Larch March 2019

On Thursday, I took advantage of the excellent weather to explore the Iron Bear/Teanaway Ridge hike, hoping to find some larches still showing fall color. As larch hikes go, this isn't the most spectacular that I've ever seen - generally speaking, the best views of larches are across ravines, on distant hillsides, or otherwise at a distance from the trail. The expansive views available throughout the hike made up for this, however, affording plenty of photogenic scenery. The day's largest challenge was lighting. The filtered sunshine, at a lower angle this time of year, was manageable in terms of contrast, but it caused issues with lens flares, and I lost some otherwise good compositions that way (even with shading from both a lens hood and my hand).

Below is my best composition from the hike, looking roughly southeast from near the junction of the Iron Bear and Teanaway Ridge trails. This one is good enough that I could reproduce it at large print sizes; that would have the effect of making the distant larches more discernible. F/14.

Next, a fall scene from nearer the trailhead. F/14.

Here is a view from my turnaround point, with a cloud-shrouded Mount Rainier visible over larch-clad hillsides. I would have liked a clearer view of Mount Rainier, but those distant clouds were thickening by the minute, and I had to make do with the conditions I had. The end result was good but not great, I think - although I might have a more favorable opinion of this composition if I were to see it enlarged in print. F/16.

Finally, a characteristic view from the upper reaches of the trail. I have mixed feelings about this one; while I really like the lighting and the color, the image quality turned out less than ideal, and the vertical lines aren't all in alignment. F/13.