Wilderness Symphony

Have you ever listened to the concert in a woodland meadow. In the evening when a stillness covers the world, night time creatures begin to stir, making their presence known by voicing their songs.

An owl hoots and is answered by another in the distance. They are the base to my evening's theme.

Soon they are joined by the chorus of frogs heralding spring or crickets warmed by the summer's day. Singing through the night hoping that their song entices a mate to come closer. I want to come closer, sit in the middle of the chorus and let their song lift my heart towards the sky.

The cicada's vibrating rhythm adds the soothing percussion to help you drift to sleep. My thoughts begin to wander into a dream, stepping lightly through the meadow fireflies lighting my way.

Just as I touch my sleep, an elk begins the haunting flute-like call bringing his mates to him and warding off competitors. Another across the meadow responds to his warning. A third lets them know that he too is there. Waiting. Yearning. Challenging. Their voices float over the meadow. Undulating. Caressing. One drops as another lifts.

I succumb to the lullaby and sleep to dream.

There be Ghouls Here . . . and Zombies

It was a dark and stormy night . . . ok not so stormy, we had stars shining in the heavens and speaking of shining the moon was also nicely bright. What we did have was ghouls and goblins and zombies and clowns. Yes my friends, clowns - the scariest creatures around.

What was all this, you might ask?

It was the first ever Haunted Fort at Fort Casey State Park.

This past weekend I volunteered as a guide for the park's Haunted Fort which benefitted the lighthouse restoration.

The guides dressed up in costume and escorted groups through the zombie infested yard to Battery Turman where the real excitement began. This is not to say there weren't screams prior to showing up at the "evil carnival" The zombies and ghosts heard plenty of screams along our walk past axe-man, the sarge and the zombie picnic.

But at Battery Turman, staff and volunteers had created a beautiful mix of anticipatory scares and frightful surprises. And with each group running out of the rooms there was joyful laughter following screams and tears - laughter assuaging fears. I couldn't help but laugh myself, in unison with their joy of fright.

In the end, the Haunted Fort raised $10000.00 for restoration of the lighthouse.

I'm looking forward to next year's Haunted Fort.

Heidi's Hotspots: Mt Rainier National Park: Burroughs Mountain

It's a difficult task to find a photo location on Mt Rainier that isn't spectacular.

When I start to think of my favorite places or places to recommend to friends, my brain starts with the obvious - Paradise. Paradise is located on the south slope of Washington's iconic mountain and is bewitching throughout the year. One of the bonus points for Paradise is it's location. The light is almost always favorable any time of day, any time of the year.

It has to do with the mountain facing the sun so as you're creating your images, the sun is at your back. It's easy to spend a day, a weekend or more photographing the scenes and beauty around the paradise area.

On the other side of the mountain, is the Sunrise area which is beautiful in it's own right. And yes, as the name reflects sunrise and early mornings are the best times of day to photograph this side of the mountain. As mid-day approaches and into the afternoon, you end up photographing into the sun.

And yet, this hot-spot is on the north-ish side of Mt Rainier where the light isn't almost always wonderful. Nor is it accessible all year.

You come here in the morning during the summer and autumn (the road usually opens around July 4 and closes after the first significant snowfall), hike out past Frozen Lake and up to 1st then 2nd (and if you have enough UMPH left) then 3rd Burroughs and you will see views hearkening back to the ice age.

Views from 1st Burroughs reach northward from Berkeley Park just below you to Fremont lookout then the Cascade Range north to Mt Stuart, Glacier Peak and Mt Baker. Don't forget to look at your feet. This is alpine tundra up here. The alpine spring brings out the low-lying color of delicate flowers.

Continue up to 2nd Burroughs to look down into the glacial moraine of the Emmons Glacier. Bring a long lens to zoom in on the crevasses, deep and plentiful near the toe of the glacier. Also bring a coat for the ever present wind gets cold even on hot summer days.

Third Burroughs brings you all that much closer to the glacier for a vision of what the northern continent looked like during the ice age.

All in the shadow of the mountain. The closer you get, the harder it is to photograph the whole mountain even with a wide angle lens. Yet, dare I say, you'll be focusing in on the mountain's details to such an extent you won't really mind.

Oh, one last use for that long lens - goats. Rarely have I been to Burroughs Mountain without seeing goats. Dozens of them.The white specks in the image above are goats (guess who didn't bother with her long lens on that trip). And I've seen the odd bear in the area too - a cinnamon colored one.

