Washington State Parks: Camano Island State Park

Camino Island State Park is a case study of a community coming together with a common goal and building a long lasting legacy. Organized by the South Camano Grange on July 27, 1949, 500 volunteers from Camano Island and nearby Stanwood built the park. In one day, they cleared the land, built roads and trails, picnic tables and a parking area. The South Camano Grange won 3rd prize in a national contest for the event and the park.

Over the years Camano Island State Park has grown but the devotion of a small group of residents who believed that they could build a park and create access to the beach for everyone can still be felt in every trail, campsite and table.

The parks sits on a wooded high bluff overlooking Saratoga Passage and includes the rocky beach below. Trails meander throughout the park weaving through the thick forest of Douglas Fir and Sword Fern. The Al Emerson Nature Trail built in remembrance for the first park ranger takes a hiker on a journey through the life cycle of the forest. A photographer can find small intimate vignettes of nature and life in the trees.

From viewpoints along the bluff, you have sweeping views of Saratoga Passage and the mountains of the Olympics and southeast towards Mt Rainier. head down towards the beach and you'll find on the east side of the parking lot a marsh filled with cattails and birds. The beach is rocky and popular with shellfish harvesters. Which can be a boon to photographers looking for details on the beach. Textures abound as do small vignettes of sea life. While on the beach, throw your polarizer on your lens and play with the reflections on the ripples and the rocks below. Don't leave before sunset, for here is a grand place for the colors of the evening.

To Get There:

From I-5 North or South, take exit 212 for State Route 532 to Stanwood and Camano Island. Follow SR 532 west for approximately 10 miles and continue onto E Camano Island Dr. In about 6 miles turn right onto E Monticello Dr. Turn right on SW Camano Dr and then right on Lowell Point Rd.

Washington State Parks: Keystone Spit

You almost don't realize that this State Park is there and if you do, you probably think that it's just an extension of Fort Casey just to the north. To be fair, Keystone Spit is managed by the staff at Fort Casey but it is designated as it's own and why it's separated here.

There's good reason why the two are managed together though, while buildings were being constructed at Fort Casey housing was built on nearby Keystone Spit for the workers.

The spit is a narrow piece of land separating Admiralty Strait from the marshy Crockett Lake. Highway 20 runs along the crest, but this is a peaceful area. Even as the ferry comes and goes at the north end of the spit you can find wilderness here. Having the privilege of close vicinity to Coupeville and Ebey's Landing National Historical Preserve, it's easy to get lost in the quiet ebb and flow of the tides, seasons and farming life.

The beach is rocky and often lined with fishermen during the season. You can photograph little vignettes of beach life along the shore - colorful rocks and interesting pieces of driftwood. Or fishermen in the early morning light.

If it's wildlife you seek, carefully cross the 2 lane highway (very few cars travel this stretch but read the warning below) to Crockett Lake. Here is a birder's paradise. A photographer can photograph shore birds, raptors, waterfowl, song birds and all manners of feathered friends. Bring your long lens and sit for an hour or a day, you will not be disappointed.

If you're in the area visiting Fort Casey or nearby Coupeville, stop by to watch the ferries come and go, watch the fishermen, watch the birds or just relax and watch the day go by. Keystone Spit is a quiet respite from the more hectic Fort Casey and well worth a visit.

Safety Note. Please be careful when crossing the road from the beach area to view the birds at Crockett Lake. There are no crosswalks or protective barriers at this time for pedestrians. Crossing the road or walking on the shoulder can be very dangerous.

To get there.

On Whidbey Island from the north: Follow Highway 20 south to Coupeville and turn right on S Main Street. S Main Street turns into S Engle Road. Continue on S Engle Road past the entrance to Fort Casey State Park and the Keystone ferry terminal. Parking for the park is on your right just past the terminal and at the south end of the park.

On Whidbey Island from the South: Follow Highway 525 to the junction with Highway 20 (W Wanamaker Rd). Turn left and follow Highway 20 towards Fort Casey and the Keystone ferry terminal. Parking for the park will be on the left as the road turns north and closer to the ferry terminal.

A Little Humanity in the Wild

When we think of landscape and nature photography, we tend to think of those pristine wilderness views, untrammeled and void of people. Because people just ain't natural. Right?

I would beg to differ. People in nature are perfectly natural and should be included for several reasons.

First, including people in your landscape images helps to tell the story. Let's face it. You bring a camera along on your excursions so you can later share the experiences with friends and family. Probably the same people you're out having fun with. You can gather around over wine or beer and laugh, discuss and enjoy the excursion all over again. Having your friends and family in the images rounds out the goofy and the serious experiences.

