Spokane Fun

I recently spent some time in the Spokane area and, while I was primarily going there on other business, accidentally happened to have placed my camera gear in my car. "Now, how did all of this get here?" I wondered aloud bemusedly, when I saw all the gear in the front seat before I left. "I suppose I might as well make some stops for pictures," I continued with a resigned sigh.

While I didn't get any show-stopping images, there are a few nice ones that I thought I would post.

Firt is a view from near the Little Spokane River, from the trail going south/east from Rutter Parkway. It's a nice trail and more diverse than I expected; moreover, this section escaped the wrath of the nearby fire this summer. There were nice fall colors near the river, and I suspect that there will be nice wildflowers at various points along the trail later in the spring. I used f/29 to get everything in focus. The sky was a bit milky for my tastes but it doesn't look too bad here. I imagine it'll look even better after some tweaking in Lightroom.

Next is a view from the James T. Slavin Conservation Area south of Spokane. Not a particularly eye-catching composition but it's pleasant enough. I think it's well-proportioned, at least. F/16.

Finally, some autumn aspen leaves from the conservation area. The white color of the aspen bark was more vivid in person than it is in this image, so I'm not sure whether I'm convinced by this composition. It might be worth it to experiment with lighting and white balance in Lightroom, but I don't know whether it'll ultimately make the cut. F/22.