Dusk Clouds, Mount Shuksan. Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington. August 28, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Evening fog clouds shroud the summit of Mt. Shuksan above Picture Lake – Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington.
Since we were in the neighborhood – we passed right past it on our way down from Artist Point – my brother suggested that we stop and photograph the iconic view of Mt. Shuksan from Picture Lake. Actually, as I understand it, the really iconic image is usually made about a month later when the slope along the far shore of the lake turns golden with fall foliage. I only knew the location from photographs, so I was surprised to find that it is a roadside lake with a boardwalk/trail to the typical shooting location! I understand that if I were to return in a month I would be shoulder to shoulder with scores of photographers – but on this evening we were initially the only ones there, though a couple others photographers eventually showed up.
When we arrived things did not look too promising in photographic terms. The peak of Shuksan was entirely socked in by clouds and fog, but my brother said that, in his experience, it was not uncommon for the fog to dissipate and rise as the day ends. (This was in line with my knowledge that the best light can often happen after the sun sets – and I’m always surprised at the number of photographers who pack up and leave before this happens.) As we watched, the saturated colors of the last moments of the day came on and, as if on cue, the clouds began to thin. This was perhaps the very last photograph I made. It was shot some time after the actual sunset and the conditions were quite dark. I thought that a very long post-sunset exposure might capture the diffused quality of the clouds as they moved across the face of the peak and that it might be possible to capture some of the very subtle post-sunset coloration. In the end this exposure was a bit longer than two minutes.
This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
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Oh, you can get me back sometime for my shots of the Sierra haha.
Yep, the NP boundary is about halfway between Artist Point and Shuksan itself. For many years it was fought to include Baker in the national park, but for now its protection only rests within the national forest designation (me thinks it might have something to do with the lobbying done by the ski resort industry).
Hope you had a good time up here – I don’t think I will ever get over how incredible these mountains really are.
cheers,
thom
Goes to show how out of my element I am in the Pacific Northwest! Thanks for pointing that out. (At least this let’s me know that when I described these as “north cascades” that I was on the right geographic track.)
I do think that, at a minimum, I need to go back and modify the EXIF tags to include the national park designation.
So, where is the boundary? I’m guessing it might be someone in or beyond the deep valley between Artist Point and Shuksan?
Take care,
Dan
For what it’s worth, Shuksan is actually in North Cascades National Park although where you were standing was just the Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Hmm, interesting dilemma for titling haha.