Tag Archives: baker

Photographs: Cascades, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Trees, Alpine Terrain

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Trees, Alpine Terrain
A group of small trees stands on the edge of a deep valley, Cascade Mountains, Washington

Trees, Alpine Terrain. North Cascades, Washington. September 10, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A group of small trees stands on the edge of a deep valley, Cascade Mountains, Washington

This is another photograph from my brief visit to Washington’s North Cascades at Artist Point, high in the mountains at the end of the road between Mount Shuksan and Mount Baker. I had a free day, a rental car, and a forecast to relatively clear weather, so I went. The location is both popular and spectacular. The road ends at a very high point where snow still lay on the ground, and nearby are many trails, including the popular Artist Point trail that ascends a small rise nearby and offers excellent views in all directions.

There is a lot of intriguing stuff in this spot. Obviously the nearby alpine peaks with their extensive glaciers are impressive. Below there are two deep valleys leading away in opposite directions — one to the south towards a very large lake and the other to the north and leading to peaks on the Canadian border. The immediate terrain is alpine, with rocky areas (though less so that in the Sierra Nevada), small tarns, many plants, and small stands of beautiful trees that I believe are mountain hemlock. In this photograph one of those stands is positioned above the upper reaches of the valley that eventually leads south, and across this valley there are a few more trees, deeply eroded terrain, and some meadowy areas.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: Cascades, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Trees, Volcanic Terrain

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Trees, Volcanic Terrain
Tree line groves in the volcanic alpine landscape of the North Cascades

Trees, Volcanic Terrain. September 10, 2017. Artist Point, Washington. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tree line groves in the volcanic alpine landscape of the North Cascades

I’ll continue to alternate between photographs from several recent photographic projects — the late-August Sierra backcountry photography, a recent trip to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, and perhaps a few other things. Today’s photograph comes from the Seattle visit, from which I returned just a few days ago. I spent most of the visit in the Seattle, specifically Ballard, where I did some street photography. However, I did get one day to drive out a bit and do some landscape photography. After considering the “big three” options (Rainier, Olympics, and Cascades) I decided to head north, almost to the Canadian border, and the Mount Baker area.

I went to the understandably popular Artist Point area, just beyond the Mount Baker ski area, where there are a number of trails heading out in various directions to visit this spectacular country sitting between the summits of Mount Shuksan and Mount Baker. While my experience with this county is limited — it is a long ways from home! — I love the character of these mountains. They feature dark and rugged volcanic peaks, large glaciers, forests fed by the significant precipitation in this part of the world, and a rather abrupt transition between the world of the forests and that of the glaciers. Artist Point sits very close to this boundary — there are beautiful trees, but much of the country is open and rocky, and not far above are those glaciers.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Cascades, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Tree Line

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Tree Line
Near tree line in the North Cascades, Washington

Treeline. Cascades, Washington. September 10, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Near tree line in the North Cascades, Washington

I have been in the Seattle area for a few days — heading home later today — and getting out to do a bit of photography, with subjects ranging from downtown Seattle street photography to landscapes in the Cascades range. Yesterday the weather was looking good (sun!) and I had the full day free, so I headed up to the Artist Point area in the North Cascades near Mount Baker.

Familiarity with a particular mountain range, in my case the Sierra Nevada, makes the different characteristics of other ranges stand out. The Cascades and the Sierra are both spectacular mountain ranges, but the similarities largely end there. Several things always impress me about this Pacific Northwest mountain range: the suddenness of their rise above forested valleys, the quality of the atmosphere and light (from clouds and lower angle sunlight), the much wetter climate, the lack of granite, and the proximity of big glaciers — they often appear barely above the level of the highest trees and they cover the upper slopes of the highest peaks. (California glaciers are most vestigial, just large enough that we can happily claim to have a few.) This visit was brief — a matter of a few hours — but I managed to get out and wander a bit and make a few photographs. This small clump of trees was catching late-afternoon sunlight filtered through high clouds, with a backdrop of a large valley between my position and the slopes rising to Mount Baker.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Cascades, Photographs: Nature

Trees and Boulders, Artist Point

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Trees and Boulders, Artist Point
Trees and Boulders, Artist Point

Trees and Boulders, Artist Point. Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington. August 28, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Ridgetop trees and boulders along the trail catch the afternoon light at Artist Point, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington.

I had been admiring this steep, rugged, and distant ridge all afternoon, starting with our first shooting location down lower on the mountain. As we hiked up the Artist Point trail, we took a detour to the right and I noticed this low rocky ridge covered with trees and the ridge in the distance. At first I couldn’t quite see a shot and I looked elsewhere, but soon I came back to this spot and thought that something with the foreground rocks and trees along with the clouds and more distant ridge might be interesting – but as soon as I saw this a large cloud floated over and blocked the sun from my position, leaving the nearby trees and rocks in shade!

Sometimes when this happens it makes more sense to move on and look for a photograph that works with the conditions you have, but other times it can be worth waiting. It is hard to know for sure which is right, but I decided to set up and sit tight, waiting to see if the light would improve. The light shining around the edge of the cloud was tantalizingly close, but the cloud was stubborn about moving. At one point the light increased a bit for perhaps 15-20 seconds, but then quickly went away. I continued to wait. Finally, the light began to gradually increase, and I got about one minute or less of sun before the cloud again blocked the light – but this was long enough to make a few exposures of this scene.

I have a favor to ask of anyone who is familiar with this area – help in identifying the trees and, even more, help in identifying/naming the distant ridge and the peaks that sit on it. I’m not great at plant identification, but I’m really out of my league in the Cascades. One person walking by as I made the shot seemed to think that the trees are mountain hemlock – but I’d be grateful if anyone can confirm this… or set me straight. Although I was impressed with the peaks on the ridge in the distance in this photograph… I do not have any Washington topographical maps or guide books, so I’m completely in the dark about what to call this ridge or the peaks. Here, too, I would be grateful if anyone can help me identify the ridge, the peaks, and any other important features in the photograph.

Update: A Facebook reader shared information about the peaks on the distant ridge in this photograph…

Alan Majchrowicz writes: “From left to right, Tomyhoi Peak, Canadian and American Border Peaks, Larrabee Mountain. Nice photo Dan, hope I can break away this week and spend some time up there!”

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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