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Shadows and light in the Palouse

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The warm yellow hues of the late afternoon light, juxtaposed against the gentle shadows on the rolling terrain of the region, add the right bit of drama and depth to a scene that would been boring under the mid-day sun.
Here is one such composition where the light highlights the undulating terrain.

Palouse
WA USA

Rolling Hills of Palouse

As I was driving around the afternoon after a drifting thunderstorm, I found many of the classic pastoral scenes inspired by this region, such as the rolling green hills anchored by a lone cypress or a farmstead, of red barns framing green fields of wheat, of puffy white clouds marching endlessly into the horizon.

Here is one such scene from the byways that crisscross the Palouse region.

Palouse
WA USA

Rainier Hues

As the sun slowly made its way to the horizon after a long summer day, I was enthralled by the kaleidoscope of colors that evening, including the deep blue shadows on the Puget sound, the pink belt of venus, the orange glow atop Mt Rainier, the deep red alpenglow of the Olympics and the azure blue above. On the western horizon, I witnessed the transition between shadow and light as the line between dark and light slowly crept along the horizon towards Tahoma.

Olympic National Forest
WA USA

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Colors of Palouse Falls

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A lovely side-trip from the Palouse region is Palouse Falls. Set within the rolling terrain created in the aftermath of the cataclysmic Missoula Floods, the falls appears out of nowhere. The falls takes the Palouse river from a narrow rocky escarpment down to a wider shallow basin leading to the Snake River.
Capturing the falls in all its glory is challenging endeavor, even with the widest of lens, as you can see above. It also requires the sky to cooperate, which it only partially did on this day.

Palouse Falls State Park
WA USA

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Aftermath of a thunderstorm

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The thunderstorm reason usually passes by the Palouse region a bit before the summer seasons. During the summer, one is typically greeted by bluebird skies over the rolling green fields. However, that is not particularly conducive to photography.

I wasn't hoping to get great weather in a trip earlier this year, but I was a bit more lucky with the weather patterns. Even though it was late June, cumulus clouds continued to roll over the region, an aftermath of a wet weather pattern. That lead to a nice pattern of shadow and light over lush wheat fields.

Palouse
WA USA

Into the Maw

Hiking into the heart of the Carlsbad Caverns, I entered a nether region of other-worldly shapes, sounds and sights. Sounds of other tourists shuffling over echoed through the hallowed halls and the narrow passageways while the artful lighting converted thin pillars of stalactites and stalagmines to the monstrous jaws of an extra-terrestial creature. Curtains and wedges of limestone dangled delicately from the ceiling, growing slowly but steadily with every drop of water dripping down to the nether reaches below.

Such were the thoughts that ran through my mind as I walked through this surreal space.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park
NM USA

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Junuary

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While summer has officially begun in the Pacific Northwest, it quite doesn't feel like one yet, especially when compared to the halcyon days of June last year. But I am not complaining as the rainy days have kept the temperatures cooler and landscape in spring-like conditions well into summer. I still get psyched about seeing puffy clouds march endlessly into the horizon, and colorful wildflowers showing off their blooms well into June.

While hiking recently along the Columbia River Gorge, I captured a few photos that symbolized the fresh conditions that the wet Pacific Northwest has been having.

Columbia River Gorge
WA USA