A New Hiking Season

Though this is perhaps the most popular hike in Washington State, few recognize where this shot was taken. This was Mount Si. I found the snowfall serene, while the clouds prevented the sun from being too overpowering. This is the only time I've taken this hike, since normally I try to avoid the popular hikes. I took it very early in the morning to avoid the crowds as much as possible. Photo Project #519.

Rattlesnake Ledge

While beautiful and very accessible, Rattlesnake Ledge can be quite dangerous if one is not careful. Behind only Big Four Ice Caves it has the highest number of fatalities of any local hike. This is primarily due to people doing unwise things on the ledge. On this particular day, I expected to be nearly alone since I left the parking lot so early, but to my surprise it was flooded with teenagers. I managed to find this spot out of the way, but while I photographed I listened to them daring each other to get closer to the edge, while telling stories of others who died doing the exact same thing.

Lady Elliot Island

Lady Elliot Island, off the coast of Queensland, is one of my favorite places in the world. Reachable only via a flight from the mainland, it is beyond peaceful. My days were occupied with the morning sunrise, then several hours of snorkeling after breakfast. This was followed with more snorkeling after lunch, then sunset, followed by the stunning Milky Way. The island itself lies on the Great Barrier Reef, meaning there's no boat trip if you want to snorkel. You simply slip on some fins and jump into the water. To date, this is the only resort we've ever returned to. Photo Project #662.

Franklin Falls

This was taken on an exercise that I've nicknamed the Photopalooza, which of course took its name from Lollapalooza. The idea is to photograph from before sunrise to after sunset. Each year I have a different theme, but on this one a part of it was getting the frozen Franklin Falls. These falls are perhaps the only relatively easy frozen fall to see in Washington State. They only freeze during exceptionally cold years, but when they do it's only a rather flat one mile hike to see them. Spikes are necessary close to the falls, since it gets extremely icy.

Palouse Sunset

Few people other than photographers are aware of the Palouse region of Washington State. That's a shame, because this is easily one of the most picturesque areas of the country. Perhaps tops on that list is Steptoe Butte, which is an easy drive to the top. From there, one can see for miles in every direction. The right sunset there can be awe inspiring. I was lucky enough to arrive in spring, when the flowers were still in bloom. On a separate trip at the identical time of year, we found very few flowers and a less impressive sunset. Yet on this particular day everything lined up to make this image that remains my favorite of the area. Photo Project #958.

Old Tree and the Windmill

This old tree sadly no longer exists. It was a victim of the selfie generation. Despite signs that pleaded with people to leave it alone, there were far too many who insisted it couldn't apply to them. I'm glad that I managed to take a number of photos of it when I did, though I still miss it. The windmill now looks lonely without this gentle winding tree next to it.

Gullfoss

The Gullfoss (pronounced Gootlfoss) waterfall in the south of Iceland is one of the main tourist attractions for those who don't venture far from Reykjavik. Though it doesn't rank as Iceland's most beautiful waterfall, it's certainly impressive. Together with several other attractions it's part of the Golden Triangle, along which countless tour busses cross in the effort to vainly give someone an opinion of Iceland in a single day. While this waterfall is certainly worth visiting, my recommendation to tourists is to spend more time in the country and see the amazing other sights there for the viewing.

Skogafoss

While most views of Skogafoss in southern Iceland are from the bottom, I decided to take the stairs and then get this slightly less common version. Iceland is clearly king of waterfalls. They have so many that there are some without names that would be major tourist attractions if placed here. We saw so many waterfalls during our trip that it became difficult convincing my wife and kids to see more of them.

Mountain Reflection

To this day I have no idea the name of this mountain. During what perhaps was the only blue sky during our entire two week trip, we noticed this reflection and stopped immediately. Two other photographers were there. The first was a woman who, like I, was trying to get a good photo. The second was a man who insisted on telling the woman how to take a photo. My primary goal in the shot was to reach out over the reeds to get only the reflection. Luckily I have a specialized tripod with a long arm that enabled me to do just that. Later on, I noticed the reeds just under the water which I think add to the shot.

Iceland House

Sometimes you're just driving along and have to stop. Such was the case with this old farmhouse in Iceland. While at first it looks abandoned, there were animals there. Perhaps they were just visiting too?

Dettifoss

Dettifoss, in the northern part of Iceland, is the most powerful waterfall in Europe. In this shot the people on the other side give an example of the scale. Of course, like in the rest of Iceland, there were no guard rails. This does improve the natural beauty of the countries, but can make one nervous at times. Since I'm not one for leaning too far out of deathly edges, I found a much safer spot to get this image. By the time we saw this waterfall, however, we had seen so many that our senses were a bit dulled. Later on, I also took images of it from the air.

