Franklin Falls

This weekend, I visited the popular Franklin Falls for the first time. This time of year, a visit requires a long walk up the closed access road, which isn't much to shout about aesthetically, although thankfully not particularly strenuous. The destination is definitely spectacular, especially in the snow, worth braving the throngs of other admirers.

Fortunately, the lighting was overcast during my visit. This kept the lighting contrast to a manageable level, enabling me to expose for both the snowy highlights and the shadows. The brightness of the snow, however, meant that my shutter speeds were not quite as slow as I would have liked (to blur the water, I would have wanted to try shutter speeds of perhaps 1-2 seconds). I resisted stopping down as much as I could have (to, say, f/22) due to the loss of image quality; slightly wider apertures gave me a sufficient depth of field for my compositions here. Even if I had stopped down, I might not have squeezed out 1-2 second exposure times.

I'll start the post with my two favorite views of the waterfall itself. I like these the best because they convey the most depth. In the first of these, I shot the waterfall at an angle. In the second, I zoomed sufficiently to treat the waterfall as a foreground and the surroundings as a background. F/18 and F/16, both 1/8 second.

Next, three more views of the falls. These don't convey as much depth as the first two, so I'm not quite as thrilled by them; on the other hand, they do more to put the waterfall in the context of its surroundings. All F/16, 1/8 second.

Finally, a view up what I believe is the snowbound South Fork Snoqualmie River (I'm unsure of the waterway's name at this location, just past the start of the actual trail). I'm on the fence about this composition - there's not a lot of color variation, obviously, and parts of the image are pretty busy. Ultimately, if the lines and subject matter are sufficiently well-defined, a more monochromatic landscape like this can still work on its own as a photographic composition (if not as, say, a jigsaw puzzle, as some of my readers can imagine). I'd have to see it in print to really know in this case. F/18, 1/6 second.

Big Four views

Yesterday, based on some favorable trip reports that I had seen on the WTA website, I wandered up the closed portion of the Mountain Loop Highway from the gate at Deer Creek. I don't own snowshoes, but there was a well-packed path on the road that was walkable in ordinary hiking boots. I would have liked to explore the Big Four Ice Caves trail, but had to turn back early due to an uncomfortable, but thankfully minor, injury. This setback notwithstanding, I came away with a pair of nice compositions involving Big Four Mountain itself. First, from the snowbound Beaver Creek campground along the highway. F/18, with a polarizing filter to deepen the sky:

Second, from near the Big Four Picnic Area, with red alder trunks prominent in the foreground. F/18, polarizing filter used.

Ordinarily, I have trouble with sunny weather like this, due to the high-contrast lighting. I think the low angle of the winter sun, plus the snow-covered brightness of Big Four and the surrounding landforms, helped to mitigate this. I may return here later this winter, for a hopefully incident-free and more extensive photographic venture!

Hike to Otter Falls

On Saturday, I made the roughly 11 mile hike to Otter Falls and back, through second-growth forest up the Taylor River valley. It was a sunnier day than expected, making photography difficult but the walking very pleasant. Second-growth forest isn't always my first choice to visit or photograph, but there are a number of very picturesque stands of red alder along the trail, particularly near the Taylor River and smaller waterways. Otter Falls is also a very unique and impressive natural feature, and seeing it was well worth the journey.

First, Marten Creek from the bridge crossing it, a few miles into the trail. I liked the soft lighting created by the fog-filtered sunshine. This composition doesn't follow the rule of thirds very well; with the creek where it is, the image roughly divides in half. I improved upon this with further attempts, but the lighting became less interesting as I worked. Ultimately, I've decided to prioritize the lighting and post this version. F/18, 0.4 seconds.

Next, the Taylor River not far from the trailhead, framed by red alder trunks and branches. F/20, 1 second.

