May Trip Part 1: Fields Spring

Every spring, I try to visit eastern Washington to photograph wildflowers. This year, I traveled there for nearly a week in mid-May. Although early bloomers like balsamroot and shooting star were slightly past their prime, the wildflowers were overall in full force in all of the locations I visited. Weather conditions, however, were less than ideal, and I found myself dodging rain and thunderstorms on many of the days. Because of that and other challenges, I spent less time in the field doing photography than I would have liked. Nevertheless, it was a satisfying trip, with opportunities to revisit some of my favorite places.

My first destination was Fields Spring State Park, one of my favorite places in Washington state, where I camped for two nights. The highlight of the park is Puffer Butte, where wildflower meadows and canyon views are accessible via a short hiking trail. The weather changed rapidly during my full day there: a warm and sunny morning became a cold and showery afternoon. But I discovered that it was possible to wait out rain showers in relative comfort on Puffer Butte, courtesy of an unlocked ski/snowshoe warming hut with a covered porch. I'll even go so far as to say that I enjoyed the rain showers there - it was mesmerizing to watch them move over the surrounding terrain.

First, what might be my favorite composition from the trip: a meadow of phlox (pink) and paintbrush (red and yellowish) on Puffer Butte. The scene was backlit, requiring creative use of a lens hood and my hand to shield the lens from sun glare. F/16.

Next, an early-morning view from the trail to Puffer Butte, where the trail emerges from forest cover into open meadows. Balsamroot are prominent in the foreground, and the snow-covered Wallowa Mountains are visible in the distance. F/16.

Here's a view from Puffer Butte on the same day as the previous image, but in the afternoon, with advancing rain showers visible in the distance. Phlox (pink), desert parsley (yellow), and larkspur (purple) are the prominent flowers in the foreground. F/18.

Generally speaking, I concentrated on landscape images rather than flower closeups, but here's a closeup that turned out well: shooting star, from near the summit of Puffer Butte under forest cover of mostly ponderosa pine. F/5.

Next, an early morning view from open forest along the trail to Puffer Butte. The distant views are a bit hazier than would be ideal, but I think there's enough definition to make this image work. Serviceberry shrubs are blooming in the foreground. F/16.

Below, an open area on the Morning Song trail. I wanted to juxtapose the color variations of the paintbrush flowers. F/20.

Here's another landsacpe from Puffer Butte, with balsamroot in the foreground. This composition is not as visually striking as some of the earlier ones, but it has a greater sense of open space. At center left, if you look closely, you can see the Grande Ronde River in the distance. F/16.

Finally, two compositions in which I experimented with a narrower depth of field. Balsamroot flowers are in the foreground of the first, larkspur in the second. I think the second composition would have been better if the larkspur flowers were more prominent in the frame, but there was no way to do that without sacrificing background context (by zooming in) or going off trail (by moving closer). Both F/5.

Part 2 will feature photography from another favorite place, Kamiak Butte County Park in Whitman County. Stay tuned!