Spring at Ohanapecosh

A few weeks ago, I visited the Silver Falls area of Mount Rainier National Park, near Ohanapecosh and the Grove of the Patriarchs. I haven't really been able to get to the images until now (or go on another hike since then), because it's been a very busy June, with a move and other things on my plate (all the rain hasn't helped, either). Hopefully, with the weather straightening itself out and my life calming down ever so slightly, I'll be able to get back into the swing of hiking and photography.

Silver Falls

Despite the relatively even overcast lighting, I had some trouble getting the exposure right in my waterfall shots, with the waterfall ending up much brighter than the surroundings. Ultimately, I had to rely on brightening the shadows and darkening the highlights quite a bit in Lightroom to make the images work. Contrast this high takes a toll on image quality, but most of my shots turned out better than I had expected. First, my favorite composition of the falls. F/16, 1/4 of a second.

Next, a view of the river just above the falls. I like how colorful this composition is - the reddish driftwood, yellow-green moss, and blue water contrast with each other very well. F/18, 1/2 of a second.

Lastly, two more views of the falls. Both F/16, 1/3 and 1/5 of a second, respectively.

Eastside Trail

I also crossed the road to hike a bit of the Eastside Trail. The main attraction of the trail from this direction is the access to the Grove of the Patriarchs, but that's been closed since a flood damaged the bridge last fall. Since the main Eastside Trail was still open, I decided I would just hike that as far as I wished. The trail past the Grove turnoff was enjoyable and, I think, worthy of a return visit. There's a particularly fun section where the trail ascends an open slope, with views down to the colorful Ohanapecosh River through vine maples and mossy rocks. I had been expecting more dark, dense forest, so this change of scenery was a pleasant surprise. Here's a view from this spot. F/16.

The vine maples (Acer circinatum) were in full bloom; below is a closeup of some of those flowers. F/7.1.

Next, a view of the Ohanapecosh River near the trailhead. I took a picture from the same riverbank in 2019 (fifth image in this post), but wasn't satisfied with the sense of depth. This time, I set the tripod at a lower height, making the river appear closer, and showing more of the water's texture. For these reasons, I think this year's version was more successful. F/11, 1/13 of a second.

Here's another view of the Ohanapecosh River, with abundant spring foliage in the foreground. F/16, 0.4 seconds.

Finally, some colorful old-growth trunks. F/16.

That's it for now - hopefully, my next hike (and next post) will come soon. Enjoy the sunshine, everyone!