Lastly, Otter Falls, my lunch and turnaround location. I have mixed feelings about this composition - there's not much of a foreground, so I worry there isn't sufficient depth. The lighting was also troublesome, as sunlight frequently emerged from the broken clouds, directly illuminating the falls and causing overexposure. Still, this was the foremost natural attraction of the hike and the reason for my visit, so I'll post my best result. F/18, 1/3 second.

Boulder River in winter

On Monday, I visited the Boulder River trail near Darrington, in search of snow-free hiking and, due to the waterfalls and river scenery, photographic possibilities even in this relatively dreary time of year. As it turned out, I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of color I found. Obviously, mossy evergreen trees made for a lot of green. Decaying foliage and dormant shrubs also added contrasting hues, which I was able to use to my advantage in this first shot, my favorite of the bunch. Featured here is the double waterfall maybe a mile and a half along the trail; an obvious side trail leads to this vantage point. F/16, 0.6 seconds. This shutter speed sufficiently blurred the background waterfalls, while still capturing some of the water's turbulence in the foreground; longer shutter speeds blurred the foreground water too much.

Next, a view of the same set of waterfalls, from the hiking trail. I was worried about the high contrast between the waterfalls and the dark trunks, but was able to use Lightroom bring both into an acceptable range. The image quality in the darker areas isn't fantastic, but I think it's good enough. F/20, 1.6 seconds.

Here's a view of a different waterfall, farther along the trail. The waterfall is closer to the center of the composition than I'd prefer, perhaps violating the Rule of Thirds, but the trunk and branches seen here were the most attractive way to frame the falls. F/20, 3 seconds.

Another image from the same vantage point. The sense of depth is not as strong as in the composition above, but I still like it. F/20, 2.5 seconds.

Lastly, a vertical composition from the double waterfall. The image quality here is not as good as in this post's other images, but the image might still be usable, at least at some print sizes. F/20, 1 second.

In contrast to the warmth of my Sugarloaf trip the previous weekend, temperatures on Monday hovered in the upper 30s in the valley - "back to our regularly scheduled January," as my hiking companion accurately put it. Considering that it was dry, however, with good lighting and interesting scenery - not to mention the fact that I didn't make it out at all for photography last January - I'll take it!

Sugarloaf

On Saturday, I made my first-ever visit to the Anacortes Community Forest Lands on Fidalgo Island, hiking to Whistle Lake and then Sugarloaf (continuing from the Whistle Lake trailhead). Whistle Lake is mostly forested with a few rock outcroppings and small clearings; it'd probably be worthwhile to return on an overcast day in the spring, for lake landscapes or to look for wildflowers. Sugarloaf sports some open meadows with views of both the Olympics and the Cascades; also likely worth a return trip.

Sunshine and glare made photography around the lake difficult, but I had one success at Sugarloaf. The composition below looks roughly east, with the Cascades visible. Were I ever to get this printed, the white balance might still need a bit of work, but it's getting close. F/16.

I'm excited to have already made my first photography trip of 2019, as I didn't really make it out last year until March. This time of year, with snow and storm damage in the mountains (plus this year's addition of the federal government shutdown), and bare trees and shrubs in the lowlands, the kind of photography I do can be difficult. So I'm considering Saturday's one post-worthy image to be a success!

South Fork Stillaguamish

A few days ago, I found myself hiking the Lime Kiln Trail near Granite Falls. My main objective was to photograph the South Fork Stillaguamish River from the river shore at trail's end. Below is my best composition involving the image concept I had in mind - a juxtaposition of the rushing water with bare, mossy maple trees. F/18, 0.6 seconds.

Here's one looking downstream from the same place. While I like the composition, the image quality is poorer, and there's some pretty conspicuous distortion on the left-hand side. While there are tools in Photoshop Lightroom to correct distortion, doing so would necessitate cropping the image, and the composition would suffer due to some of the mossy branches in the upper right being out of the frame. I may try this one out in print at some point, but I'm not optimistic. Here it is, anyway. F/20, 0.5 seconds.

