Scenes Along the Middle Fork

Yesterday morning, concerned about the possibility of afternoon rainfall, I hiked the Garfield Ledges trail, which is short and a relatively quick drive from my house. This turned out to be a bust - just a few minutes after I reached the viewpoint at trail's end, rain began to fall, blown toward my camera lens. This and the lowering of the clouds, obscuring the view, precluded any photography. I gave up after about half an hour of waiting for conditions to improve.

Happily, I found a way to salvage the day: by stopping at some of the short trails and river access points along the Middle Fork Road. These stops proved much more conducive to photography, even under low clouds and intermittent showers. As an added benefit, I now have a much better concept of the photography possibilities that these places offer. I've always been curious about them, but would not otherwise have devoted a day to investigating them. There are some that I'd definitely go back to, particularly in the fall or a bit earlier in the spring.

First, a view of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. I think I like the horizontal composition better, but I'm glad I tried it both ways. F/16, 0.4 seconds and 0.25 seconds.

This next one is a bit busy, but I still like how it manages to incorporate the river, the lush trees, and the low clouds. F/14.

Here is a view of a willow of some sort, with alder trunks on the opposite bank of the river in the background. I liked how colorful the new spring growth was. F/11.

Finally, a forest view from one of the river access trails. The forest in the area is generally second-growth, but it's still pretty lush and mossy. F/14.