Hope and Mig 2021

Every fall, I try to hike to Hope and Mig Lakes near Stevens Pass. Due to the colorful ground cover around Mig Lake, and the relative lack of hiker traffic, it's one of my favorite hikes this time of year. I visited yesterday under clear skies. This high-contrast lighting was a challenge in the patchy meadow-and-forest environment around the lakes, but it was fun to have one more summer-like day in the mountains. And a quiet one, at that - for most of the time that I spent at Mig Lake, I had it to myself.

First, a classic shot of Mig Lake with reflections and distant hills visible. The foreground plants are a little bit overexposed, but I think the overall picture still looks okay. F/16.

Here's Mig Lake from the opposite shore. I used my widest lens for this shot, to get more of the grassy foreground in view. I also set up the tripod to have the camera quite low to the ground. This added some depth, and enabled me to keep the camera more level. Tilting the lens downward, as I would have had to do here if the camera had been at shoulder height, would have produced more obvious converging vertical lines, which I didn't want. If you look at the trees, you can see the tree trunks converging a bit, as the lens was still tilted downward slightly, but it isn't too bad. F/14.

Next, a more backlit shot from yet another vantage point at Mig Lake. The contrast is higher than I'd usually prefer, but the angle of the light really brings out the reds and yellows of the foreground. F/16.

Finally, here's an autumnal scene from the Tunnel Creek Trail, with vine maple leaves in the foreground. F/16.

That's all for now! The rain is falling in earnest, and I'm sure scenery and conditions will be changing. But October can be lovely, too! Stay tuned.

Lake Valhalla and Mount McCausland

On Thursday, before the rain descended upon us, I hiked to Lake Valhalla near Stevens Pass. It's an easy hike to a gorgeous lake; as such, it tends to be extremely busy on weekends, and I was grateful for the opportunity to visit on a weekday. Skies were clear, affording great views of the surrounding mountains. Because of this, and because of the fall color visible on higher slopes, I made a last-minute decision to hike up Mount McCausland on the way back. I didn't make it quite to the summit, because I was getting close to my turnaround time and wanted to save time for pictures, but the views en route were fantastic.

First, the amazing view from Mount McCausland. Lake Valhalla is in the center, with Lichtenberg Mountain on the left. F/14.

Next, the same view without Lichtenberg Mountain. The mountain adds drama, so that'll probably end up the preferred image, but I like how this composition has less empty space and features the lake more prominently. F/14.

Here's a shot from the sandy beach of Lake Valhalla, with Lichtenberg Mountain again in the distance. I shot this at a fairly wide angle with my tripod low to the ground; this ended up distorting the background trees, but I really like the feeling of depth here. F/14.

Next, one in which I tried putting the lake and mountain out of focus, with a mountain ash (Sorbus sitchensis) in the foreground. I set the focus point for the big cluster of the berries at the top, which I think worked pretty well. F/5.6.

I tried another mountain-ash-and-lake composition, this one with a wide depth of field. It's a bit busy, but I think it still comes together. F/16.

Next, an image from the PCT en route to Lake Valhalla. Most of the hike passes through forest, but there are some nice openings like this one. F/16.

Lastly, something a bit different - fireweed flowers (Chamaenerion angustifolium) with frost crystals, taken early in the morning. I've never photographed a flower with frost on it before, so this was an exciting find. F/5.6.

That's all for now, but it looks like we might have some good weather next week - stay tuned!

Low Water and Fall Colors

On Saturday, I hiked to Goat Lake, one of my favorite places. Because the trail tends to be snow-free fairly early in the year, I'm typically here in June. But Goat Lake is also a worthy fall destination. While the fall colors aren't incredible throughout, they're very nice at the lake itself and on open slopes. Another advantage to visiting at this time of year is that, with lower water levels, there's quite a bit more beach around the lake to explore.

Skies were generally overcast. While I prefer the evenness of overcast lighting for forested settings, it's a double-edged sword in a place like Goat Lake. On the one hand, the evenness of the lighting is still helpful, reducing contrast and accentuating colors. On the other, it is difficult or impossible to expose for both the bright-cloudy sky and foreground elements. As such, I wasn't able to include as much of the mountains in my composition as I can on a clear day, and had to get a bit creative with my compositions. 

