The reward for a steep climb up the slopes of Mount Rainier is a panoramic vista of the snow-capped ranges all around. With most peaks topping out at 9000ft in the North and Central Cascades, this winter destination offers a great reward-effort ratio for hikers. I chose to frame this composition with two hikers enjoying a sunny respite on a cold winter day
Mount Rainier National park
WA USA
Winter Home
Who wouldn't want to snuggle up to a mountain-top cabin like this one nestled in the winter wonderland of the North Cascades? One of the perks of hitting the snow-capped slopes here so early is being witness to pristine virgin scenes in the blue morning light. The hordes came shortly thereafter, and a few hours, this area had lost its virginity.
Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
The Pineapple Express
A strong atmospheric river has been dumping moisture (picked up from Hawaii - hence the Pineapple express) into the Pacific Northwest over the past couple of weeks. As a result, the higher elevations have picked up more than their fair share of this white powder. Rare sunny days like the one where the above image was shot provide a great window into this winter wonderland. This week, I am going to focus on such scenes from the Pacific Northwest
Olympic National Park
WA USA
Layers of Helens
Crack in the Earth
While walking through a narrow slot canyon in one of Texas's two National Parks, I came across this scene featuring a desert tree reaching up to the sky from the sheer walls of this canyon in Guadalupe Mountain National Park. I remember commenting to my travel partner that this composition reminded me of similar iconic silhouettes captured in other canyons. I tried to recreate such a composition from my memory using this tree as the foreground.
Does this work? Thoughts?
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
TX USA
Crack in the Earth
Crack in the Earth
While walking through a narrow slot canyon in one of Texas's two National Parks, I came across this scene featuring a desert tree reaching up to the sky from the sheer walls of this canyon in Guadalupe Mountain National Park. I remember commenting to my travel partner that this composition reminded me of similar iconic silhouettes captured in other canyons. I tried to recreate such a composition from my memory using this tree as the foreground.
Does this work? Thoughts?
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
TX USA
A Mammoth Aperture
A Mammoth Aperture
Carlsbad Caverns is one of those off-beat National Parks that get visited only by a determined few. For me, the biggest draw has been descending to the depths of the cavern through the natural entrance. While it was still a sanitized caving experience, I still enjoyed the change in scenery as I dropped below the ground level. The humidity and temperature fluctuations led to water vapor getting caught in various pockets of the cave, lending an eerie atmosphere which I tried to capture here.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
NM USA
A cap on Mount Tacoma
Happy New Year Folks
Over the last few weeks, I have been traveling outside of my PNW home, and what I had been missing the most is seeing the snow-capped summit Mount Tacoma rising above the cityscape of Seattle. There are quite a few places in Seattle to capture this iconic scene. A popular one is in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, which is my go-to choice for shooting sunset. This time, however, I chose to head to a different park to capture the last light on Rainier
Seattle
WA USA
The Vast Sahara
Its hard to get a sense of scale of the great Sahara. And even though I visited a small portion of it on its western end, I felt lost in it. No wonder Arrakis was such a harsh planet!
Merzouga
Morocco
Descent of Fall
A misty weather descends on the New England fall foliage, heralding the quick onset of winter.
Acadia National Park
ME USA
Decked in Snow
A snow-decked summit highlights the early winter landscape of the Olympic Range
Olympic National Park
WA USA