Evergreen Mountain Lookout

On Saturday, I made my second visit to the Evergreen Mountain Lookout. I first hiked there in July of 2018, trying it out as an evening hike to take advantage of lighting conditions. Theoretically, this is a workable way to visit the area, since the hike is only about 3 miles round trip. But the steepness of the trail and long drive on forest service roads made for a lengthier and later trip than I had bargained for. This time, I started in the morning. Though the lighting was technically not as good this time, as I was at the lookout at midday, the hike itself was more enjoyable - I wasn't as rushed, and I'm more of a morning person anyway (as my girlfriend, who joined me on this hike, can attest).

First, a wildflower meadow near the lookout. As I've done with a couple other images this year, I made perspective distortion my friend. The relatively level horizon and the straight center trees create a "visual sea level," to borrow a term from Mountain Light by Galen Rowell (essentially, a visual element included in a composition with exaggerated color or perspective, making the image more "believable" to the viewer's eye). F/14.

Next, Glacier Peak from near the lookout. The midday lighting isn't doing this image any favors, but on the other hand, I like all the shades and layers of green and blue. F/13.

Finally, an experiment framing the lookout's grand view with tree branches. It'll still take some work to finalize the lighting and color balance, and a couple leaves here and there are blurred due to a light breeze, but I like how the composition is laid out. F/13.