2018: Year in Review and New Year's Resolutions

And now, the moment for which you've been breathlessly waiting: my 2018 year-in-review post! 2018 got off to a slow start, with no photography trips until March. Since then, however, it has been an excellent year of photography, including multi-day adventures in places I've wanted to visit for years. In early 2018, I half-jokingly said in person to whoever would listen that my sole New Year's resolution was to spend more nights camping than I had in 2017. Well, I managed to meet this resolution with flying colors. In particular, I undertook two trips roughly a week long each: in May through natural areas and parks in eastern Washington, and in June and July to the Washington portion of the Blue Mountains. They were the highlight of my year: I grew as a photographer as a result of these trips, and they provided an invaluable boost to my physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

Before I launch into the bulk of this post, which is very trip-focused, I'll describe the year's two major changes to my creative process. First, instead of posting unedited images to this blog, I have generally posted images already processed through Lightroom. What this represents is the fact that I have grown more efficient at sorting and processing images after trips, and more discerning about which compositions are worth posting.

Second, after I process a photo through Lightroom but before posting it, I will subject it to the "phone test," in which I view it on a phone screen to review the processing and whether the composition is sufficiently compelling. My reasoning is that, even though a print is more final, most people will encounter my photographs first and/or primarily on a mobile device, so it's worth regularly previewing them in a mobile format. (Credit where credit is due - my inspiration for this change came from my brother, who works in music recording and analogously tests his work by listening to it through car/truck speakers).

Two notes: First, all locations in this post are in Washington. Second, generally speaking, I have gone with the Burke Museum's online resources in cases of synonymous plant names.

Last Year's Resolutions - I'll begin by reviewing how well (or whether) I met last year's ideas and goals. See last year's review post here.

1) New Locations - 2018 was an excellent year when it came to exploring new locations, including some specific areas I've had on my radar for years and mentioned in my 2017 resolutions, such as the Blue Mountains and the San Juan Islands.

Blue Mountains: I'd been here once before (for two nights in 2016), but I came in a sedan that was grossly inadequate to the road system of the Umatilla National Forest, and stuck to the immediate vicinity of the Misery Spring Campground. This year, with an appropriate vehicle, I went for seven nights in late June and early July. It was my longest camping trip yet, and thus an achievement of planning and stamina in its own right. I didn't do a major hike every day. On the one hand, I sometimes felt guilty about this, as though I were not adequately using my time there. On the other hand, I maintained a consistent level of energy, slept well, and avoided dehydration headaches (I often get them on camping trips) or end-of-trip exhaustion. In fact, I felt healthier and happier at the end of this trip than at any other point during the year.

Photographic conditions were challenging, due to bright sunshine and frequently breezy conditions. With that said, I was able to photograph some of the most iconic locations in the Washington portion of the Umatilla National Forest; best examples below.

Oregon Butte, Umatilla National Forest

Oregon Butte, Umatilla National Forest

Turkey Creek trail, Umatilla National Forest

Mount Misery trail, Umatilla National Forest

Mount Misery trail, Umatilla National Forest

From the forest road between Anatone and the Wickiup Campground, Umatilla National Forest

Lopez Island: This island had been on my radar for a long time, and I finally managed to make a visit happen this spring. I initially considered looking for a resort, lodge, or other indoor accommodation, but I decided to take my chances and tent camp (it was April, so you never know about the weather). This ended up being a good decision, as the weather was dry, and not all in-town businesses were fully open due to my visit being timed for midweek during the offseason. Lopez is a small island, but there is still a lot to see. Furthermore, it's a fun natural change of pace from other parts of western Washington - the island sits in the Olympic rain shadow, especially the south side, contributing to some drier/more open habitats. Unfortunately, I was a bit early for wildflowers. It'd be interesting to visit Lopez slightly further into spring, or at the same time during a warmer year. Below are the two most scenic landscapes I visited:

