The Second Last Hurrah of Wildflower Season

It appears I spoke too soon in my last post - I was able to find some more wildflowers! On Saturday, I hiked the Gold Creek trail near Snoqualmie Pass. Even on a nice day during a holiday weekend, the trail was quiet and peaceful, as always. Most of the flowers were long gone for the season, but there were a few lovely displays of fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) remaining.

First, one such stand of fireweed, looking up the Gold Creek valley. F/18.

Next, a different view from about the same location, looking up the side of the valley. F/16.

Here's a closer view of a remaining fireweed flower. F/7.1.

In this next one, I managed to juxtapose some fireweed blooms against the emerging autumn colors of vine maple. F/6.3.

Finally, a view of a lush valley wall through forest. There are many such scenes along the trail, but they can be hard to photograph due to the high contrast between the dark woods and the bright open areas. I think I managed to make this one work. F/16.

Last Hurrah of Wildflower Season

With summer conditions and scenery likely coming to a close soon, I've been itching to see some high-country wildflowers at least once this season. Last week, I was able to do so in Mount Rainier National Park, piecing together a day hike from some trails in the Sunrise area. Even at that high elevation, most flowers had gone to seed, but there were a few very nice meadows of aster. And under clear skies, I enjoyed good visibility of Mount Rainier and other peaks in the area.

First, the best meadow of aster that I saw, relatively early in the morning, looking south to what I think is the Cowlitz Chimneys in the center. F/16.

Next, a similar shot with Mount Rainier in the background. The flowers aren't as prominent, so maybe the composition isn't technically as "good," but, well, it has the mountain in it! F/16.

Here's a different perspective of one of the aster meadows, with Mount Rainier again in the background. F/11.

Next, a view down to the White River valley. Clearly, the air in that direction was a bit hazy; usually this annoys me, as I'd prefer the scenery to come through more clearly, but I like the effect of the terrain fading into the distance. The backlighting strengthens this effect. F/16.

Next, a view of Mount Rainier with the White River and the Emmons Moraine visible. I've hiked the Emmons Moraine trail on numerous occasions, which has great views of its own; I enjoyed seeing the topography from a slightly different, loftier perspective. F/14.

The higher terrain around Sunrise is an interesting environment - in contrast to the lush subalpine parkland right around the parking lot, it's stark and open, with stunted trees eventually yielding to rocky slopes and summits with only very small plants. Here's one such scene of small trees near the treeline, with Mount Rainier in the background. F/16.

Finally, a pleasant big-sky view, again looking south toward the Cowlitz Chimneys. I like the framing here; I just wish I had been able to get the camera a bit higher to include more of the view. I had it lower to include more of the sky, but in hindsight, I don't know whether it was the right decision. F/14.

You never know, but that may have been my last chance to photograph wildflowers in 2022. I'm glad I was able to make it happen!

Canada Part 2: Beaches

As mentioned in the last post, before Campbell River, we stayed in Port Renfrew on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, also for four nights. A big scenic draw in that area is the abundance of beaches. We visited Botanical Beach, China Beach, and Mystic Beach, all of which are located on or near the long Juan de Fuca Trail, which we saw a few people backpacking. We visited Botanical Beach first, and continued hiking along the Juan de Fuca Trail that day. Conditions were surprisingly rough, with thick brush, roots, broken staircases in steep sections, and other obstacles. We tired of this rather quickly and turned around before lunchtime. Following this experience, we hiked to China and Mystic Beaches as out-and-back hikes without any additional exploring on the Juan de Fuca Trail.

First, a view of Botanical Beach, which has wide stretches of sand, rocks, tidepools, and other interesting features. It's a lovely place, and was surprisingly empty early in the morning. F/14.

Next, China Beach, surrounded by lush and colorful bluffs. F/16.

At Mystic Beach, there was a mini-waterfall coming off one of the bluffs. This shot was tricky; it was hard to avoid the waterfall getting lost against the rather bright background of the bluff. F/18, 0.4 seconds.

Here's a view of China Beach with more of the water visible. As always with shots like this one, I was thankful for the capabilities of digital photography - I was able to take numerous exposures at different points of wave motion and choose the best after the fact. I liked the one below because the water was covering a large portion of the beach. F/18, 0.4 seconds.

Next, some interesting rocks from one of the beaches along the Juan de Fuca Trail, a bit past Botanical Beach. F/16.

Even though the beaches were the scenic highlight of the area, there were some nice woods as well, including a handful of old-growth trees. Below, a scene from the Juan de Fuca trail past Botanical Beach. F/16.

Finally, a Sitka spruce along China Beach. F/14.

That's all for the Vancouver Island trip. I've been sticking closer to home to rest and avoid the heat, but hopefully will be back to posting Washington pictures soon!

Canada Part 1: Campbell River

I recently returned from my honeymoon on Vancouver Island, and of course I brought the ol' camera along on our hikes! We spent most of our time in two locations, Port Renfrew on the southwest side and Campbell River on the east (four nights in each). I'll be blogging in reverse order, focusing in this post on our time in Campbell River, which was our final destination.