How not to be a Ramblin Rose, Part 1

Ramblin' rose, ramblin' rose
Why you ramble, no one knows
Wild and wind-blown, that's how you've grown
Who can cling to a ramblin' rose?
 - Noel Sherman and Joe Sherman

I love Nat King Cole. His sweet and silky voice makes me weak in the knees and sends shivers along my spine. His is the voice that soothes the savage breast.

After sitting through a photographer's presentation a while back, I thought I could use a little Nat King Cole. I was frustrated, angry and felt betrayed.

Why?

Because the photographer rambled about himself and how wonderful he was for two stinking hours. That is two hour of my time that I will never get back. Nor will I ever get the money I paid for this frustrating honor back into my pocket.

Money and time lost. For nothing.

Have you ever had that experience? Eagerly heading into a presentation and then getting to the end, the presenter is answering questions and you're wondering what was even the point? There wasn't a single statement throughout the whole presentations that you could cling to and you begin to wonder why you wasted your time.

You didn't waste your time. The presenter wasted your time. And shame on them.

A rambling presentation isn't just damaging to audience members, but it's damaging to the presenter also.

When you are speaking to a group of other photographers, you are representing your photography brand. Which is you. You are your brand. You are the photographer. You are the one with your vision. And the folks who have come to listen to you want to know about you and your vision.

Who are you? What is your inspiration? How did you get to where you are?

Do you want to inspire? Or confuse? Please, tell me your answer is to inspire.

What inspiration do you want them to take with them as they leave? Answer this question and you are well on your way to being a solid speaker and not a rambling rose.

Remember back in school when you had to write an essay and the essay revolved around a certain thesis statement? Well, the answer to the inspiration question above will be your thesis for your speech. Yes, speeches have a "thesis statement." If you make every point in your speech connect to your thesis PLUS make every image you show and example of the point that links to your thesis you can become a successful speaker.

You can make people excited to listen to what you have to say. Dare I say maybe become a Nat King Cole and soothe your audience.

Washington State Parks: Potholes

This may be just the park the started it all. Not my initial thoughts on photographing Washington State Parks, but to write a book about them and for them.

I had been reading another photography guide book that I had been recommending to others and even lead a group out on one of the authors "trips." The book is well written, filled with insightful hints and tips. My intent here is not to discredit the author or his book. I have great respect for the author who is a talented photographer and writer who has written more than one photography guide that I use - which is why I am not sharing the title here.

However, while researching some parks on the east side of the Cascades, I ran across a passage for Potholes State Park that got me thinking. The passage said that Potholes State Park, like most Washington State Parks was no more than a campground in a mowed lawn. The author did go on to say that there were some nice marsh areas along the shore of the reservoir lake that are perfect for birds and bird photographers. But it was the - like most Washington State Parks, mowed lawn and campground - that got me wondering. Is this really the perception of our State Parks?

If that is the perception, then I want to change that perception. I wanted to show others that Washington's state parks can be photographic destinations.

And then the birth of a book.

I will admit that it you go to many of the parks that have campgrounds, the campsites are mostly on mowed lawns. Does make for room for kids to run and play near their parents. And the primary camping are for Potholes is just that. The cabins and tent sites are tucked away in the trees closer to the lake and creek. Here cottonwoods line the campsites, willows separate you from the marshes, marshes lead into the lake. Each of these provide food and shelter for birds and subject matter for bird photographers. There is also plenty of textures to photograph in these areas.

Near the day-use area and boat ramp are views of the lake and low-lying hills of the surrounding agricultural land. The park sits on the west end of the lake and faces the sunrise in the morning. They are tranquil mornings on the lake before the campers are awake. The birders begin to stir and swim across the pastel colored lake waters or fly through the multi-colored sky.

Beyond the campground, away from the lake is a landscape filled with sage and rabbit brush. Follow the short trail along the creek through the brush and grasses. More birds can be found here, but don't forget to look to your feet. In the spring lupine, phlox, lomatium and other wildflowers grow in the shade of the shrubs. I've even watched a beaver swimming in the grasses along the creek bed.

There is a lot here to explore and photograph.