Point Colville, San Juan Islands National Monument

Iceberg Point, San Juan Islands National Monument

Lake Valhalla: This is a popular destination in the north central Cascades (Stevens Pass area) that I've known about for some time. Due to the long distance from home, I had never risked a visit, but I was enticed this September by trip reports featuring autumn color displays. It was one of the more crowded photography trips I've ever been on, requiring patience while waiting for views clear of people and quiet moments to keep my tripod set up on the trail. Despite this and despite the sunshine, it was a successful trip, and I would consider a return visit to the area (as well as more willingness to shoot under sunny conditions during the fall).

Lake Valhalla, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Lake Valhalla, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Along the PCT north of Lake Valhalla, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Heliotrope Ridge: This trip was a make-the-best-out-of-an-imperfect-situation kind of day. I was afraid that might be the case due to trail conditions (particularly a challenging stream crossing), but I was curious to see the close views of Mount Baker and the wildflowers that the trail is known for. Well, I indeed decided not to risk the stream crossing; moreover, clouds obscured the slopes of Mount Baker for most of the morning. I was, however, able to take advantage of a brief break in the foggy conditions to photograph the mountain, as well as manage a respectable image of Heliotrope Creek (the one I was unable to cross).

Heliotrope Ridge trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Heliotrope Creek, Heliotrope Ridge Trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

White River: The White River Falls Campground (Lake Wenatchee area) wasn't precisely a "new" location; I camped there as a child with my family. Due to its distance from home and recent road closures, however, I had never visited the area as an adult. It's remote and primitive but, due to its proximity to an impressive waterfall and other river views, probably the most scenic place I've ever camped. This year, I visited during a very hot week in July, timing my photography for the very early morning and late evening. Despite the heat (and bugs), camping in these conditions can be fun and relaxing, as there is not much to do between about 10am and 5pm other than read, nap, and drink tea. An image of the falls itself is forthcoming later in the post; below are two other good compositions from the vicinity of the campground.

White River Falls Campground, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

White River Falls Campground, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

2) Backpacking - I didn't make it out backpacking this year, although it remains an eventual hope of mine to do so with photographic equipment. In my defense, I undertook longer and more ambitious car camping trips this year than in prior years, so my trip planning and physical stamina still grew.

3) Selective focus - Last year, I wrote about using selective focus (wider apertures) more often, including for larger landscapes, as a change from the wide depth-of-field landscape compositions that have increasingly become my mainstay. This did not become a priority this year, although I did manage to do it successfully once, with this image from the Boulder River trail in May. A salmonberry flower is in the foreground.

Boulder River trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

4) Waterfalls - Success! I did indeed manage to photograph some waterfalls in 2018, as hoped, including one I hadn't seen since childhood (the White River Falls). Most of the images below were made possible by overcast lighting and long exposures, resulting in the conventional silky water look. The first of this set, however, I took in harsh backlighting, with some success fighting against sun glare.

Hog Canyon Falls, Fishtrap Recreation Area

From the Boulder River trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

White River Falls, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

North Fork Sauk Falls, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Deception Falls, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

5) Bad weather - Last year, I expressed the desire to do more photography under rain and dark clouds. While these conditions are challenging to work under (keeping moisture off the lens is difficult, even with a lens hood), they can add a lot of drama to landscapes. I had success twice under these conditions - in both cases along the Baker River trail. The north Cascades are a good place to go if you want bad weather, especially in the winter and early spring! The first two of this set are from March, the second from December. All were taken while at least light precipitation was falling.

Near the Baker River trailhead, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Baker River trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Baker River trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

6) Dawn and dusk - Looking back at the year's images, I did so much work under overcast conditions that dawn and dusk on clear or partly clear days weren't really a priority. In fact, as I get more ambitious with my locations, reaching them by dawn or dusk becomes more difficult. Here's the one big success, dawn from Spencer Spit State Park (where I camped) on Lopez Island.

