July Odds and Ends

I'm behind on blogging, so I'm going to condense a couple trips from July into one post. First, I hiked some of the PCT north of Snoqualmie Pass, toward the Kendall Katwalk (I didn't make it that far - there was an area of winter damage prior to the Katwalk, and I like to hike slowly for photography anyway). 

My favorite image from the hike is this one of Red Mountain just as the morning clouds were dissipating. My timing was just right, and I didn't need to wait long at all for the clouds to do what I wanted them to do. If I had arrived any later, the cloud layer would have been higher, making this composition quite a bit less interesting. F/16.

Here's an image of a nearby mountain from the same time and vantage point. At the time, I thought the symmetry would be appealing, but I think it's less striking than the image above. F/16.

Next, a closeup of some sort of currant or gooseberry (genus Ribes). I don't have it quite narrowed down to the exact species yet. My best guess is trailing black currant (Ribes laxiflorum). F/6.3.

Here's a fun picture of a small falls along the trail. I've photographed this view before, in late fall with a bit of early snow (last photo in this post). It certainly has a different character in the summer! I like the spiky wildflower clusters in the foreground. F/16, 1/6 of a second.

Next, a couple wildflower shots from a trip I took to the Perry Creek trail. First, thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus). I took this under blue skies early in the morning, and it shows in the cool color cast. Were I to frame this image, I'd probably edge the white balance even warmer (being able to fine-tune white balance after the fact is one of the best parts of shooting in RAW format). F/5.6.

Finally, a wild rose of some sort. Looking at pictures, I'm guessing (but not positive) that it's a baldhip rose (Rosa gymnocarpa). F/5.6.

I just got back from a trip to Vancouver Island in Canada. Stay tuned for photos!