Mt. Rainier National Park

                Wildflowers at Reflection Lake
     Mt. Rainier National Park is a great spot for landscape photographers, particularly when the wildflowers bloom.  The challenge is figuring out ahead of time when the flowers will be at their peak.   I've gone to Mt. Rainier twice hoping to photograph the wildflower bloom, but both times I was too early, and the best areas for wildflowers were still under snow.


The photograph above was taken at Reflection Lake, which is still pretty much covered with snow and ice in the photo above.  This lake is near the area called Paradise, which is the trailhead for many of the best wildflower spots.  The photo below was taken at the same lake just a little ways along the shore on a different year when the snow melt was further along.

                    Calm Morning at Reflection Lake

                              Mt. Rainier along Stevens Canyon Road


   The snow melt (and the wildflower bloom) progresses from the lower elevations, such as the photo above, to the higher elevations.  However, it is the higher elevations that tend to produce some of the more spectacular blooms, perhaps partly due to the greater abundance of moisture.


   The photo above is noteworthy in that the cloud cap shown in this photo formed on the first day of our first visit there.  By a couple of hours later in the morning, this cloud cap grew and grew until it was some of the heaviest and most dense fog that you can imagine.  If memory serves me correctly, it stayed so foggy for the rest of our stay on that trip that we never got another chance to see the mountain.

                             Mt. Rainier from Sunrise Area

     The Sunrise entrance to Mt. Rainier is on the west side of the park.  On our second visit to the park, although the trails around Paradise were still fully snow covered in mid-August, I was able to find these few flowers around the Sunrise area. 

                            Mt. Rainier framed by pines- Sunrise area trail
     The above photo was taken from one of the trails around the Sunrise entrance to the park.  It seems to be considerably drier climate in this area than around Paradise, possibly because the Sunrise area may be in the rain shadow of the mountain.  This could also account for why the trails above the Paradise visitor center have a reputation for producing a more prolific wildflower bloom.  During our visit, then Vice-President Al Gore was in the local news for making an un-announced climb to the top of the mountain.  In all candor, I'm not sure that I've ever been in good enough physical condition to be able to make that climb and back.  Even climbing modest ridges for photos in the Sunrise area was enough to have me huffing and puffing for breath in the thin air!

                             Christine Falls- Mt. Rainier N.P.


     Of course, there is a lot of other scenery to photograph in Mt. Rainier National Park besides wildflowers.  This park has many, many waterfalls, including the one pictured above.  On the last day of our visit during my most recent trip here, I hiked several miles above Christine Falls, until I ran into such heavily snow-packed trails that I decided to turn back.


   Both Vickie and I consider Mt. Rainier to be one of our favorite parks.  I'm hoping that someday we can return for a longer stay, and enable us to catch the wildflower bloom at it's peak!  I hope my friends who view these pages can someday have a chance to visit there, too!  


Bill

Monument Valley Tribal Park

                                        Tear-drop Arch

                             Monument Valley is located on the border between Arizona and Utah.  It belongs to the Navajo Nation, but visitors are able to drive through the park on a specific road.  To visit other sections of the park, it is necessary to hire a local guide, which are easy to find at the visitor's center.  Tear-drop arch is one of the sites that requires a Navajo guide to visit.  It is best lit in the late afternoon.


Tech details:  Nikon F3, 24-55 mm Nikkor zoom, Fujichrome Velvia, film scan.

                   Sandstone monoliths


Tech Info:  Mamiya 645, 45mm lens, Polarizer, Fujichrome Velvia, film scan.

                                         Mittens- Sunset

     The mittens are probably the most well-known monoliths in Monument Valley, having been photographed in several western movies as well as television commercials.  Favorite times of the day to photograph these buttes are sunrise and sunset, especially if there are picturesque clouds present to catch the warm light.  On this evening, we had spent a long day out photographing, and were getting hungry.  On the way back to our room, we stopped at a small restaurant outside of the park and had a Navajo Beef platter.  It was one of the most delicious foods that I've ever had, but on my next visit to the area, I found that the restaurant had closed.  I hope that some day, I can find another restaurant in the area that serves a dish as good as that one!     


   If any of my Facebook friends have a chance to visit this area, I would highly recommend it as one of the most photogenic and enjoyable areas in the Southwest.                        

