore in the foreground. I was worried that it would be too busy, but I actually like it. The branches create converging lines, and I like the look of the water. F/14, 0.8 seconds.

Lastly, a mossy forest view early in the hike. The creek at the bottom of the ravine isn't as perceptible as I would have liked, but I like the lighting and the mossy branches. F/16.

Choose Your Own Adventure

One of the joys of visiting Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park is the intricate system of crisscrossing trails. You can create a different hike every time, and find your ideal distance and level of difficulty, with the park's waterfalls and summits serving as destinations. This time, I created a loop of around seven miles (maybe a bit longer) starting at the Wilderness Creek trailhead, with Far Country Falls as my farthest point.

First, some ferns growing on one of the glacial erratic boulders along the Wilderness Creek trail. The morning fog added some mood to the background, and helped keep it from getting too cluttered. I took a selective focus approach, with an aperture of F/6.3.

Next, Far Country Falls. I visited this waterfall last winter, and wanted to challenge myself to visualize it differently. F/14, 0.8 seconds.

Finally, a lush scene along the Wilderness Creek trail. In its finished form, this image isn't as compelling as I'd like it to be. The slight touch of snow, and the filtered sunshine, were more striking in person. I think it needs more depth somehow. F/14.