Pete Lake and Cooper River

Earlier this week, I visited the Pete Lake and Cooper River trails in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (northwest of Cle Elum and Roslyn). Since these trails are very near each other and both follow the valley of the Cooper River, I'm going to condense these two hikes into one post.

My favorite images from the trip were flower closeups, including some of flowers that I haven't photographed before, or haven't photographed as well. First is candystick (Allotropa virgata), a myco-heterotroph. (Myco-heterotrophs do not use photosynthesis and thus have no green leaves; they instead depend on fungi for their nutrients.)

Second, another myco-heterotroph, this time what I believe to be western coralroot (Corallorhiza mertensiana). I've photographed western coralroot before. In this case, while the colors aren't quite as striking, I'm happier with the focus point that I chose, and the background is more even. F/5.

Below is subalpine spiraea (Spiraea splendens; I've also seen Spiraea densiflora). Rain started to fall when I was photographing these blossoms; the raindrops shook the flowers, making this image challenging. I'm glad I was able to make it work. F/5.6.

Finally, pipsissewa, or prince's pine (Chimaphila umbellata). F/5.

Now, some landscapes from the trip. First is a view of Pete Lake and the peaks beyond. The high contrast between the bright clouds and the darker areas of the trees made it necessary to underexpose slightly, costing me some detail and increasing noise. Truth be told, however, I wasn't expecting this image to work at all, so I'm still pleased. F/18.

Here are two alternative views of Pete Lake. In the first, I think the flowering shrub is red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera). The image quality in the first ended up being a bit better, but I think I like both of these compositions. F/18 and F/20.

Next, some lupine and thimbleberry blooming in a clearing along the Pete Lake trail. I envisioned the lines and shapes of the trees in the upper third of this composition coming through a bit more clearly, but I still like this composition. F/18.

Finally, two views of the Cooper River. I think these compositions were both a bit more dramatic in my mind's eye than they are in actuality; the foreground trees diminish the scale of the river a bit in both cases. The colors in the first one are interesting, though. F/20 and F/18, respectively.