A Second Look

I shoot a lot while hiking. While I enjoy looking for that scene I might have in my mind, setting up the shot and waiting for the light sometimes I just need to shoot and run. Something about a scene grab my attention and I "grab and go."

This type of photography doesn't always lend itself to a carefully shot image. Or to working a scene - taking images from different angles, shutter speeds and apertures for the best composition.

Nor am I able to set up the tripod and take multiple exposures to blend together later in HDR software.

I also will apply this "grab and go" style to editing my images. If it grabs me as I sift through the images, it gets to stay. If not, then into the trash bin it goes.

But every now & then an image deserves a second look. The two images here have different stories, but each was given a second chance much to my appreciation.

1. On Gold Creek Pond, Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

While hiking through what was left of an early season snow around Gold Creek Pond, located near Snoqualmie Pass in Washington, I meandered down by the lake shore. It wasn't a particularly spectacular day for landscapes as the clouds were thick in the trees just above the trees. I was primarily shooting intimate nature portraits in the even light. There were a lot of opportunities for colorful leaves with a dusting of snow. I almost didn't take this picture as the light was flat - no features in the low clouds beyond. But the shape made by the near perfect reflection was attractive. Later as I processed the image I let the sky go white to highlight the shape of the reflection in the water.

2. Grassy Log in Nada Lake, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

On my trip to the Enchantments this past October, my friends & I stayed at Nada Lake on our way in. In the morning light fell on this log out in the lake but the hill behind was still in shadow. It was such an interesting log with grass and shrubbery growing on it. I knew there was a picture in there somewhere so I took a few shots as did my companions. But as I looked at it on my computer I wasn't as thrilled as I had been when I first saw the log in the morning light. But I hesitated when I highlighted the image to throw away. I decided to crop it and darken the background enough to lose the shadowy detail that had been captured.

Every now and then, an image or a scene is worth taking a second, third or even fourth look. You might find magic in there.