Washington State Parks: Bay View State Park

A few years ago I thought it might be a fun personal project to photograph Washington State Parks - the centennial was coming up and I thought it might be fun to travel the state and photograph the wonders of our state. It was a personal project. I had no real plans what I would do with the images, I just wanted to be able to find photo opportunities at each of the parks.

Then a friend suggested I write a book, which gave birth to the thought of a photographic guide to the parks. There are so many pretty places in Washington, but with some parks you can easily think of the photographic spots. Others however, photography just doesn't come to mind. Sad too because it leaves an impression that a lot of the parks aren't worth a photo trip.

I recently discovered that I still hold that prejudice. And I have been properly schooled.

I wanted to spend a weekend on Whidbey Island exploring the parks there a little more - there are 6, do you know them? (I'll cover those later.) But all of the campsites on the island were filled and why wouldn't they be as fabulous weather was forecast and everyone wanted one last trip. The closest park with open campsites was Bay View State Park on Padilla Bay across from the Tesoro refinery. Oh great. How photogenic could that be?

But it was a good place for base camp and I was able to explore the parks on Whidbey easily enough. for my schedule, I decided to reserve exploring Bay View until Sunday morning. In my opinion, Bay View was the cherry on top of the weekend.

I woke a little after sunrise having spent the evening before chatting with the couple next door and sharing their fire. Not every images needs to be taken at sunrise or sunset and I needed the extra rest. I set off from the campground to the beach.

The campground is on a small bluff over Padilla Bay - a few of the campsites and the rent-able cabins have a nice view of the bay . . . and the refinery. Below the bluff is a small day-use area, a man-made peninsula of sorts, with picnic tables, horseshoe pits and a volleyball net. And a small little beach to explore the mud flats of the bay. I meandered down to the beach and looked north to a tranquil view of calm waters, peninsulas and barnacle covered rocks. My eyes widened as did my smile. This was gorgeous! As I set about composing my images, I kept thinking how pretty it might have been at sunrise. And, OH! what about sunset?

The beach is small, but the mudflats there are what make Padilla Bay a wildlife refuge. The Breazeale Padilla Bay Interpretive Center is just north of the park and also worth a visit. Birds frequent the bay from the stately Great Blue Heron to the migrating Snow Geese. The beach area offers some nice vantage points for bird photography. Kayaks and other small water craft can be seen offshore.

Take your wide angle and macro lens to the beach. Wide angle for full views of the bay; the macro for the critters and details along the beach. Your longer telephoto for the birds will come in very handy. Set up near either end of the beach where the waters are calmer - most birds will like to rest and feed in the calmer waters. Bring a polarizer to cut down on the reflection off the water and the glare off the rocks.

As for the Tesoro pant across the bay? Well, a little night photography can make it look a bit prettier.