White Sands National Monument

Afternoon in the sun, on the dunes of White Sands


   After my younger daughter Christine's High School graduation (well over a decade ago), she requested that I take her on a photo trip to the southwest.  She wanted to go to New Mexico, I think partly because some of her friends had told her how cool Taos was.  We decided to see White Sands on the way, and here are a few shots that we took there.  The dunes of White Sands are made of gypsum, a mineral that is entirely different from the silica sands that one usually finds at beaches or other areas of the Southwest.  To me, White Sands has a sort of stark beauty that is different from other deserts.  For the photographers out there, when photographing white sand or snow, it is usually advisable to add at least a stop of extra exposure above what a light meter calls for, since the meter is calibrated to provide only 18% reflectance, or neutral gray. 

Christine photographing at White Sands


   We spent an enjoyable afternoon photographing in the dunes, and then as nightfall approached, I captured the image below as the moon rose in the East.  Notice that Christine takes instruction well- she's using a tripod, just like Dad told her!


Tech info (All images):  Nikon F3, 70-300mm Nikkor zoom, Fujichrome Velvia, film scan.

Moonrise- White Sands National Monument 


   

Antelope Canyon- Page, Arizona

                              Lightbeam- Antelope Canyon

    Antelope Canyon is a very popular and very photogenic slot canyon located near Page, Arizona.  It is located on land owned by the Navajo Nation.  To visit the site, one can either hire a Navajo guide at the road, or there are several guide services in the town of Page which will transport you from downtown to the canyon, plus show you the ins-and-outs of the location.  There are actually two separate canyons, called upper and lower.  The photos shown here are all taken at Upper Antelope Canyon.  This is the more frequently visited of the two, and one can walk through its entire length without any climbing or obstacles (other than an occasional sidewinder rattlesnake that might hide in the shadows now and then).  I've also noticed black widow spiders on the walls in spots, so be alert.  The lower canyon is reputed to be a bit more difficult to negotiate, and is less popular with tourists (although many photographers extoll its virtues).
   If you visit Antelope Canyon with the intent of photographing, the most critical things that you need are a sturdy tripod and a cable release, because it is relatively dark in many parts of the canyon, and long time exposures will definitely be required.  (And don't even consider using flash, or all the beautiful natural lighting, which is the whole point of this spot, will be completely overpowered.)


Tech Info:  Mamiya 645, 45 mm lens, Fujichrome Velvia, scanned transparency

                   Near the entrance to Antelope Canyon
   Early in the morning, the area near the entrance is pretty much dark, and the best light is found at the far end of the canyon.  Later in the morning, the sunlight moves further toward the entrance.  The images above were taken late in the morning


Tech Info:  Mamiya 645, 45mm lens, Fujichrome Velvia, scanned transparency

   Getting optimum exposures here can be a bit tricky, especially with transparency film.  I used spot metering to try to estimate a neutral gray exposure, then bracketed exposures both directions from that setting in half-stop increments for a couple of stops.  My only visit to this spot was in the B.D. era (before digital).  I'd like to go back again someday and try this spot with digital equipment.  Actually, I'd just like to go back again, period, regardless of the circumstances!!

Tech Info:  Nikon F3, Nikkor 24-55mm zoom, Fujichrome Velvia, scanned transparency

Depending on one's tastes, you can make relatively abstract images like the one above by using longer focal length lenses and aiming up higher into the canyon.  These more abstract images are especially found at the far end of the canyon, earlier in the morning.


Tech Info:  Nikon F3, Nikkor 70-300 zoom, Fujichrome Velvia, scanned transparency


I hope all you visitors to my blog will someday be able to visit this spot in person.  In the meantime, I hope you've enjoyed viewing these images.
Bill

Mount Hood

                        Sunset- Mt. Hood

My very first look at Mt. Hood was the view above.  We had spent a pleasant day driving down the Oregon coast, then heading east toward the Mt. Hood area, where we had reservations to spend the night.  I was hoping that I'd be able to make it close enough to the mountain that I might be able to get some photos of it at sunset.  The view was totally obscured until the highway passed around the foothills to the left of this view, and then, suddenly, there it was in front of us.  Luckily, there was a small pull-off along the road.  I hurriedly set up my tripod, put a 150mm lens on my medium format camera, and was able to grab this photo before the light changed.


Tech info:  Mamiya 645, 150mm, Fujichrome Velvia, polarizer, warming filter, film scan
   

           Stream with Flowers

The following morning, I spent a pleasant couple of hours exploring the area surrounding Mt. Hood, including this small stream.

           Mt. Hood and Mountain Stream

Sometimes on a trip, there are places that you just don't want to leave.  I've only had a very few hours to spend around Mt. Hood so far, but it's definitely on my list of spots that I'd like to return to some day, for a longer visit.

Tech info:  Mamiya 645, 80mm lens, Fujichrome Velvia, film scan

I hope that my friends viewing this will also have the pleasure of visiting this wonderful area some day.

Bill