tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-284713272009-10-08T11:19:56.218-07:00The journal of an amateur photographer and hiker in the Pacific Northwest.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-72972281311652679842009-08-15T22:32:00.010-07:002009-08-15T22:55:19.766-07:00

I headed north chasing the clouds, starting at the Mountain Loop Highway out of Granite Falls and seeing how far the day would take me. The first shot to catch my eye was a cascade on Twenty Two Creek, near the trailhead to Lake Twenty Two. I'd noticed it before, but never really stopped to photograph it. It turned out to be the best location of the day. My primary

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-4056570895211056182009-08-08T19:27:00.000-07:002009-08-10T19:33:40.826-07:00

Back again to Mount Rainier for more wildflower photography. Saturday in August means crowds, so Paradise was pretty much off limits. There wasn't a free parking spot anywhere to be found around Paradise or even Paradise Valley, so I spent my time around Reflection Lakes instead. There was far too much fog to shoot any landscapes, so once again I focused on the abundant wildflowers. The species

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-70668501289019330382009-08-07T23:00:00.012-07:002009-08-08T01:17:32.032-07:00

My first real outing of the year, so I head to Rainier of course. I spent the early afternoon hiking around Sunrise -- Sourdough Ridge to Frozen Lake then back to Sunrise, about 3 miles. It was so hazy from a forest fire at Grand Park that you could barely see the mountain. I didn't even bother to take my tripod. I took some snapshots for documentation, but nothing worth posting. There are still

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-63138327007856105242007-08-04T22:40:00.001-07:002009-08-15T23:17:00.924-07:00

The weather forecasts were all over the map, so I had no idea what to expect. I wanted to believe the cloudy predictions but I was skeptical. Inspired by a photo posted at NWHikers, I headed to the Mowich Lake area of Mount Rainier to hike Spray Falls. First, I had to drive to the nearby Carbon River Ranger Station to pick up a new annual park pass. Carbon River is indeed gated at the entrance,

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-56837543153184636512007-07-28T21:15:00.001-07:002009-08-15T23:40:04.943-07:00

Today was another day of sunny skies with clouds shrouding Rainier, so I decided to scout another area outside the park for views, this time to the northeast. I'd explored the area around Sun Top minimally before, but that day had been completely overcast and the gate closed. This time proved better for views, but just as tricky for access. There was some kind of footrace along the road, and the

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-4324827878834796632007-07-21T23:44:00.005-07:002009-08-15T23:54:04.588-07:00

The main event for the day was hiking the Glacier Lake Trail. Here's the trip report I posted at NWHikers:Glacier Creek is rather photogenic downstream where it meets Johnson Creek, so when I saw a trail seemingly following it upstream to its headwaters in Glacier Lake, I put it on the top of my list. I had hoped this would be a trial along a creek, rather it is a trail to a lake. In fact, there

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-88720019461973432552007-07-14T22:46:00.000-07:002007-08-01T22:31:46.685-07:00

I started the day by heading to the newly opened Stevens Canyon Road at Mount Rainier, to see what kind of flood damage remained. Surprisingly, the only noticeable washout was in one place along the eastern edge of the valley where part of the road had slumped down hill, now protected by a wall of barriers and a stop sign for the one lane road.I stopped at Box Canyon to use the restroom and on a

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-36558508356262028132007-06-29T22:43:00.000-07:002007-07-01T13:23:48.137-07:00

After a tough couple of weeks, I needed to get away for a while. I managed to get a Friday off and cloudy weather was predicted, so another day of creek hunting was just the medicine I needed. I wasn't sure where exactly I was headed until I got to Sumner and was forced to chose. I wanted to go somewhere new, or at least somewhere I hadn't seen in so long it seemed new. I thought about heading

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-32974155316476431772007-06-16T22:44:00.000-07:002007-07-01T13:23:10.673-07:00

Yet another cloudy Saturday, so I decided to head for Copper Creek near the Nisqually entrance to Mount Rainier. This would be my third or fourth attempt to photograph the creek, and I hoped for better conditions this time. My first destination was Osbourne Mountain, however. The conditions were terrible for shooting from the viewpoint I'd found there last year, but I wanted to see if the road

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-53620976335160001082007-06-09T20:26:00.000-07:002007-06-15T00:37:44.555-07:00

For my first local outing of the year, given the overcast weather, I decided on the Boulder River Trail. I had hiked the four miles to the old river crossing a few years ago, but what really stuck out in my mind was the waterfall about a mile in. I'd spent time photographing it then, but it was still early in the year and the flow was pretty light at the time, little more than a trickle down the

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-1175972812869880002007-04-09T22:41:00.000-07:002007-04-09T23:25:38.749-07:00

I took a week long photo vacation in southwest Utah, focusing primarily on Zion National Park. The scenery in Zion was much more varied than I expected, and when the weather cooperated, I had plenty of subjects to shoot.There were mountains...And canyons...And rock patterns and formations... And silhouettes...And even water...But I didn't spend all my time in Zion. I ventured into Grand

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-1175972742693435872007-04-01T13:15:00.000-07:002007-04-09T14:18:35.675-07:00

I originally planned a trip to Death Valley/Mojave in California. I needed to get away for a while, and week's worth of photography was just the medicine I needed, but I just couldn't get excited about it. It seemed a good time to visit the desert, before the temperature got too hot, and maybe with some early season blooms. After a little research, I switched to southwest Utah, specifically Zion

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-1175972762782759182007-04-01T13:10:00.000-07:002007-04-09T01:50:59.494-07:00

