Cowiche Canyon

When you live on the wet side of the mountains like I do and go through a cold wet winter like we did, the dream of spring comes with the 1st day of March. And so it was that I sat daydreaming out a rain soaked window wishing for sunny skies & wildflowers when my partner in hiking emailed that she would love to have me co-lead a Conditioning Hike in Cowiche Canyon. I of course said "Well, Heck Yeah!" Cowiche Canyon is near Yakima - on the sunny dry side of the state & we can usually find wildflowers aplenty in March.

However, when it came time for our hike my friend showed up sick and begged me to take over for her. Well, that is why I was there - as her backup plan. We left her behind & drove through showers & snow to arrive in Yakima to partly cloudy skies. Oh Hallelujah! Just what I had been daydreaming of, now if only we'd find the flowers too.

We started off in the canyon marveling at the columnar basalt and lichens, crossing over Cowiche Creek several times. A few flowers were blooming. We made it to bridge 8 and started our climb out of the canyon along the uplands trail. And sure enough, we were soon greeted by Yellow Bells, Grass Widows, Prairie Violets and other small lovelies.

Lunch was eaten on an outcrop overlooking the canyon & out of the wind. Then we crossed back over bridge 8 to climb the vineyard trail to the wine tasting room on the other side of the canyon. In the rocks as we hiked Yellow-Bellied Marmots played. It was with some regret when it was time to head home - the sun was so warm & lovely on our faces.

Mima Mounds

Washington has some amazing landscapes. From our snow-capped volcanoes to the channeled scablands, a photographer will never lose variety and inspiration in our scenery. And so it was this idea that brought me to the Mima Mounds for the first time several years ago. I had heard of vast meadows south of Olympia filled with native wildflowers and odd mounds.

The first time I visited, I had just missed the peak of the wildflowers. The next time I was there just before the peak. And always at mid-day. Even though on some days I visited the skies were overcast, I never truly got images I was pleased with - images that showed the beauty & mystery of the mounds.

Then finally it came to me - visit the mounds when I hear that the flowers are blooming and after work so I could hit the Natural Area during the golden hour. I was but one of 3 cars in the parking lot as I arrived and began my meandering through the mounds which geologists are still trying to understand. The camas fluttered in the breeze, a coyote trotted off into the distance. And as the sun began to set, the sky lit up. I took several exposures to blend in photoshop later and capture the true beauty of the scene.

Revisiting Photos

There are times where I just can not make myself dispose of an image. Even if it doesn't thrill me at the time, I wonder if there is a way I can "play" with it later to make the image more interesting and affective. I will see potential in an image and save them for later. So I tuck them away for a cold and dark wintery evening. After a blog post by Moose Peterson about converting what he thought were lackluster images from Monument Valley into Black and White, a light went on in my head.

I flipped through my southwest folders looking for images I had put aside. I may have already played with them but they just didn't work well for my eye. They seemed dull, the geologic striations blended together, the sky was just there - it didn't pop. But I held onto the images in hopes that I would find a way to make them look as I felt was I was shooting. And I did.

Using the Black & White layer in Photoshop CS4 and the preset for high contrast blue filter, I found that the marvelous geologic striations became more pronounced & even took on a life of their own. The wispy clouds in the sky became noticeable. In the end, I came away with an image I am extremely happy with - one that captures the essence of the place.

Finding Inspiration

I recently went on an evening photo shoot with friends at the Pike Place Market & Post Alley in Seattle. I love the lights of Seattle. And I love Seattle nights - although they can be bitterly cold in the winter. But the wind & cold would not deter us as we explored the street & neon signs near Seattle's iconic market. We had postponed our trip once before because of weather that didn't turn out to be so bad, so we weren't going to be fooled again.

The sunset glowed as it set behind the cloud-shrouded Olympic Mountains and we lined up for the quintessential image of the neon coffee cup and the Public Market Sign along Pine Street. A crowd gathered to catch the sunset behind the signs. Then we stopped for a cup of hot coffee to warm up our hands. Did I mention it was cold.

From here we could explore Post Alley and Pike Place Market as the night progressed and night lights created a different Seattle. I was taking a picture of the Post Alley sign above my head when I lowered my gaze to the alley across the street. My gaze stopped at the little corner cafe, golden light illuminating the sidewalk and outside seating area. The Edward Hopper painting Nighthawks suddenly came to mind - A "simple" painting of people sitting in a corner cafe in the evening, the lights of the cafe lighting up the city street outside.