Hverfjall

This crater, called Hverfjall (pronounced Kverfyetl), lies in the Myvatn area of Iceland. I took this photo while on a hike around the crater, and was rather surprised when Bing chose it for their home page. If you look carefully, you can see two hikers on the other side who give an example of the scale of the place. There actually was a trail to the bottom, but I wasn't quite sure I'd be able to get back up. The entire round hike was extremely impressive, and to this day ranks among the top hikes I've ever taken.

Dettiffos from the Air

While there are many shots of Dettifoss, Europe's most powerful waterfall that lies in the north of Iceland, from the ground, I decided to rent a plane to get one from the air. I actually like this shot better than my land based one, since it tells more of a story. You can see the paths one takes to see it, along with the general path of the water. Several people walking toward the falls give an idea of its scale. Because I took it from a plane, I had only a brief moment to get the shot, as we turned afterwards towards the other numerous sights in the country.

Lost Days

Ever since I bought my first infrared filter, I've enjoyed taking infrared shots. I even converted one of my old cameras, which I used to take this shot. However, I've found it much more difficult to take an actual portfolio worthy shot. The problem lies in seeing in a different wavelength of light. Since foliage reflects light differently, it turns white in many IR shots. Note that this shot isn't completely infrared. It's taken at a wavelength where some visible light makes it in, along with a lot of IR light. For that reason, the boardwalk still looks roughly the correct color. Photo Project #1040.

Sunrise at Marymoor

Getting the perfect sunrise takes a lot of luck. The clouds need to be absolutely perfect. Too few clouds and there's nothing for the light to bounce off of, leading to a more boring sunrise. Too many clouds and the sun is obstructed, leaning to no sunrise. Add to this the fact that the better colors often occur just before the sun rises, when it's reflecting off the horizon. On this particular morning everything came together, leading to one of the most dramatic sunrises I've seen at Marymoor Park.

Marymoor Windmill

During winter time, the sun rises just above the Marymoor windmill. Of course, one needs the perfect cloud arrangements to get something interesting. I continue to be surprised by the number of people not aware that Marymoor has a windmill, since it's quite visible on the right when one enters the park. Getting the rays of light emanating is a factor of perfect cloud cover diffusing the sun just a little bit around the edges, and the right lens. Different lenses handle the star burst in different ways, with some obviously better than others.

Windmill on a Foggy Day

Once in awhile during the winter, there's a tremendous amount of fog right by the windmill at Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington. Since during that time of year the sun rises directly behind the windmill, it provides the rare opportunity for shots like this, where the reflection of the sun overpowers the fog. It's just another bit of proof that one doesn't need to go far for beautiful places.

Geese at Sunrise

Once in awhile, wildlife really cooperates. I don't know how many times I've seen a dramatic sunset or a beautiful tint in the water and prayed that a nearby animal just moved a little bit over. More often than not it doesn't happen. However, on this day it did. While photographing from the lake platform at Marymoor, these geese wandered right in front of the shot. I couldn't have been happier and kept clicking.

Twisted

I photographed this tree at Marymoor Park multiple times before I finally got a shot I liked. While my first attempts were in color, I prefer this infrared version. The shot itself is no longer possible. Planted by the Clise family over 100 years ago, the tree was suffering under the years of people climbing its delicate branches for that perfect selfie. Signs pleaded with visitors to cease the practice, but of course there were individuals who insisted they didn't apply to themselves, and the tree finally came down.Photo Project #1224.

Getting There

This is one of the few infrared shots in my portfolio. Although I love photographing with IR, it's difficult to get a portfolio-worthy composition. However, I really love the pathway going through the foliage here. It had rained quite a bit the previous night and the reeds were flopping onto the pathway, making it even narrower. The grass is white due to how it reflects infrared light. Photo Project #1317.

West Point Lighthouse, Discovery Park

Few outside our area would recognize this as within Seattle city limits. This is the Discovery Park Lighthouse, easily the most picturesque place in the park and one of the most beautiful in the city. It can be tough to get clear shots of it though, since it's a heavily trafficked park and there are usually people all over the beach and the rocks. On this day I got lucky, and grabbed this shot just as the sun was going under. Clear skies actually make sunset photos more difficult, since the sky is relatively uninteresting and the sun often too powerful. There's only a brief minute or so where the sun is beautiful but not overpowering. Photo Project #1361.