Three Recent Trips

I've gotten a bit behind on my blogging, so in this post, my readers will get a three-for one deal! Here are my three most recent photography excursions.

Old Sauk Trail

Most recently, I hiked the Old Sauk Trail near Darrington. I had known there might be showers on that particular day, so all the tree cover came in handy. Although I did expect a few fall-color scenes, I was surprised by how vibrant and extensive the colors were. And showers notwithstanding, conditions were excellent for photography - even lighting, almost no breeze.

First, looking over the Sauk River. F/18, 0.6 seconds.

Here's an alternate view from almost the same vantage point. There's slightly more distortion near the edges due to the wider focal length. F/18, 0.6 seconds.

Next, a lush forest scene from the trail. F/14.

For the forest composition below, I included some ferns and a fallen log to add more depth. Looking at it now, I don't think that log is very visually interesting, but I like the ferns, and the fall color in the background. F/14.

Lastly from the Old Sauk, two images with a vine-maple-and-big-trees sort of theme. Vine maples don't get as colorful under forest cover as they do in open areas - the bright reds are mostly absent - but the yellow leaves can still make for some nice scenes. F/14 and F/18, respectively.

Big Four Ice Caves

Prior to that, I visited the Big Four Ice Caves trail on a warm, clear day; I wanted to see some sunshine and blue sky. I certainly did that, but the lighting ended up being the day's biggest challenge. In the meadowy area immediately near the ice caves, Big Four Mountain cast a huge shadow, making for dark foregrounds with very bright mountains in the distance. Elsewhere, the contrast was still very high. I did my best, but I'm not very excited about any of these.

First, Big Four Mountain itself. F/16.

Next, some of the other peaks visible from the area, with fall-color foregrounds. Neither the lighting nor the image quality thrill me in any of these, so I almost didn't post them, but here they are. Ironically, the middle of this set had the best image quality, but not the most interesting foreground. All F/16.

Whitehorse Trail

The third visit featured in this post was to the Whitehorse Trail out of Trafton. In theory, it's a bike trail. Unfortunately, due to the gravel surfacing, the overgrown blackberry bushes (which have thorns), and other issues, I don't see myself taking my bicycle up there anytime soon. It still makes for a nice walk, though! Since it's flat, the miles go by quickly; we were able to cover roughly eight miles round-trip before lunch. A lot of the trail is brushy/brambly, but there are some nice views of farmlands, woods, and the North Fork Stillaguamish River.

Here's the only image I really liked from the day, of the river with some hints of fall color. F/16.

Thanks for hanging in there! Hopefully I'll get one or two more chances to find some fall colors before it's time to look for winter scenery!