Spencer Spit State Park, Lopez Island

7) Involvement and venues - Like backpacking, the goal of finding ways to display or sell my photography fell by the wayside, consumed as I was by my long spring and summer trips (as well as working six days a week most of the year). In hindsight, I think this was a reasonable use of the pattern of time off that I had, although sooner or later I'll need to be more diligent about seeking opportunities, regardless of whether the time is ideal.

Other Highlights

1) New Wildflowers - Every year, I like to review the wildflowers I photographed for the first time, or with more success than in other years. I've included only those that I've been able to identify.

Pinedrops (Pterospora andromedea), White River Falls Campground, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Thin-leaved owl clover (Orthocarpus tenuifolius), Fields Spring State Park

Dwarf fireweed (Chamaenerion latifolium), Heliotrope Ridge trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Fendler's waterleaf (Hydrophyllum fendleri), Rose Creek Nature Preserve

Boechera retrofracta (or Arabis holboellii), Fields Spring State Park

Douglas's brodiaea (Triteleia grandiflora), Twin Lakes Recreation Area

Calypso orchid (Calypso bulbosa), Lopez Hill, Lopez Island

2) Naches Peak Loop - Generally speaking, I travel solo, but this was a hike I took with a photographer friend, which was a fun change of pace. The reason this makes the highlight reel is that I am pleased with how I met the day's challenges: bright, glaring midday sunshine, and what might be the most crowded conditions I've ever had to cope with.

Naches Peak Loop trail, Mount Rainier National Park

Naches Peak Loop trail, Mount Rainier National Park

3) The Larch March - For the first time, I photographed larch trees (a deciduous conifer) in fall color. This took place in October, along the Ingalls Way Trail in the Teanaway area. Snow on the branches made the scenery even more dramatic. Thankfully, I'd had the foresight that morning to put microspikes in my backpack at the last minute; without them, I would have been unable to safely travel through the area with the larches. It was a lot of work for a small amount of shooting time - I only had about an hour until the light became more harsh and the snow melted from the trees - but I think my results were worth the trouble.

Ingalls Way trail, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

Ingalls Way trail, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

4) Clear Day at Cascade Pass - In October, I visited the iconic Cascade Pass in North Cascades National Park on a sunny day. Clear weather is challenging due to the high contrast at times other than sunrise and sunset. Furthermore, particularly at high altitudes, blue sky can polarize unevenly at wide angles when using a polarizing filter. A bit of this is tolerable, but I had to correct for it in post-processing in all of my images from the day. Despite these challenges, I made some reasonably lit compositions, timing different vantage points for different times of day depending on the direction of the sunlight. Below are my two favorites.

Just west of Cascade Pass, North Cascades National Park

Cascade Pass, North Cascades National Park

5) Forest work - In addition to those already featured, I added a few more good forest compositions to my portfolio. As I've written before, the main challenge of forest photography (particularly in Washington's lusher forests) is isolating compelling subject matter from the general tangle of things and avoiding a busy/cluttered composition. Each year, I think I get better at this, and manage to do it in a more diverse range of places.

Along the PCT between Hope and Mig Lakes, near Stevens Pass

Boulder River trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Lopez Hill, Lopez Island

Baker River trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

6) Miscellaneous - Here are a few images that did not fit into any other sections, but are worthy of note in either artistry or content:

First, an image from the Boulder River trail of a waterfall framed by trees and branches. This one risked being busy and cluttered, but the trees line up well enough, and the waterfall is discernible enough, that I think it works.

Boulder River trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Next, a foggy morning at Kamiak Butte County Park (near Pullman). Fog is always attractive, but I've had a surprising amount of trouble photographing under foggy conditions, due to reduction in detail, water getting on the lens, and the combination of light winds and the long shutter speeds made necessary by the lower light.