Our one hike in the island's mountains was to Lake Helen MacKenzie, in the Forbidden Plateau area of Strathcona Provincial Park. Despite the area's intimidating name, it was some of the easiest mountain hiking I've done. The hike to Helen MacKenzie is mostly on boardwalk or wide trail with very gentle elevation changes - a perfect fit for the hot, sunny weather.

Below, Lake Helen Mackenzie in morning sunshine. My first instinct was to reduce the effect of the polarizing filter a bit, to get a more uniform sky color and preserve more of the reflection on the water's surface. The water was so clear, though, that I decided instead to polarize more so that the rocks under the water are more visible. The sky is more uneven that way - you can see that it's pretty dark at the upper right - but I honestly don't really mind. F/16.

I didn't see a lot of wildflowers blooming, but I did find a few nice patches of what looks like white rhododendron (Rhododendron albiflorum). The flowers are a bit small in the composition, but I think they'd look better at print size. F/16.

Finally, a pond on the way to Lake Helen Mackenzie. I like the look of the reflection, but am less thrilled with the highlights - they seem a little harsh, even after editing. F/16.

While in Campbell River, we also visited the Chinese Mountains trail on Quadra Island, and hiked to the South Peak. It's a short loop - less than 3 miles in length - but very steep and rough, so it was more taxing than the distance had led us to expect. The panoramic views from the top are worth the exertion, though. F/18.

Thankfully, there were a few nice viewpoints on the way up that gave us an excuse to catch our breath. F/14.

Stay tuned for part 2 of my trip to Vancouver Island, which will include pictures from the fabulous beaches near Port Renfrew!

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!

Goat Lake

In early July, I hiked to Goat Lake, one of my all-time favorite places, on a cool and cloudy day. In many cases, I am a fan of doing photography on overcast days due to the even lighting. At a place like Goat Lake, though, with its expansive mountain views, overcast lighting presents challenges of its own. A cloudy sky can look washed-out and overexposed, and avoiding the sky definitely limits possible compositions. I did have some luck, however, with floral, forest, and creek shots. The cool weather also made the final switchbacks uphill less taxing.

First, some thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) with the lake in the background. I realize that this one is similar in concept to one I took in 2020 (second image in this post), but horizontal and with a different flower. The colors of the pink salmonberry flower and blue sky in 2020's image are more striking, but in this year's composition, the flower is more prominent. F/8.

Next, a slightly wider shot of the lake. F/13.

I also managed a couple decent compositions of Elliott Creek. In this first one, I like the bright green of the background trees, and how it contrasts with the more shadowed trees in the foreground. F/16, 1.3 seconds.

Even though you don't see as much of the creek in this next one, I think the big trunk at right (and the two bunchberry flowers growing on it) help bring the composition together. F/16, 1.6 seconds.

Next, Pacific coralroot (Corallorhiza mertensiana). Because Pacific coralroot is a myco-heterotroph, it doesn't rely on photosynthesis for sustenance. Very dark spots under big trees, where other plants have a hard time thriving in the low sunlight, can be good places to try to spot coralroot. It was in one such location that I saw these. F/5.6.

Lastly, the lush green forest of the farther reaches of the trail (after the Upper and Lower trails join). F/16.

That's all for now. Next up, some odds and ends from a couple other photography trips in July...and after that, pictures from Canada!

Cooper River

A couple weeks ago, I camped at the Salmon La Sac Campground and got an early start on the Cooper River trail. It's a pleasant forest walk with occasional (but very nice) river views, which I last visited at the same time of year in 2019.

By walking a short distance beyond the end of the Cooper River trail, you can also reach Cooper Lake. I didn't make it to the lake last time, and I'm not sure why. Maybe I was in a hurry? At any rate, I visited it this time, and it didn't disappoint. I was able to find a secluded spot to set up the tripod and have lunch. Getting a shot took a little work - an abandoned football was stuck in the marsh, ruining my first composition. (It wouldn't have been practical to use the heal/clone feature, and I try not to do that, anyway). Thankfully, since I noticed while I was there, I was able to frame this composition with the leaves obscuring it. F/14.

Next, a view of the river from a lovely spot about two-thirds of the way down the trail. I used a wide-angle lens and set up the tripod at a low height to make the water feel closer. F/16, 1/8 of a second.

Here's a vertical version of the same vantage point. I like the addition of the rocks at the bottom. F/16, 1/8 of a second.

Next, an early-morning view of the Cooper River nearer the trailhead. I liked the way the light was hitting the trees. F/16, 0.8 seconds.

Below, another early-morning view of the river. F/16, 1 second.

Another highlight of the Cooper River trail is the wildflowers. There aren't any big meadows or anything, but there's a pleasant variety throughout. (Last time, I found candystick, a cool-looking myco-heterotroph.) Pictured here are paintbrush, with lupine in the background. I'm guessing these are harsh paintbrush (Castilleja hispida). F/5.

Next, a forest scene that caught my eye. F/16.

Finally, a rare open view from the Cooper River trail. I took this in the nick of time, just before a work party arrived and started throwing up dust! I'm not complaining - it's necessary work - I'm just happy that the timing worked out. F/16.