Earlier this summer, I hiked up to Navaho Pass and Peak. From the peak, the view of the clouds spilling over the Cascades onto the Stuart Range was fantastic. More panoramas and single frame photographs soon.
Cloud over Stuart Range from Navaho Peak (BW),
Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, WA (12″x18″)
In early August,, I peeked out my window before heading in to work and noticed dramatic, dark storm clouds rolling over town. I grabbed my camera and shot a few panoramas on my way in to work.
Central District and Dark Morning Rain Clouds, Seattle, WA (12″x43″)
Red setting sun casting shades of orange and pink across layers upon layers of summer clouds in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Unfortunately I wasn’t in a spot to get a nice foreground, but the sky was fantastic.
Summer Sunset over Santa Fe Botanical Gardens, Santa Fe, New Mexico (23″x30″)
Bulb exposure of gathering summer rain clouds over a sculpture at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Meow Wolf Sculpture and Summer Clouds, Santa Fe, New Mexico (12″x18″)
Blue hour bulb/ND panorama of snow fields, cirque, and summit of Mt Sopris from Upper Thomas Lake at Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, White River National Forest. It was hard to get the exposure right as the light was fading- you can probably tell that the panorama gets darker from left to right as I left the exposure times the same for each of the frames in the shot. The second panorama is from the following morning- I used a B&W conversion to try to emphasize the texture of the rocks and clouds.
Upper Thomas Lake and Mt Sopris at Blue Hour (2019),
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, Colorado (16″x35″)
Upper Thomas Lake, Mt Sopris, and Morning Clouds (B&W),
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, Colorado (16″x40″)
Earlier this summer, I backpacked up to Thomas Lakes in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of Colorado and took a few photographs along the way. I’ve always loved this stretch of hike- the trail switchbacks through an open field, then crosses the top of a hill and enters a grove of aspen as it ascends to Thomas Lakes.
Trail through Field to Mt Sopris and Sopris (2019),
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, Colorado (16″x46″)
Last summer was quite dry and hot on the Western Slope of the Rockies in Colorado- smoky air from forest fires and streams and waterfalls that trickled instead of gushed. This summer, I took my annual walk up to Hanging Lake in Glenwood Canyon and photographed the falls- there was much more water, with falls spouting out of the cliffs in multiple places. Here is a 30-second exposure of the falls at Hanging Lake.
Hanging Lake and Falls (Bulb Exposure, 2019),
Glenwood Canyon, White River National Forest, Colorado (11″x18″)
We had a relatively rare mid-summer rain pass through this weekend, so I took advantage of the darker skies and headed out to Madison Park to take a few bulb exposures of the passing clouds over Lake Washington. Unfortunately, as I set up to shoot, the sun started poking through the clouds, so even stacking a 10-stop ND filter on a polarizing filter only allowed for ~60-75 second exposures. I’ve found that I need a good two to five minutes to really get the water to flatten out in these photographs.
Madison Park Pier and Summer Rain Clouds (#5, B&W), Seattle, WA (12″x18″)
Clouds over late spring snow on Mt Rainier between Panorama Point and Paradise.
Rainier, Snow, Trees, and Clouds, Mt Rainier National Park, WA (12″x18″)
Rainier, Snow, Rock, and Clouds, Mt Rainier National Park, WA (12″x18″)
Clouds over late spring snow on Mt Rainier between Panorama Point and Paradise.
Rainier, Spring Snow, and Clouds (Pano #4, Color), Mt Rainier NP, WA (16″x36″)
Rainier, Spring Snow, and Clouds (Pano #10, BW), Mt Rainier NP, WA (16″x49″)