A person or people in a scene, gives the viewer a sense of scale. You're high on a hillside and want to take an image of the view with the valley below. But it just doesn't seem as grand, does it? get a friend in the photo and if you don't have a friend, put your camera on something steady (a tripod if you have one) and pose yourself. Immediately we see the scale of the view. We all know the average size of a human. Add them to the scene and all of a sudden we know how big that hill you're on really is.

You can add context to your image by including people. Along these same lines is that people in nature photos help to add a little context to the scene. In the image above, the viewer can deduce that there was a hike to the top of the hill in the winter - it must have been a strenuous hike (look how far down the river is) and the hiker decided try her hand with some yoga poses to stretch out her muscles.

Looking for a point of interest or focus to your image, people help to do that. People in your images can add a balancing point to an expanse either by being the subject of the image with an amazing or repetitious background or by helping point the viewer to the subject. The above image would have been ok with the view of the river, but adding the hiker, she now becomes the subject against a hazy background.

In the end, adding people to your nature scenes helps make that scene relatable to the viewer. We all love to look at beautiful images of fantastical places, but add people there and we can all of a sudden see ourselves in those places too - without ever being there or even really needing to be there.

So next time you head out with your camera for some fun with your friends and family, make sure you snag a couple of images with them to help tell the story, add perspective and contest, and really just because they are great people and deserve to be your subject.

A Foray Into Astral Photography

It's been something I've planned to do so many times, stay up to photograph the stars in the night sky - hopefully in a picturesque setting. The only problem has been that all too often my bed is too warm and cozy as opposed to the cold night air.

Not only that, you see, my bed is a very jealous bed and once it has be wrapped in its warm and cozy embrace it is unwilling to release me to the chill of night - even if it's for a little astral photography.

But on a recent trip to Cama Beach, I was determined to try my hand at some night time photography. The setting would be perfect - cabins lined along the beach each with a warm glow emanating from the windows. 

On top of all that, night was somewhat early right before the time change so I could stay up, dress warmly and not have to argue with the warm comforts of my bed.

The front cabin here is mine. I debated as I set up the composition if I wanted to shut the door tightly. In the end, I rather liked the door cracked open - invitingly. Plus it helped break up the dark corner of the cabin.

For setting up the image, I knew from watching a few on-line classes and reading articles, that I didn't want the exposure to be too long (longer that 20 seconds and the stars could elongate too much).So I used 800 ISO (after several images of experimenting with higher ISO and seeing the windows get blown out by highlights) and an aperture of f8 to keep my shutter speed at 20 seconds. 

Focus stayed on my cabin there in the front and I was far enough away that with the hyperfocal distance of the lens, the stars stayed in distant focus. And really, keeping the shutter speed short is supposed to help keep those little buggers from getting too fuzzy.

All in all, it was a fun excursion into a new skill, one I hope I can convince my bed to allow me to keep working on. Hopefully, I'll be able to create the oh so pretty images like I see on-line so often.

And I'm always willing for a little company while out there if you're able to convince your own bed to let you join me.

Heidi's Hotspots: Olympic Peninsula: The Hoh Rainforest

Admittedly, the Hoh Rainforest is one of my favorite places on earth.

That's a BIG statement!

I have been to all manner of sights and locales and yet I can right now, right here tell you that my favorite place on earth is a big wet temperate rainforest just miles from the Pacific Ocean.

Yes. For me, the Arizona deserts, Utah Canyons, Canada's mountains all hold special places in my heart and dreams but my go-to happy place is the quiet yet frenzied world that is the Hoh.

Here you can be lost and found in the same breath. Exalt in the openness of nature and feel an overt claustrophobia. You can listen to the flute-like voices of elk with a percussion of dripping from moss and here is where you'll find the quietest inch. You can spend a lifetime visiting yet find something new tucked away among the most familiar. When you are lonely, the moss laden trees become fast friends.

Come here on an overcast day. Even with the thick overstory, sunlight streaming through the leaves can create harsh light and shadows on the scenery. An overcast day gives you soft light, no harsh shadows with blown out highlights. But finding a cloudy day shouldn't be too hard. With rainfall as much as 12 feet a year, there are plenty of grey days. So also bring something to protect yourself and your camera from the wet elements. Even when it's not raining, water drips off the curtains of moss.

If photographing in a forest is a little intimidating, try focusing on small forest vignettes. The Hoh is filled with so much life that the idea of simplifying your image at first mind boggling. There are huge trees everywhere you turn. How do  you create simplicity when there is so much in your viewfinder?

