During the second half of my big May trip, I camped for two nights at Kamiak Butte - I wouldn't dream of visiting eastern Washington in the spring without stopping here.
On one of the mornings, I was surprised by fog. I believe it was my first time ever doing photography here under foggy conditions, and it was a fun challenge. Winds were very light, enabling me to use narrow apertures and still freeze the flowers and other foliage. F/22 in both cases.
Next are two forest landscapes. I've had a hard time getting representative compositions of the forests on the north side of the Butte, and these ones have decent depth and image quality. Both were along the West End Primitive Trail. F/18 in both cases.
Next is a view from the ridge using selective focus, with balsamroot flowers in the foreground. Frankly, the image quality and sharpness aren't ideal, but I like the composition and how the colors turned out. F/5.6.
Here's another balsamroot picture from the ridge. I thought the clouds were quite interesting at the time, and I like how I was able to include some of the sweep of the sky in the frame. This composition thus has an airy and open feel. F/18.
Finally, a closeup of death camas on the ridge. There are a couple varieties that grow in Washington and I haven't yet figured out which one this is. F/6.3.
Lastly, a closeup of Fendler's waterleaf (Hydrophyllum fendleri). This one wasn't at Kamiak Butte itself, but the nearby Rose Creek Nature Preserve, where I made a quick stop one evening. F/5.
Fields Spring
My final destination was Fields Spring State Park, one of my favorite places in Washington. The wildflowers weren't as far along as they've been other times I've visited, but I was still able to find some photography opportunities. Below is the best composition from the stay, a view from the hiking trail to Puffer Butte immediately after sunrise. F/16.
Here is a view of the summit of Puffer Butte the previous evening. I like the early-spring feel of this image, with new green foliage and yellow desert parsley just starting to pop up, as well as the wide perspective. The colors and lighting might need a bit of additional work. F/22.
Next, a couple compositions involving balsamroot flowers at the summit. Neither one is a show-stopper but I still thought I'd post them. Both at F/22.
Finally, a cool flower closeup. I'm pretty sure this is a rockcress, and my best guess is that this is Boechera retrofracta, or Arabis holboellii, Holboell's rockcress, since defining features vs. other rockcress species apparently include downward-hanging flowers and pinkish-purple petals. I'm not 100 percent sure, though, as there are a lot of varieties of rockcress and some variations in scientific naming as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment