Even though it is spring in the Pacific Northwest, it doesn't feel like one. The temperature still dips below zero in the mountains, and the clouds still bring snow down to the lower elevation. It is in times like these I often fancy escaping to a cozy cabin, complete with a sauna, hot tub and all the creature comforts.
Many thanks to the Pine Marten cabin for this snug cabin which left me filled with hygge.
Packwood
WA USA
Leaning Away
Visiting tulip fields is aboud admiring the the rows and rows of neatly planted tulips, in all shades from brilliant whites to deep purple. But not all end up blooming successfully, and add a bit of variety to the monotony of the parallel lines of tulips
Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm
OR USA
Spring of Flowers
Springs in California were spent driving around to various parts of the golden state to seek the colorful blooms of wildflowers. Hills, brown and dry during the summer and fall, transform in February to a verdant English landscape, and play host some of the largest varieties of wildflowers. Resplendent blooms of the california poppy, pygmy lupines, fiddlenecks, asters, daisies and many others carpet the sunlit slopes of the Sierra foothills. I am yet to witness such a transformation in any other part of the country.
Table Mountain Ecological Reserve
CA USA
A Fallen Rose
From above, the tulip fields were geometrical patterns of straight lines of different colors: yellows, blues, whites, pinks and reds. Coupled with assortments of an agricultural life, these patterns were interesting to photograph.
But down below, the compositions and scenes were strikingly different. Gone were the patterns where details were lost. Instead, I tried to focus on the minutiae, and on the uncommon occurrence.
Woodburn
OR USA
Lush Paradise
A perfect recipe for the cold winter in the Pacific Northwest is immersing oneself in the warm pools of tropical Mexico. This lush paradise was a welcome respite after a long tired day of driving through the sinuous roads of Chiapas
Chiapas
Mexico
Descent of Fall
A misty weather descends on the New England fall foliage, heralding the quick onset of winter.
Acadia National Park
ME USA
First light in the glades
As the pre-dawn light was slowly whisked away by the rising sun, the sounds of the forest began to rise up: the chorus of crickets, the cacophony of storks and ibises, the shrieks of ospreys and the chatter of woodpeckers. Photos can do justice to the range of light, but never to the diversity of sounds.
Everglades National Parks
FL USA
Winter Mornings
A misty winter morning found me wandering through the snow-dusted trails of the North Cascades, seeking scenes like this one.
Don’t forget to buy my 2022 Photography Calendar featuring similar scenes from the Pacific Northwest.
Golden Gardens
Fall is still a month away, and yet I can't stop thinking about the hiking through the golden wall of larches that are pervasive in the drier parts of the Pacific Northwest. I found this grand forest of larches hiking in one of these areas, growing in profuse abundance around a deep blue alpine lake. I reveled in every step in this golden forest, admiring the bright yellows adorning the white bark of the conifers.
Will this year be just as good? Only time will tell.
Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest
WA USA
Rising above the fog
More often than not, when I am heading out to shoot, I have a place and time in mind that has been carefully planned for, taking into consideration the weather, smoke, light and landscape. And that constitutes a majority of what I shoot. And then I have others that I shoot by happenstance - I just happen to be at the right place at the right time.
This morning, as I was heading back after a long night of shooting, I noticed a river valley completely enveloped in ground-level fog, reducing visibility to a few hundred feet. I ventured a bit more cautiously, hoping to get out of the thick fog. But as the sun came up, this fog started to glow with an inner fire, and I knew I had to shoot it. Around me was the everyday workings of a rural farm: barns, tractors and a few cornfields. As I scouted for locations, I came upon a little rise in the road where the fog, now below me, was spreading through woods and catching the morning light. That scene matched an image I had had in my repertoire of a classic sunrise over a foggy Napa Valley, and while not the same, made me stop to catch the light.
Whatcom County
WA USA