First Winter Walk

Over the weekend, to celebrate the long-awaited lowering of snow levels, I went on one of my favorite winter hikes/walks: the closed portion of the Mountain Loop Highway (after Deer Creek) to the Big Four Ice Caves area. You can't get to the ice caves right now, but the marsh trails have excellent views, and there is also a path down to the river. The snow at this relatively low elevation tends to melt and refreeze through the winter, creating the icy walking conditions I've dealt with in the past, but the snow on Sunday was fresh and easily walkable.

First, my favorite image from the day - a view of what I think is Mount Dickerman, with some valley mist floating around. F/16.

Next, Coal Creek from the road. F/14, 0.4 seconds.

Here's a shot of the South Fork Stillaguamish River and a hill beyond, also from the road. The sky on the left-hand side got a little washed-out/overexposed (also affecting the image quality of the tree), but I like the look of the snowy trees on the hill. F/14.

Next, the South Fork Stillaguamish River at the trail's current end. I was hoping the polarizing filter would have an even stronger effect on the water, reducing the surface glare and revealing the rocks underneath even more clearly. That didn't quite happen, but I do like the vivid blue color that was reflected. F/16.

Finally, Hall Peak. I'm not happy with the way the sky turned out; some further tweaking in Lightroom will probably be in order. My polarizing filter affected the sky unevenly, and the colors seem a bit faded or washed out. Interestingly, I had similar sky issues when I took a picture from almost the same exact vantage point last year (second photo). This year, at least, I got a composition that works at a more standard print size (8x12). There's not much you can do with a square shot. F/16.