Kamiak Butte County Park

Here's one in which the setting itself is interesting and noteworthy. The Twin Lakes Recreation Area is in a dry part of the state (near Harrington), where grass and sagebrush predominate. Water and low-lying topography, however, conspire to allow wetlands and a variety of plant communities. From foreground to background, this image shows camas, a wetland, and a stand of quaking aspen.

Twin Lakes Recreation Area

Below, an image from a viewpoint off the Sol Duc Hot Springs Road in Olympic National Park. What I like about this one is the rugged feel created by the turbulent water and the log in the foreground. Winter in the absence of snow is hard to depict in the lowlands of western Washington, but I think this composition does the trick.

Sol Duc River, Olympic National Park

One morning during my Blue Mountains trip, I was exploring the vicinity of the Wickiup Campground in the Umatilla National Forest, looking for views, when I noticed the moon setting through these trees. Until the moon's light woke me up overnight, I hadn't been paying attention to moon phases or times. This composition was the best result from a roughly twenty-minute period of photography in the rapidly changing sunrise light. I think it would be best printed and enlarged; on a computer or especially a phone screen, the moon is quite small and the composition isn't all that interesting.

Near the Wickiup Campground, Umatilla National Forest

Next, a ghostly view of Mount Baker from the Baker Lake road. These misty conditions posed a bit of a risk, but there is enough detail on the mountain to make it work. Even at the early hour of this image, the contrast was already high, necessitating quite a bit of processing work in Lightroom.

From the Baker Lake Road, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Finally, a decent image from a difficult season: fall in the western Washington lowlands. Leaves frequently turn pale yellow or brown and get rather droopy, based on my admittedly anecdotal observations. Here, near the end of the Sultan River Canyon Trail in November, I found a spot with enough red and green in the leaves to offer some potential.

Sultan River Canyon Trail, near Spada Lake

Goals and Ideas for 2019 - Once again, I'm sticking with this wording, rather than "resolutions." There is a lot of uncertainty about how this year will play out for me personally, particularly over the summer and beyond, so I'm going to avoid committing to too many specific tasks. Furthermore, I want to remain open to other opportunities for growth that aren't occurring to me at the moment. Nevertheless, here are some ideas:

1) Moon - My only moon photography in 2018 happened by accident (see above). I'd love to seek more opportunities to photograph the moon intentionally; my efforts in 2015 and 2016 were promising enough to make this a worthwhile use of my time in 2019.

2) A New Area - I would like to explore a new area, either a new part of the state (ideas include but aren't limited to northeast Washington, the east slopes of the Cascades south of Snoqualmie Pass, the east slopes of the Olympics) or make a foray into a neighboring state. If I can do this just once, I'll consider it a success, because I like to combine new explorations with repeated visits to favorite places that I know well, and that are personally meaningful.

3) Selective focus - Experimenting with using selective focus on more landscapes was a worthwhile goal, and I'd like to revisit this idea in 2019.

4) Backpacking - Another goal worth revisiting in 2019. If I can spend even one night out, and even if it's a short distance, I'll consider it a success. Doing this for the first time with my photography gear will require quite a bit of planning, as well as a possible investment in a lighter tripod.

5) Involvement and Venues - This year, I'll try to commit to doing selling and/or displaying my photography, but set my bar low as to not intimidate myself: Either sell one photographic product (not to a family member or friend), or display one photograph publicly. Hopefully, meeting this modest goal will lead to further opportunities. To make this happen, I'll need to get serious about putting together an up-to-date website, and be more systematic about how I use social media.

6) Technological changes - One or more of these changes would enhance my photography long-term: Stop putting off software updates and get an updated version of Photoshop Lightroom; invest in a higher-quality standard zoom lens with less edge distortion; invest in a lighter tripod for longer hikes and backpacking trips.

Happy New Year, all! Here's looking forward to another year in the great outdoors! Enjoy one more image:

Goat Lake, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest