2019: Year in Review and New Year's Resolutions

It's hard to believe that it's that time of year again! For anyone new to this blog, in this post I will be reviewing my photography from 2019 - what went well, lessons learned, and whether I addressed my goals for the year - and proposing ideas for 2020! Here is a link to last year's year-in-review post.

Note: All locations in Washington state unless otherwise specified.

Highlights of 2019
 
1) A Stronger Start - In 2018, I didn't get out to do any photography until March. In 2019, however, I made much better use of January and February. Before this year, I wouldn't have expected to do as much successful photography in late winter, but I found opportunities both in the mountains and in snow-free lowland forest settings. Hopefully, this will inspire me to further late-winter photography in coming years. It's always hiking season!

Boulder River trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (January)

Marten Creek, Snoqualmie Lake Trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (February)

Big Four Mountain, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (February)

Franklin Falls, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (February)

2) Maple Pass Loop - My favorite hike of the year was the Maple Pass Loop trail, which I visited at the peak of summer wildflower season under perfectly overcast skies - the clouds were thick enough to diffuse the sunlight, but high enough that mountains were generally still visible. I spent a good ten hours on this trail, with a lot of long photography stops. I could have spent a week or two photographing the trail, making time management the greatest challenge of this hike - I had to forgo some opportunities for photography in order to have adequate time for others and complete the hike. This is a mental discipline that I have been working on for a long time, and on the Maple Pass Loop hike, I think I made good decisions about where to stop (e.g., the meadows just above Maple Pass, the first two photos of this set).

Lake Ann in the distance

Aster flowers

3) Eastern Washington trip - As I often have in prior years, I took a multi-night trip in May to eastern Washington for wildflower photography. I visited two favorite locations in southeast Washington, Fields Spring State Park and Kamiak Butte County Park, as well as the Fishtrap Recreation Area and Turnbull National Wildlife Area near Spokane. It was a tough trip: I had rainfall to contend with almost every day, the air was frequently breezy, and my final day concluded with a tick ambush - I discovered the first tick while driving, when I saw it on my neck in the rear view mirror! (Eight altogether on my skin and clothing, but thankfully none had yet attached to my skin). Despite these challenges, I think I walked away with some good photographs. I don't "regret" going, but there were some lessons learned: First, I don't imagine I'll return to Turnbull for spring photography; too many ticks for the scenery available (the aspen in the autumn, though, might be another story...). Second, while issues like rain can beset any trip, particularly in the spring, it would have been wise to have some backup plans for a trip this long - it certainly wasn't raining in all of central and eastern Washington all of the time, and I might have made better use of my time by having one or two alternate itineraries ready to go. Mid-trip is not a good time to do this kind of research.

Phlox and paintbrush, Fields Spring State Park

Balsamroot flowers, Fields Spring State Park

Phlox, desert parsley, and larkspur, Fields Spring State Park

Balsamroot and desert parsley, Kamiak Butte County Park

Star-flowered false Solomon's seal, Kamiak Butte County Park

Balsamroot flowers and Hog Canyon Falls, Fishtrap Recreation Area

Hog Lake, Fishtrap Recreation Area

4) Columbia River Gorge trip - This trip took place even earlier in the year, in late April, but with much less rainfall than the May trip. There was a lot of late-morning and afternoon wind to contend with, but this is to be expected in the Gorge. An additional challenge was sunshine on most of the days, making for high-contrast lighting. On the plus side, I think I was able to visit a good diversity of locations, and maintain good energy throughout the trip.

Desert parsley, Coyote Wall, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

Desert parsley, Coyote Wall area, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

Camas, Catherine Creek area, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

Falls Creek Falls, Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Balsamroot, Tom McCall Preserve

5) Pete Lake trip - This was the shortest of all of my camping trips this year, to the Salmon La Sac area in early July to hike the Pete Lake and Cooper River trails. Due to the possibility of rain showers and thunderstorms, I followed weather forecasts obsessively for the preceding few days and considered not making the trip at all. I am happy that I took the risk and persevered, neither abandoning my trip nor turning back from the Pete Lake hike when rain began to fall. The rainfall only lasted for about thirty minutes; other than that, I enjoyed beautiful weather throughout the trip. This trip was the balance to my May trip: while I was a bit too cavalier about the possibility of rain in May, I nearly succumbed to excessive caution this time.

Pete Lake, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Lupine and thimbleberry, Pete Lake trail, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

6) Larch March 2019 - Due to weather and timing issues, a larch march almost didn't happen this year. At the end of October, however, the stars aligned and I visited the Iron Bear/Teanaway Ridge hike north of Cle Elum. While one doesn't get up as close and personal with larches here as one might on a trail like Ingalls Way, my larch march last year, there are some nice views of them. While I don't know whether I will return to Iron Bear/Teanaway Ridge for larch photography, I am very glad I went on this hike, for two reasons: First, the valley views were stunning on their own. Second, I saw evidence of wildflowers in the meadows, and I hope to hike this trail in the spring of 2020.