For me this is the image that made my cold fingers & nose worth it.

Swirling

While on the Oregon Coast last month, one of my self-assignments was to photograph moving water with slow shutter speeds. I love the effect this creates - smooth silky water. I love the sense of motion within the image especially when photographed against solid objects. And what better place to play with water & slow shutter speed than the Oregon Coast.

We were down in the Newport area and decided to stop by Seal Rocks State Park. There are some lovely rock formations in the bay - sandstone, so they have worn away into some magnificent shapes. While most of my group focused in on the waves against the rocks, I went another direction. I began exploring the upper beach taking simple images of sandstone and pebbles until I reached the south end of the beach and smiled with delight. There in the sand, was a row of sandstone exposed by the waves. The stone had been smoothed by waves over the years: dips, crest, crevasses - perfect for parting & catching waves and foam then slowly releasing them back to the ocean.

I set up my tripod, first trying to get a good wide angle with the beach & bluff behind. But the day was a normal northwest kind of a day with heavy flat overcast skies that became unattractive in the scene. So I moved closer, composing on the rocks with the surrounding beach. But this still didn't seem to depict the motion I wanted - too much was distracting from the scene.

Finally, I stood on top of the rocks, hoping my boots would keep out the water, and focused more closely with an interestingly shaped rock in the foreground and composing with another along the line to draw the eye into the scene. All I had to do after that, was wait. And my patience was rewarded with a nice low wave coming up over the rock then down the other side. My shutter speed of 5 seconds was long enough in the low light to catch what I had hoped for - an interesting rock with silky foam & water cascading off & swirling around.

St. Mary's by the Sea

Along the Oregon Coast there is a little church tucked up along the sand dunes away from the highway. It sits back a little way from the beach yet the beach is ever present in the sanctuary. This is a church built by & for sea-faring folk. Those whose lives and often deaths were influenced by the ocean just beyond the dunes. A bench for contemplation sits at the top of the dunes. I like that bench and took my turn at photographing it but it was the warmth of the church that attracted me.

The door to the sanctuary was ajar so I coaxed my friend to peak inside. Being braver then me, she did & immediately called back "You have got to see this." As I walked into the sanctuary, I became breathless with excitement. The glow of the windows we had seen from the outside filled the church. We meandered throughout the little church taking pictures of details colored by the golden light from the windows.

But my favorite image remains this first one, taken as I entered the sanctuary, my breath still as I looked at the glory of it all. The pews lined up, light falling on them and dark shadows defining their shape. The geometric shapes of the golden windows shining brightly from the darkened walls leading your eye to the light on the red & white flowers on the side alter in the distance. Brought to me the quiet stillness I love so much in churches when it's just me and my reverence.

One for my mother

My mother loved owls. I never really knew why. I was barely out of my teens when she died and hadn't yet gotten to the place where my mother was at all interesting. But I knew she loved owls and most of all she loved Snowies.

Snowy Owls are a rare occurrence in the Pacific Northwest - they rarely migrate this far south, but every few years one or two can be spotted in some areas around Seattle & the coastal areas. But this year seemed like a bumper crop of Snowy Owl sightings. They were sighted in & around Seattle and reports were coming in from Montana & North Dakota. But the Boundary Bay area in British Columbia was the most interesting for birders - up to 20 Snowy Owls could be seen sitting on the drift logs at any time. Photographers & birders "flocked" to the area.

I was thrilled when a birding acquaintance told me she would be leading a Mountaineers trip to Canada to see the Snowy Owls and other birds at Reifel Bird Sanctuary. I wanted to try & get a picture of the owls.

My mother had been on my mind a lot lately - just the stresses of life and how I remember her warm & loving hugs. One day while shopping, every rack of shelves held an owl something: a figurine, a cup, a candle holder. So when the opportunity to photograph one of her beloved birds came up, I couldn't say no. Even as the weather looked bad, I knew I would go. My back account was stretched thin before payday, but I took out the cash to pay for gas. There wasn't a question in my mind that I would go.

I hoped the birds would be close enough for me to see and photograph. I don't classify myself as a wildlife photographer, so don't have all the fancy equipment to capture animals at a distance. But I needn't have worried, the owls were lined up on logs not 20 yards from the trail sitting, watching, grooming. Camera lenses and birding scopes in a line pointed at them and I set up along with them all - focusing on one large fluffy bird on an interesting stump hoping he might do something more interesting than stare at us.

Then he did. He twisted around to start grooming, lifted his head feathers outstretched and I got a picture my mother would have been proud of.