Waves and Weather at La Push II

The next day brought clearing weather and less wind. It was completely different there. Sun, then rain and wind. Often in spring we have rain cells with their strong vertical motion. It's a rarity to have lightning, but hail can be a factor.

 Later, towards evening, it seemed all the "best" clouds were to the south, and sometimes felt it might have been better to have gone to Second Beach. While mulling over a seemingly missed opportunity, a small sparrow landed not six feet away, and sang a most beautiful, complex song. He looked squarely at me, and flew away. It was very calming. I stood up and walked a few paces, and a bald eagle took to flight not ten feet away. We were both startled and he was enormous.

Clouds parted for a very calm and beautiful sunset.

 Contrast was lower now as the last of the light on the sea stacks so I stayed for this light, then headed back along the river and climbed the driftwood for a dark and quiet walk back on the beach.

Waves and Weather at La Push

The beauty of spring storms, where the Pacific Ocean meets the coast, are a photographer's dream. It's the times before a storm and after a front passes that are most intriguing and hold potential. Planning revolves around rain, wind and tides. Studies of weather patterns, clouds and other signs, date back to my high school and college days. Competitive sailing brought focus and enjoyment studying the complexities of wind and weather.  The internet has brought powerful tools to bare to track storms, know the wave heights and rain patterns, but there are always surprises

The Quillayute River, a convergence of four rivers, empties into the Pacific here. It was an integral source of life for the Quileute peoples for millennia. James Island, or A-Ka-Lat, stands at it's mouth, with it's rich, ancient history. It's always a privilege to be here.

Storm approaching

A strong offshore wind was creating some very beautiful and ephemeral back spray with the incoming waves. Breaks in the clouds brought brief light to areas in the scene

 While walking out to the point, sea lions in the river are in search of their next salmon treat.

There is a peace here that is comforting and welcome.

Olympic National Park New Year 2015

Winter is a relatively quiet time on the Olympic Peninsula. The weather gods can change their mood overnight, but on this occasion, after some light snow, it was calm and somewhat cold for a week.

Lake Crescent is a restful and beautiful retreat in winter. There was a slight wind this evening, so with a long exposure with the camera, the lake appears to be covered in ice. New snow, lit by moonlight, adorns the ridges, with the summit of Storm King Mountain veiled with a thin line of mist in the background. The distant lights below Storm King are from Lake Crescent Lodge, with the lights from our cabin to the right.

Lake Crescent in moonlight

Second Beach is always a place of beauty.  The feeling of summer was here on this visit. The normal winter surf was absent, a clear sky at sunset, and completely calm.

Calm waters after sunset

As darkness approached, sunlight was exchanged for moonlight reflecting off the beach. A few fine clouds added to the beauty of the sky and the stars. In the photograph below, this portion of the Milky Way, featuring Cyngus, the Swan, while overhead in summer, was now descending in the Northwest. The sea stacks and water were illuminated by the rising moon in the SE. The sea spread across the shallow beach as the tide rose. A tranquil evening, alone, surrounded with beauty.

Sea Stacks lit by the moon, framed by the Milky Way

 We have a small tradition, weather permitting, of visiting Hurricane Ridge on New Years Day. There was just enough snow at this elevation to have a wintry feel. A lovely sunset with warm skies and and very blue light from the east lighting the east side of the Olympics made for a beautiful color contrast on the peaks.

Lovely light after sunset highlights Boulder Peak

 If you would like to see larger photographs of these and others, please visit my Destinations>>

Fall in the Gorge I

I love the fall. It's a great time here with fast moving storms and color. Whenever things look promising and I can get away, I'll head to my closest playground, the Columbia Gorge. It's also amazing how fast things can change in an hour near sunset.

When I first arrived and walked to the Columbia River near Beacon Rock State Park, elk tracks were along the shore, and a family of eagles was hovering over Pierce Island just to the east.

Looking east, with fall colors, eagles and changing clouds

 Moments later, to the west, the sun emerged again to display some amazing colors in the clouds. A strong, low, blue-gray cloud formed overhead, twisting and turning in the wind just above me.

Beautiful warm west light and cool blue light from the north

After the display was fading, the color to the NE near Beacon Rock was developing, so I ran with my gear and tripod over slippery, moss covered stones to a better vantage point with Beacon Rock and Hamilton Mountain.

Fast fading color to the NE

The warm colors receded and darkness approached quickly. A dead Turkey Vulture was in my path along the shore. It seemed fitting to see another cycle in nature. Clouds were still on the move, so I headed nearer to Beacon Rock. Silver Salmon were jumping as I set up the tripod and took some longer exposures of the dynamic motion as darkness approached.

Darkness approaches in the Gorge

Exploration in the Columbia Gorge II Workshop

We were welcomed by cloudy skies and cool weather at Women's Forum Overlook, with changing light to the east but, luckily, no rain. We started with an introduction to the 3 stop graduated neutral density filter while using a tripod, and adjusting exposure to capture as much shadow detail as possible without clipping the highlights. A large barge heading east added to the tranquil scene.

Beautiful cloud forms in changing light. ©Andy Kaplan

With continued gray skies, we hiked to Walchella Falls. Hiking to an elevated area above the falls as an overview of this grand area, we tried different shutter speeds and exposures to vary how the falls changes character with different camera settings, smoothing or creating more texture of the water. We also moved in for closer views and perspectives.

Reviewing and discussing photos with Katrina and Andy at Elowah Falls. Thanks, Randy.

After lunch and a review session covering both exposure and composition, we spent the early evening hours at elegant Elowah Falls. The water level was lower, so we were able to photograph quite close to the falls, with green foregrounds of ferns and flowers.

Participant photos can be found here>