First, a direct view of the lake in all of its glory, with fall colors becoming visible. The lake shore/horizon is closer to the midpoint than I'd prefer, although the reflections add some symmetry and help with this problem. This vantage point was probably underwater earlier in the summer, so it was fun to stand there. F/18.

Second, the lake through branches. In this case, I benefitted from the day's very light winds. F/14.

Next, a view of the lake with a a more prominent foreground. It's busier than I had envisioned, but I still like this one. F/16.

Finally, a small falls on Elliott Creek near the lake. F/16, 1.3 seconds.

Autumn Leaves and Summer Skies

A few days ago, I hiked some of the Perry Creek trail off the Mountain Loop Highway. Although the scenery of late spring and early summer will always be my favorite - I can't get enough of those wildflowers, as you know - this time of year is great for hiking in and of itself. There aren't as many bugs, trails are likely to be dry and clear, creeks are easy to cross, and the weather is typically dry but not hot. These were all true of the Perry Creek Trail, and overall, the hike was a very enjoyable summer-meets-fall situation. On the one hand, the sunshine was warm, with cumulus clouds overhead, and much of the foliage was still green. On the other, the vine maples were starting to show autumn colors, and shaded areas in the morning had that distinctive September chill.

First, a view down the Perry Creek valley toward Hall Peak. I like the look of the clouds in this one, and was excited about this composition because I don't typically do a lot of sky photography. F/18.

Next, one with a similar concept, but with the vine maple branches and leaves more prominently featured. F/18.

Here's an image from my turnaround point, at Perry Creek Falls. The trail sits above most of the waterfall, but the parts that can be seen safely are still nice. F/16, 3 seconds.

Below, a view up the valley early in the morning. I like the distinct color zones in this image, and the sunlit area at the top, although the overall composition isn't as eye-catching as this view was in person. F/16.

Next, two more views of the valley featuring early-autumn colors. In the second of this pair, there aren't any obvious straight lines (e.g. tree trunks), making the perspective effect less distracting. (The lens was at an upward angle, which would have made straight lines appear to converge. I dealt with this a lot last year when shooting downward into valleys; see the final image in this post). F/18 and F/16, respectively. 

Finally, bigleaf maple leaves and seeds, with Hall Peak in the background. Given the high-contrast lighting, this one turned out better than I had expected. F/5.6.

Dungeness River

For the second time this year, I was recently able to camp on the Olympic Peninsula, this time at the Dungeness Forks Campground on the northeast side. It's really not all that far from Sequim and Highway 101, but it is small and feels very remote. For my day hike I chose the Upper Dungeness River. The forecast was for overcast skies, so I didn't feel the need to seek big mountain views. My map also suggested that the trail would follow the river very closely. In this regard, I wasn't disappointed: the river is in sight for a large portion of the hike, with plenty of opportunities to wander down to the banks. The forested surroundings are also scenic, with some gnarly old Douglas first to keep things interesting.

First, two early-morning views of the Dungeness River from the trail, with red alder branches in the foreground. Weather conditions were clearer than I expected, and the blue skies above made the color temperature of the lighting in the shaded forest very "cool" (bluish). In person, the eye corrects for this, but the colors in a photograph taken under these conditions can end up looking very exaggerated. Thankfully, since I shoot in RAW, this is easy to correct using the white balance sliders in Lightroom. Both F/16, 10 seconds.

My turnaround point was Camp Handy, which is three-ish miles from the trailhead. There are some grassy meadows and wide gravel bars where you can view the river and the hillsides beyond, which is a fun contrast to the dense forests of the rest of the hike. Here's an image from the area. F/18.

Next, the trunk of an old Douglas fir, with the river visible in the background. F/14.

Below is what I believe to be Sitka mountain ash growing along the banks of Royal Creek. F/6.3. I also tried this with a narrow aperture for a wider depth of field, so both the creek and the fruits would be in focus. It wasn't as compelling, though; the additional detail in the background forest was a bit distracting.

Here's a closeup of an aster (I'm not sure which species; there are a lot of asters in Washington State, and I'm not good at telling them apart). F/16.

The Dungeness Forks Campground, situated at the confluence of the Dungeness and Gray Wolf rivers, is also quite scenic. When I arrived, about midday on a Thursday, most of the campsites were unoccupied, giving me many choices for finding riverbanks to explore. Here is an image from my favorite spot. F/18, 0.6 seconds.