Day 4 (Monday): A Reminder of WinterNo early rise today, as thin white clouds had rolled in. While dark clouds are great for photography, bringing out colors and blocking enough light for slower shutter speeds, these were rather useless. They left the land pretty still too bright, yet were white enough landscape shots were out. And with such bright white conditions, the colors in the plants and

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-1175972794981607942007-04-01T13:05:00.000-07:002007-04-09T01:50:49.621-07:00

Day 7 (Thursday): ...And OnCloudy again! The weather forecast changed 180 degrees overnight. I went to bed with predictions of sunny skies all day, and a mere six hours later the forecast is clouds, clouds, clouds. Bah! My frustration had hit its limit by now, and I seriously contemplated just going home early. But one location tied me here still -- Kolob Canyons. I had to at least try to capture

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-1173249481945232612007-03-06T22:31:00.000-08:002007-03-06T22:59:04.193-08:00

So it turned out the floods of last year were not the end of our wild winter weather. To go with our heavy November flooding, a massive windstorm tore through the area the week before Christmas. Gusts of up to 70 mph blew down trees all over the area, taking out power lines and substations, and knocking out power to over a million homes, mine included. The large old atlas cedar in the front yard

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-1163803141057985532006-11-17T14:33:00.000-08:002006-11-17T14:51:44.610-08:00

Not to keep harping on this but the flood damage is so devastating, particularly at Mount Rainier National Park. This has already become the wettest November on record for Seattle, and is very close to becoming the wettest of any month at all. And there's more storms coming.These photos are from the National Park Service for MRNP. I am very glad that I spent so much time there this fall, because

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-1163618753060126192006-11-15T11:25:00.000-08:002006-11-15T11:45:31.343-08:00

More photos from the flood damage of the last week. Again, I do not take credit for any of these photos.Grove of the Patriarchs, MRNP (from Mount Rainier Climbing and Pütz-in-Boots @ NWHikers):Carbon River Road, MRNP - 2 miles of road washed away (from Tazz @ NWHikers):Index, WA (from andrew e @ NWHikers):FS-74 / West Fork White River, MBSNF (from Justan @ NWHikers):Suiattle River Road, MBSNF (

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-1162941307152256342006-11-07T15:14:00.000-08:002006-11-08T17:32:42.390-08:00

When I was watching the high water levels last weekend, I had no idea what was in store for the area. Western Washington has been in what could be 100 year floods. Almost every major road into the mountains is closed from flooding, possibly permanently. Most of the major rivers are at or beyond record heights. Entire towns have been evacuated and are under water. The Sunshine Point Campground at

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-1162938648491245792006-11-04T14:27:00.000-08:002006-11-07T15:36:39.706-08:00

Despite the predicted wind and heavy rain, I decided to retrace my steps from last weekend. There were several places I wasn't able to shoot because of fading light or falling snow, and I didn't think I'd get too many more weekends this year to attempt them.The drive along the Index-Galena Road was a precursor of what was in store for the day. The prevalent maple leaves scattered on the ground

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-1162325605700943942006-10-29T22:11:00.000-08:002006-11-09T15:49:48.026-08:00

Now that fall color was pretty much over for the year, my thoughts switched to mushrooms. I'd never really focused on mushrooms before, although I had taken the occasional photo, but the specimens I'd seen the last few weekends had inspired me. I thought back to where I'd seen the best mushroom displays in previous years, and of the handful of places that came to mind -- Lake Elizabeth, Money

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-1160807336849613132006-10-13T23:28:00.000-07:002006-11-09T13:11:08.246-08:00

I wanted to get a taste of the upcoming larch season, and I'd heard that the Okonogan National Forest on the east side of the North Cascades was a great place for viewing, particularly in the Methow Valley. I made the long but nice drive out to Washington Pass on the North Cascades Highway and envisioned dropping down into Early Winters Valley surrounded by larches. That turned out to not be the

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-1160329960767940222006-10-06T10:52:00.000-07:002006-11-03T12:42:47.573-08:00

You know what they say about the best laid plans. This was to be another Rainier weekend -- three more Autumn days in and around the park -- but I only made it as far as Maple Valley before my engine light came on. I refused to turn back at that point, but I knew instantly that my three day weekend was now a single day in the mountains. My first stop this time of year when going in the northeast

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-1160101577547257582006-10-01T19:25:00.000-07:002006-10-06T00:01:11.313-07:00

I spent all week getting ready for this weekend. I knew fall color would more than likely be at its peak at Rainier, and I wanted to make the most of it. So I took Friday off work and planned for a full three days around the park, with a focus on morning photos. No more of this 4:30am business, though. My plan was to stay where the photos were, and to do this I had removed the passenger seat from

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-1159131877381371452006-09-23T14:02:00.000-07:002006-10-05T23:09:53.520-07:00

After seeing the potential for morning photos at Rainier yesterday , I decided to try to be there for morning photos today. That meant getting up inhumanly early -- 4:30am -- to make the two hour drive to the park before the sunrise. My ultimate destination was Tipsoo Lake, but until the sun came up enough to brighten the foreground, I was't going to be able to get the photos there that I wanted.

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28471327.post-1158989372252433242006-09-22T22:26:00.000-07:002006-10-05T20:50:16.626-07:00

Yet another weekend at Rainier, this time scouting fall color. What can I say, I love the place. It's still too early for the vine maples along the eastside, but they are starting to turn a bit. I drove down into the American River valley east of the park and Dog Lake Campground east of White Pass to check the larches, but they are hardly turned as well. I'd hoped to do some good photography

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01986285362141327567noreply@blogger.com0