7) Pushing my physical limits - This year, I have improved my physical fitness level and hiked trails that would have been more taxing or unattainable in prior years. One such hike was the Maple Pass Loop (images earlier in the post); while I've done it before, being in better physical condition meant that I had more time and energy to devote to photography. The hike to Park Butte in the North Cascades was another such hike. With a total net elevation gain of 2200 feet, I don't think I would have attempted it at all in prior years. Also challenging was the Palisades Lakes trail in Mount Rainier National Park. The net elevation gain is about 1800 feet, and a decent amount of that is on the way back - the trail descends almost immediately from the trailhead. Finally, my late-summer trip to Cascade Pass also counts; I've done this hike before, but I hiked to the pass more quickly than ever this year, giving me more time to explore the area around and above the pass. I definitely feel that my hiking options for 2020 have broadened.

Park Butte trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Palisades Lakes trail, Mount Rainier National Park

Cascade Pass, North Cascades National Park

8) Exploration of Mount Rainier National Park - This year, I have spent more time in Mount Rainier National Park than ever before. Its distance from where I live in the Seattle area has been prohibitive of day hiking in prior years, but having a girlfriend who lives much nearer the park gives me a closer starting point, even allowing me to beat the crowds and get an early start on the trails. I feel very fortunate, as this is one of the most iconic landscapes in the state, if not the country. I had poor luck when it came to views of the mountain itself this year; thankfully, there are enough views of other mountains, wildflowers, waterfalls, and other attractions to keep a photographer busy! Here are some of the best from each location, all of which were new to me this year:

Ohanapecosh River

Grove of the Patriarchs

Silver Falls

Emmons Moraine trail

Snow Lake

Sunrise Lake, Palisades Lakes trail

Fremont Lookout trail

Madcap Falls

9) New Perspectives on Old Places - In contrast to the exploration described above, I also revisited some longstanding favorite destinations. I've lost track of how many times I've hiked either the Baker River trail or the Gold Creek trail, but I am happy to know that I haven't even come close to exhausting the photographic opportunities in these locations. In both cases, I found new wildflower configurations, new seasonal contrasts, or other new ways to depict the landscape.

Pacific bleeding heart, Gold Creek trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Fireweed, Gold Creek trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Baker River trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Baker River trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

10) Difficult lighting - I've taken some risks with high-contrast lighting this year that have paid off. The first in this set involves contrast between bright waterfalls and dark forest; the rest involve the sky and/or high-contrast midday sunlight. With practice, I am improving my intuitive grasp of my camera's capabilities, as well as my ability to use my camera's histogram feature to refine my exposure settings in the field.

Boulder River trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Along the PCT near Lake Valhalla, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Near Cascade Pass, North Cascades National Park

Lake Twenty-Two, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

From the trail to Mount Sawyer, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

11) New wildflowers - Every year, I review the wildflowers that I photographed for the first time, or that I photographed with significantly better or different results than in prior years. It was a good year for wildflower closeups! To keep the length of this section manageable, I'll limit myself to flowers whose species I can positively identify, and compositions I'm genuinely happy with.

Small-flowered prairie star (Lithophragma parviflorum), Deception Pass State Park

Bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), Saint Edward State Park

Chocolate lily (Fritillaria affinis), Catherine Creek, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

Broadleaf stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium), Deception Pass State Park

Fawn lily (Erythronium oreganum), Sharpe Park

Trillium (Trillium ovatum) with aging petals, Gold Creek trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Western coralroot (Corallorhiza mertensiana), Pete Lake trail, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Candystick (Allotropa virgata), Cooper River trail, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Subalpine spiraea (Spiraea splendens), Pete Lake trail, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata), Cooper River trail, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax), Bench and Snow Lakes trail, Mount Rainier National Park

Bird's beak lousewort (Pedicularis ornithorhyncha), Maple Pass Loop trail, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Pink monkey-flower (Erythranthe lewisii), Anderson-Watson Lakes trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Sickletop lousewort (Pedicularis racemosa), Palisades Lakes trail, Mount Rainier National Park

12) Odds and Ends - Here are a few images that I really liked that didn't end up in any of the above categories:

Lower Little Mashel Falls, Pack Forest

Middle Little Mashel Falls, Pack Forest

Nisqually River, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Last Year's Resolutions

1) Moon photography - This didn't end up happening this year; in fact, I didn't really do dawn or dusk photography at all in 2019, of the moon or otherwise. To an extent, I feel like I "should" be photographing moonrises, moonsets, sunrises, and sunsets, not only because I set a goal to do so, but because these scenes are simply so spectacular. But I suppose it's not the worst thing to have settled on other mental priorities (such as exploring Mount Rainier National Park and finding wildflowers).

2) A New Area - Yes, to an extent. I didn't make any trips quite as ambitious as the ones I proposed last year (e.g., northeast Washington), but insofar as my trip to the Columbia Gorge involved two hikes in Oregon, I did technically make a "foray into a neighboring state," as I suggested in last year's post. I also visited Orcas Island for the first time as an adult. Furthermore, as discussed, I spent a lot of time in Mount Rainier National Park, which I had visited in the past but not extensively. Overall, then, I am satisfied with the new places I saw, given the year's opportunities and constraints. Below are highlights from my two hikes in Oregon, and two highlights from Orcas Island:

Tom McCall Preserve, OR

Latourell Falls, OR

Rustic Falls, Moran State Park, Orcas Island

From Mount Constitution, Moran State Park, Orcas Island

3) Selective Focus - Yes! Last year, I wrote that I wanted to experiment with a narrow depth of field on landscapes (as opposed to a wide depth of field, which is my standard practice). I was able to remember this compositional idea and try it out in a few different settings. These are more difficult than standard wildflower closeups - the area in focus is smaller in the frame, but still needs to be precise.

Camas flowers, Sharpe Park

Balsamroot flowers, Fields Spring State Park

Desert parsley, Kamiak Butte

Camas flowers, Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge

Gold Creek trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Gold Creek trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Goat Lake, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

4) Backpacking - Didn't happen; I didn't even car-camp as extensively throughout the summer as I did in 2018. A lot of this has to do with difficulties in planning; I spent quite a bit of the summer job-hunting, and had enough leads that for most of the summer, I didn't feel comfortable either going off the grid for more than a day, or making plans far in advance. This prevented a photography backpacking trip in 2019.

5) Involvement and Venues - I wanted 2019 to be a year in which I publicly displayed my photography in some form, sold photography in some form, or otherwise moved in that direction. This goal also fell by the wayside - again, I think it had a lot to do with the job search and transition. Beyond that, the initial investments of time and material remain intimidating, and I still haven't landed on an attractive and attainable way to begin (other than stock or microstock, but I don't think my images are likely to make much money doing that).

6) Technological changes - Well, I did get a better all-purpose zoom lens, because the one I have been using for years finally fell apart on a hike! In hindsight, while this was an unwelcome surprise at the time, I am happy to be using a lens with higher image quality.

Ideas for 2020

1) Non-floral Macro - A worthwhile artistic goal for 2020 is to use my macro lens to photograph subjects that aren't blooming flowers, something I've done on occasion but not in 2019 (and very little in 2018). Obvious possible subjects include fungi, moss, lichen, grasses or sedges, tree bark detail, autumn leaves, and flowers already gone to seed. I am certain that there are more.

2) Dawn, Dusk, Moon, Etc - In 2020, I would like to photograph a sunrise, a sunset, a dawn, a dusk, or a full moon event. While I'm not upset that I focused on other things in 2019, it would be a good idea to diversify my photography to include these events again - not to mention fun to see them!

3) A New Area - I'm repeating a goal I had for 2019; I would like to explore a new area of the state. Even if I don't do anything ambitious, it is beneficial for me to prioritize experiencing new places. Some attainable possibilities for meeting this goal are some areas on the east slopes of the Cascades, the South Cascades, or the east slopes of the Olympic Mountains.

4) New Wilderness Area - This is related to the previous goal; in 2020, I would like to do photography in at least one designated wilderness area that I haven't visited before.

5) Sale or Venue - In another repeated goal, I would like to find a way to sell or display some photographs - or, at the very least, research some good ways of getting started. I don't expect photography to be a major income-producer - I'm not sure I would even want it to be, in fact - but I would love for the hobby to pay for some of its own expenses, and I think I would find it stimulating to build a wider audience for my work. I haven't displayed photographs publicly, or sold to a non-family member, since 2015, and I think the time is right to get things going again.

6) Revisit Learning - Another thing that I've done little of this year, but have done in prior years - either on my own or as a part of graduate research - is reading on topics directly relevant to my photography. This might be on the photographic process, on on local natural and human history, or on ideas about nature and nature photography.  When I take the time to do this, I think more critically about the story I am telling with my compositions, and have more to say about my photographs after I take them.

That's all for now! I can't wait for the adventures that 2020 will bring!