Northern lights, I realized, is best appreciated as a video. Because the borealis isn't a static fixture in the sky but a dance of light and colors. Closer to the poles, one can experience this dance in real-time, but in the PNW, only timelapses can capture the incredible beauty of the dance.
Here is one such dance. While I regret not spending more time to capture the lights due to the cold, I was glad I was at least able to capture this.
Quincy
WA USA
Lost in the Maelstrom
One of the challenges with winter hiking above the treeline is the impact of ground level fog and clouds that impair visibility. Tracks and ski lines made in the pure white snow disappear into nothingness, while the treeless landscapes feature very few landmarks to mark the direction. I found myself in one such terrain while snowshoeing in Rainier where I had to descend through the clouds. And for many minutes, I was walking in a featureless landscape of alpine white. I found other skiers experiencing the very same predicament that afternoon.
Mount Rainier National Park
WA USA
Skydance
With cloud cover predicted for most of Washington on that fateful night, I was not particularly hopeful in capturing the aurora. Despite the low probability, I drove through a treacherous winter storm hitting Snoqualmie pass and hunted around the central Washington for a dark place with clear opening to the north. I finally found a dark canal bank with a possible opening. And within moments of spreading out the tripod, the aurora showed its true colors, with pillars rising so high above me that even the vertical composition couldn't capture its full height. If it were any clearer, the camera would have been saturated with the auroral glow.
After that high, I was dreading the drive back. The winter storm over Snoqualmie pass had become even more intense, with a layer of sleet and ice covering miles of the highway. Lack of any traffic meant that there was no help around if I had a spinout. If not for that heightened alert level after the aurora, I would not have made it home safely. Hopefully this occurs again before the PNW settles into its summer.
Quincy
WA USA
Say Hi to Steve
It was one for the books. Seeing the aurora borealis in action helped fill a nostalgic hole left by a trip to Iceland six years ago. And I would have almost missed it since skies all over the Pacific Northwest was cloud. And if not for my gut instinct prompting me to just sacrifice sleep to go witness this, I most certainly would have.
As luck would have it, I also managed to see STEVE for the very first time. STEVE, which stands for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, is different from a bog-standard aurora in that it is a thin ribbon of purplish-white light that forms further south of the northern lights. When I first saw this band of light dancing above me in the sky, I first mistook it for the aurora before realizing that the actual lights were showing up in the northern horizon. Here is one of the many captures of STEVE near a dark alley east of the Cascades.
Ellensburg
WA USA
Forgetting Winter
With 12hr+ days, we may be officially in Spring, but that doesn't mean winter weather isn't over yet in the Pacific Northwest. It will be a long time before the gleaming white snow capping the Cascades slowly melt away. And in the meanwhile, you can still get beautiful winter landscapes like these.
Which one do you prefer? 1 or 2?
Mt Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
The Arrival of Spring
In the PNW, there are many signs of the seasonal changes in the spring. However, my favorite amongst those is the bloom of the tulips in the many farms that dot the Skagit Valley of Washington. Acres of carefully maintained gardens featuring a bounty of different kind of flowers provide plenty of splendid opportunities for photography. Here is one such farm at sunrise featuring a silhouette of Mt Baker.
Skagit Valley
WA USA
Church Mountain
Sometimes I like to revisit photos of places that I had visited in the past to help kindle that sense of nostalgia. And after California, I often go to my archives from Iceland. It has been one of the diverse landscapes I had visited, where glaciers and geysers coexist, where sheep-filled meadows end in a rocky landscape and where one can enjoy the northern lights from outdoor hot-springs.
Kirkjufell is perhaps one of the most iconic locations in the island nation, featured in every travel poster. I visited the peak during the tail end of my trip, and I still have fond memories of the beautiful sunrise I witnessed there.
Kirkjufell
Iceland
The March to Spring
The snow-covered landscape is a blanket of white and silence.
But underneath, the plants and seeds are waiting for sun's guidance.
As winter moves to spring and the days grow longer,
The mountain landscape transitions to a climate more warmer.
It is bittersweet to be at the end of winter. While I know that a delightful summer is about to descend onto the PNW and reveal its true colors, there is something about a snow-covered landscape on a crisp and sunny winter day that I will sorely miss.
Mount Rainier National Park
WA USA
A Diverse Park
My first impression of Olympics was at the Hoh rainforest. I was enchanted by the dense ecosystem of towering conifers lending a beautiful green canopy to the mosses and ferns that blanketed the rugged terrain. It was when I moved to the PNW that I got to explore the different climactic zones of the park in different seasons. From a snow-covered winter landscape at Hurricane Ridge, the dense rainforests of Hoh, the beautiful seastacks lining sandy beaches, to ridge-top vistas in its many sub-ranges, Olympics has it all. It is a place that would truly take a lifetime to explore and appreciate it.
Olympic National Park
WA USA
Morning Hues
Its March, and Spring is yet to arrive as the winter is still going on in full blast in the Pacific Northwest. But the sun rises more than an hour earlier compared to the solstice, and hikes to catch the morning glow have proven to be more challenging. And that means I won't get to see the pre-dawn colors of a winter-wonderland until the end of the year. But I do have plenty of photos from this hike late last year, and that will have to do.
Mount Tahoma State Forest
WA USA