Well, start small with mushrooms and moss.

Look to your feet for tiny things growing and living there.

Find the patterns in the understory.

Point your camera straight up into the top story.

Use a wide angle to get as much in as possible but then use a telephoto to compress the elements together.

Set up your tripod for multiple exposures then blend them later.

Hand hold your camera with a slow shutter speed for a more impressionistic image.

I other words, play. I give you permission to just play with your camera while in the Hoh. Maybe you'll see why this place has become my favorite place.

To get there: From Forks, drive south on Highway 101 to the Hoh River Road. Follow the road to the end. There is a National Park Entrance Fee to access the Hoh Rain Forest.

For more information on visiting the Hoh and Olympic National Park, please visit their website.

Photo Presentations that Work

Last week I shared a story about attending the last straw in a long line of ineffective photo presentations where the speaker wasn't prepared, was disorganized and really all he wanted to do in the end was sell his workshops.

I wrote a bit of a tongue-in-cheek blog post on how to lose the attention of your audience in 5 easy steps. I am here this week to help you understand how to keep your audience in rapt attention and win the admiration of your peers through your presentations.

We'll go through the steps as we did in the previous post.

#1. Your presentation isn't about you at all - it's about your audience. let them know you care about them and their goals by showing up with a prepared, organized and rehearsed presentation. This tells your audience that you care enough about them to take the time to create a great presentation.

#2. You get to name your presentation so give something snappy and information - this is what tells your audience what to expect and attracts them to come listen to you. It helps to write you title AFTER you write the presentation.

#3. You have techniques that work for you so let your audience know what works for you and why. Give them a little background to your workflow from conception to end and why you added or subtracted elements in your process or image.

#4. Do you have workshops? Well it's ok to mention them, but it you are able to give a well rehearsed and organized presentation, show the audience that you care about them and desire to help them become the photographer they want to become then guess what? Your prospective clients will come to you without much prompting.

#5. During the question and answer period, answer the question asked. Do you want to demonstrate a concept with an image? Then use an image already in your presentation. The cool thing about using an image in the presentation is that when you rehearsed your speech, you'll know exactly where the image is and can go directly to it.

Like this? I plan on expanding on each of these topics in coming weeks, there's so much to talk about. But if you want to present a talk that is well-received then this is the way to go.

And again, just though you might like to see another pretty picture. Enjoy!

A Northwest Winter

It's been a pretty sucky winter here in the Northwest. I am sure there are folks out there who are loving the warm and sunny days, but let's face it. Warm and sunny days do not bring snow to our mountains. Many of our ski slopes are bare - embarrassingly bare. The type of bare that makes your eye's pop wide as the guy in the next campsite swings his trailer door wide open to let his dog run free as well as his parts.

What I'm getting at here is that while it's ok to live your life in the nude - it's the unexpected exposure that can be a bit, well, uncomfortable. And that's how it feel in the Northwest right now. Our mountains are unintentionally bare.

We should have piles of snow covering our plants and hordes of happy snow-frolickers playing to their hearts' content in our winter wonderland. I'm pretty sure while we're looking to the Northeast with envy, they are looking at us with the same longing.

And I think somewhere my mind thought "head east not-so-young photographer lady" to get the snowy photos you want. So east I went, to Mt Spokane.

There I was met with . . . the same bare slopes as I found in the Cascades. Oh well. Time to make the best of a not so amazing situation.

There are approximately 100 miles of trails on Mt Spokane and I hiked a very small fraction - a nice little loop trail through a forest with several stands of larch (look for the beautiful spots of yellow in the fall) and a climb to the summit. Most of the year you can drive to the summit and the lodge that's there, but in the winter it's a hike to the top. A short hike of 4 miles round trip with a little less than 1400' of elevation gain. It's pretty steep though as you head straight up the hill in the snow. And in the winter, watch out for skiers.

Sadly I didn't see many skiers out and about as the slopes barely held any snow. And no snow encrusted trees as I was hoping for. The views were amazing. I was still able to find some small winter vignettes, but as important I began making plans for return trips.

Yep, trips. There are, as I mentioned, 100 miles worth of trail to explore.

This is a park where you can easily spend a weekend or more exploring the trails and views.

To get here: From I-90 take exit 287 for Argonne Rd. Head north on Argonne Rd for 6 miles, Argonne then turns into Bruce Rd continue on Bruce Rd for another 2 1/2 miles to a traffic circle. Take the first exit off the traffic circle (WA-206) and follow the road to Mt Spokane State Park.