Tag Archives: baker

Photographs: Cascades, Photographs: Nature

Sunset, Mt. Shuksan and Picture Lake

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Sunset, Mt. Shuksan and Picture Lake
Sunset, Mt. Shuksan and Picture Lake

Sunset, Mt. Shuksan and Picture Lake. Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington. August 28, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset on cloud-shrouded summit of Mt. Shuksan with Picture Lake in the foreground, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington.

Icon alert! I understand that photographing Mt. Shuksan from this locale is, in the Pacific Northwest context, perhaps almost equivalent to photographing the Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin Headlands or photographing Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View. As a brand new photographer of Cascades Range subjects, I plead guilty to succumbing to this icon and photographing it. (I’m told that the only thing that this photograph needs in order to qualify for full “yet another photo of an icon” status would be to come back in a month and shoot it when the fall colors appear.)

My brother and I had been up higher photographing the Artist Point area for most of the afternoon, and he suggested that since we were here we might stop at Picture Lake on the way back down the mountain and see what might develop. I’m glad he did since, icon status aside, this really is a stunning and beautiful location and it was a quiet and beautiful evening. Several things made it special, I think. First, while the summit of Shuksan never fully cleared, the clouds shrouding the summit gave it a more dramatic aspect than might have been the case with an unobstructed view. Second, much to our surprise, we were not joined by a throng of other photographers. At first we were the only ones there, and later we only saw a few others in the area.

This was a technically challenging scene to photograph. The lake and foreground trees were in shadow at this point, though on the scene one could still see the details of the forest along and beyond the far shore. Yet the summit of Shuksan and the clouds were in full sun, and making this even more difficult, the red sunset light was extra intense. The eye can take all of this in without a problem as you move your focus from foreground to distant peak, but the camera is not as capable – and the dynamic range of the scene dramatically exceeds the capabilities of cameras. So, again, this photograph is a composite of three exposures manually blended in post to combine the best exposures of bright and saturated highlights with the best exposure of the dark forest along the shore of the lake.

Update on 9/29/10: I recently noticed that I had misidentified the lake in the photograph! I have corrected the post to call it by its correct name, Picture Lake.

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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Photographs: Cascades, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Night

Dusk Clouds, Mount Shuksan

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Dusk Clouds, Mount Shuksan
Dusk Clouds, Mount Shuksan

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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Photographs: Cascades, Photographs: Nature

Roots and Rocks

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Roots and Rocks
Roots and Rocks

Roots and Rocks. Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington. August 28, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Weathered tree roots stretch across boulders at Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington.

I made this photograph at our first stop after we arrived at the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. (Technically, that isn’t quite true, since we had earlier stopped at the “ranger station” to ask some questions, but this was the first “real” stop for photography.) The road into this area twists and turns as it ascends toward and then past a ski area, and here we couldn’t help but pull over at a hairpin curve that provided a panoramic overlook to the valley below and the ridges to the east (?) of our position. Although the original reason for stopping was this dramatic view, I soon found nearby “intimate landscapes” to also be very interesting. While I often hike and climb long distances to find my photographs… for this one the tripod was on asphalt and the subject right next to the road.

On a technical note, for this photograph I used a lens that I’m increasingly fond of for photographing subjects like this one, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM (link to B&H). I find it useful to be able to put a bit of distance between myself and subjects in which the entire image may include only a few square feet, and the ability to fine tune the composition with the zoom is very useful. Although I didn’t do it in this photography, working with a slightly longer focal length also lets me have the option of isolating the subject against an out of focus background. I have the non-IS version of the lens – because that was the only version available back when I got mine – though I would almost certainly get the IS version if I were to replace it.

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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Me. With Camera.

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G Dan Mitchell at Mt. Shuksan. Photograph © Copyright Richard Mitchell. Used by permission.

One advantage of shooting with other talented photographers is that every so often one of them actually produces a good photograph of me! On last weekend’s visit to the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and the Artist Point area, my brother Richard Mitchell (Touching Light Photography) was my guide and fellow photographer – and he made a photograph of me that I like quite a bit. Thanks, Richard!

G Dan Mitchell at Mt. Shuksan. Photograph © Copyright Richard Mitchell. Used by permission.