New Fine Art Pictures of summer flowers at Mount Rainier National Park
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Flower season at Mount Rainier and Olympic National Park were the first two targets after having to say home for six months due to COVID-19. It was long overdue.
I finally got back out to do some landscape photography in August after staying home since February due to the Coronavirus. I used the time at home re-processing images and making big improvements to the website, which are still ongoing.
For this trip, I teamed up with my good friend Jess Lee, www.jessleephotos.com. We work really well together and it’s infinitely better than being out there alone talking to yourself. I’ve always appreciated how he gives me the push to be a better photographer.
I have tried twice before to be at Mount Rainer when the flowers were blooming. The first time they bloomed early before I got there. The second time they bloomed late and I missed them. That’s one of the disadvantages of having to fly somewhere and make advance reservations. You have to make your best guess on the timing of things based on past history and it’s not always right.
The third time’s the charm, they say. I was there this time during the peak of the bloom and was rewarded with several very nice photographs. First up was some images of Mount Rainer from the Paradise area. From here there are some stunning views of the mountain and of the Tatoosh Range to the South.
Another area with a great view of the mountain is from Little Tipsoo Lake. The purple lupines were in full bloom.
After some successful days at Mount Rainier, we headed to Forks, Washington to photograph in the Hoh Rain Forest and on the Washington coast. I have limited success in the Rain Forest before, but I approached it this time with some different goals in mind. Sometimes you have to fail before you can succeed.
I came across this small scene of water with the sun lighting up the two large trees in the back. It was odd, as I know I had been down that path in previous trips, but just never saw it. I loved the scene and it may be my favorite forest photograph of those I have taken.
As I walked further through the forest, I noticed this extremely odd root formation at the bottom of a large tree. The roots went out to one side and the whole thing just looked like a big foot. So, I named it “Bigfoot”. A little silly, but I couldn’t resist.
I had also attempted to photograph Sol Duc Falls on previous trips, but without the results I wanted. This time I managed to get it right. This image truly captures the feeling of being there. The lush greenery that surrounds you in the Pacific Northwest is just amazing. It is a different feeling being in the rainforest than it is in other forests.
Before we wrapped up this expedition, we spent an evening on the coast at Ruby Beach to shoot the sunset. I was particularly taken by this one sea stack that reminded me of a large Shark’s Tooth, so that’s what I named it. It was a pretty cool sunset and the sun setting off to the right lit up the sea stack nicely.
I will be teaming up with Jess again for shooting the Colorado Fall Color in Southwest Colorado in the coming weeks. I’ve been there before and I do love it there. You never know what to expect from the weather and the hope is always for an early snowfall.
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