Getting here:
From I-90 east bound - Take exit 164 for C NW Rd/Dodson Rd. Head south to Frenchman Hills Rd W, 10 miles and turn left. Follow Frenchman Hills Rd W to WA-262, 5 miles and turn left. Continue on WA-262 for 5 1/2 miles to Potholes State Park.
From I-90 west bound - Take exit 179 for WA 17 S and head south to Rd M SE for 2 miles. Turn right on Rd M SE and continue to WA-262, 7 miles. Follow WA-262 to Potholes State Park in another 7 miles.

Washington State Parks: Conconully

On the outskirts of the little town of Conconully which lies on the edge of the Okanagan National Forest, sits the small park of Conconully State Park. On the east side of the park site the town of (at last count) 210 residents and on the west side, Conconully Lake, a reservoir lake created by the Conconully dam.

I fist came here late one 4th of July. I didn't have a reservation for the campground and the town was buzzing with revelers. For a small town, they sure do know how to throw a party with live music well into the night and an old western-style gun battle scheduled for the next day. I found a parking spot just outside of the park along one of the roads, in between a truck and a couple of motorcycles, the riders of which were in town having some fun.

Zillah and I snuggled into the front seat of the car for a restless night's sleep - at some point in my life, sleeping in the car has ceased to be fun - but we made the best of the situation. At some point in the night, a storm passed through and fat raindrops splattered against the open window and into the car. I rolled the window up a bit. Cars drove by, drunks stumbled home and the night turned into morning.

It was morning that gave me my first sight of Conconully State Park, nestled in the hills looking out over the lake. Zillah and I startled some ducks as we meandered along the shore. An osprey dove into the water fishing for breakfast and the sunlight lit the surrounding hills, still trying to hold onto the last of the green of spring.

But that was last year. This year is a different story - the town residents and visitors have been ordered to evacuate the town as a fire bears down on the lake, the park and the historic buildings.

Fire has no direction - it goes as the winds push it and the fuel pulls it. And now a cute little town with 100+ years of history, festivals and western gun fights is in the path that fuel and wind have built for the fire. The little park on the shores of Conconully Lake with the ducks, osprey and old cottonwoods could be surrounded not by rolling green hills but hills blackened by flame and smoke and soot.

My thoughts and prayers are with those who had to flee for safety and the fire fighters trying to save the town. And prayers for big fat raindrops splashing down.

Washington State Parks: Willie Keil's Grave

On a small hill in a cow pasture nestled in the Willapa Hills of SW Washington stands a testament of the strength of a father's promise to his son. Willie Keil's Grave is no more than a pullout along highway 6 but it's story if far grander.

Willie's father was the leader of a religious sect called the Bethelites based in Bethel, MO. The group of Bethelites decided to look for their "promised land" in the fertile hills of the Oregon Territory. The year was 1855 and the way to the northwest from Missouri was a long arduous trek over the great plains by wagon. Willie was 19 and enthusiastic about the adventure. He learned to drive the oxen team that would pull his family's wagon across the plains. He became so proficient that the Bethelites awarded him the honor of driving the lead team.

However, prior to the departure, Willies became ill with Malaria. His father promised that he would not leave Willie behind - no matter what. Four days before the departure, Willie died. Remembering his promise to his son, he built a sturdy coffin lined with lead and filled it with whiskey to preserve Willie's body, put the coffin in the lead wagon and proceeded to lead his followers to the fertile lands of the northwest.

Six months later Willie was finally laid to rest in his coffin filled with whiskey in the rolling green hills of the Willapa valley.

Sadly, the Bethelites moved south of the Columbia River a few years later, but they left Willie in the lands he had dreamed of.

Now, you might not think there is much to photograph at a highway roadside along a cow pasture, but it is these situations where you can really exercise your creativity. While on road trips, have you ever grabbed your camera while running to the bathroom at the rest area? If so then you know what I'm talking about. If not, why not?

Practicing your photographic craft isn't all about the grand landscape with stunning lighting and awe-inspiring sunlight reflected in the clouds. Practicing photography is finding the elements of a landscape that help portray your emotions and experience at that time. It's in places like waysides when you want to stretch your legs that are perfect for stretching your creative muscles.

Camera memory is cheap so why not play and practice to understand what you're aiming for and how to get there. Maybe at some point, you will be asked to lead the way as Willie was. Just stay healthy so when you reach your goal you can appreciate it.

To get there: Willie Keil's Grave State park is located on Highway 6 just 4 miles east of Raymond or 51 miles west of Chehalis.