Sunrise Over Puget Sound

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Not far from my house is the Samish Overlook. It is one of my go-to places for sunrises and sets.

On Labor Day I awoke at 5am and though it was mostly cloudy took an chance and made my way there.

From the parking area there are two viewpoints, one facing south with a view of Skagit Valley and Samish Bay

Samish Bay

Samish Bay

and the other looking west out over the Puget Sound, towards the San Juan Islands.

Puget Sound 3 small

Puget Sound 4

Puget Sound 5

Sunrises are always a gradual awakening of colors.

The wind was calm over the water making for some nice reflections.

For more images visit my main web site here.

You will find info on purchase of prints, photo classes and tours.

 

Choosing images for the 2016 Washington Scenic Calendar

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September is here, soon autumn will be with us. This is my signal to start work on the 2016 Calendar.

My task is to sort through the years images and somehow come up with 13 stunning shots.

As I review the files there are a few special shots which will almost certainly be included in this next years calendar and in other cases I have a series of shots from a particular spot and need help choosing which is the best one for the calendar. This is where you come in, I will post a grouping of images from a specific spot. Please vote for your favorite in each section by making a comment below or emailing me at: andyporterphotography@gmail.com

Park Butte Lookout

Ferry Boat

Point of the Arches

Barn

Lake Ann

Sahale Arm

Stars and Tent shot

Enchantments

Here are a few images that have already made the final cut:

Washington’s 5 Best Camping Spots

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Washington’s 5 Best Camping Spots

You have to backpack to these spots, no ‘drive and park’ camping! Each spot can be reached with one days hiking (although depending upon your fitness/motivation level Isolation Lake and Lakeview Ridge may require a two-day hike to get there). All 5 spots afford an absolutely jaw dropping, gob smacking, OMFG view from your tent that you will not soon forget. List out your favorite superlatives: all apply to these scenic camping spots.

Sahale Glacier Camp – North Cascades National Park
This just might be one of the best camping spots anywhere. The camp is situated atop 3 piles of glacial rubble at the toe of Sahale Glacier. Stone rings protect you from the wind. Goats often come for a visit. And the views! An ocean of jagged summits spread out before you… oh, and the toilet has the best view in the state!

Isolation Lake – Enchantments, Alpine Lakes Wilderness
Hiking up Aasgard Pass with a big pack is no picnic, but once you get up, Isolation Lake is there, waiting. This is a land of rocks and ice. The serrated peaks cut the sky and the crystal pure, icy cold lake, blue/green lake beckon. The images of the visit will stay imprinted in your brain.

Point of the Arches, Olympic National Park
Camping on the beach is always awesome: The ocean breeze, the sounds of the birds, the feel of the sand in between your toes, a fire at night. Point of the Arches has it all: surreal sea stacks jutting out of the Pacific, tide pools filled with critters and unbelievable sunsets.

Lakeview Ridge, Pasayten Wilderness
This is one of the highest points along the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington, located just south of the Canadian border. The hike in is sublime, from the trailhead at Slate Peak you will meander up Rock Pass and shoot through Windy Pass onto Lakeview Ridge. Covered with wildflowers and affording views in every direction, you will have a hard time leaving.

Snow Grass Flats, Goat Rocks Wilderness
If you want to have it all, this is the place to come camp! Endless meadows carpeted with wildflowers, views of both Mount Rainier AND Mount Adams, great camping spots and…what else is there? From the Snow Grass Flats trail head hike up, up, up, the higher you camp, the better the views. Don’t miss a visit to the Knife’s Edge, its close by.

Please take a minute and send me YOUR favorite camping spots, with a picture, if you can!

If you are interested in buying fine art prints or canvas wraps of any of these images, here is the link.

Panorama of Mount Baker and Park Butte Lookout

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Sunset at Park Butte Lookout

Sunset at Park Butte Lookout

The Park Butte Lookout is located on the south side of Mount Baker, in the Mt. Baker, Snoqualmie National Fores, in the NW corner of Washington State. The lookout was “retired” from use as a fire lookout many years ago and was then adopted by the Skagit Alpine Club, who maintain the lookout for public use.

Diablo Overlook, North Cascades Highway

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Last night I drove up the North Cascades Highway to do a Photo Tour Slide Show for campers at the Colonial Creek Camp ground in North Cascades National Park.

I got there a little early and tooled up a bit further to the Diablo Overlook. The green waters of Diablo Lake and the suns rays as the sunset approached were stunning.

Diablo Overlook

Diablo Overlook

Perseid Meteor Shower

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Perseid Meteor Shower

Every August the Perseid Meteor Shower streaks above Earth creating a fantastic light show. Visibility of the meteors depends upon the moon cycle. If the full moon coincides with the meteor shower it tends to wash out the show. But this year’ s Perseid showers falls upon the New Moon and so we could have quite a show.

Milky Way and Shooting Star

Milky Way and Shooting Star

Here is a quote from the article linked above:  “Every year, from around July 17 to August 24, our planet Earth crosses the orbital path of Comet Swift-Tuttle, the parent of the Perseid meteor shower. Debris from this comet litters the comet’s orbit, but we don’t really get into the thick of the comet rubble until after the first week of August. The bits and pieces from Comet Swift-Tuttle slam into the Earth’s upper atmosphere at some 210,000 kilometers (130,000 miles) per hour, lighting up the nighttime with fast-moving Perseid meteors. If our planet happens to pass through an unusually dense clump of meteoroids – comet rubble – we’ll see an elevated number of meteors. We can always hope!”

Stars along the Baker River

Stars along the Baker River

Capturing images of meteors takes some planning, a little luck and dash of persistence. Basically what’s needed is to get out away from city lights and set up your DSLR (use a wide angle lens) on a tripod. use the widest aperture and a 20 to 30 second shutter speed. make sure your focus is on manual and set to infinity. Then you can point towards the Milky Way and start shooting!

Camped under the Milky Way 3

Camped under the Milky Way 3

Of course you can never know when a huge meteor will streak across your screen,  so you just keep shooting, over and over and you will for sure get some sweet shots.

If you live in Washington State and would like some instruction on How to capture the Night Sky images, I am offering Night Sky Photo Tours on August 12th and 15th. We will be heading up into the North Cascades for an (almost) all night Meteor Photo Shoot. Here are all the details.

Looking at the stars

Looking at the stars

Happy Star Trails to you!

Sahale Glacier Camp – 2015

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Last weekend I made the yearly sojourn up to Sahale Camp, in North Cascades National Park. The 6-mile hike in and up was very dry. The winter’s lack of snow fall has jumped the cycle of flowers and melting ahead  a full month.   Link to Buy Prints

Wildflowers on Sahale Arm

Still, there were a few patches of flowers left. Wildflowers on Sahale Arm 2

 

 

 

 

Link to Photo Tours Page.

Clear skies did not lend to much of a sunset panorama,

Camped at Sahale Glacier Camp

Camped at Sahale Glacier Camp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

but did present great opportunities for the night sky.

Camped at Sahale Glacier Camp

Sahale Peak at night New link to see all upcoming Photo Classes!

Mount Baker and the Park Butte Lookout

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The Park Butte Lookout is a decommissioned fire lookout from decades past. Perched on a precipice along a ridge on the south side of Mount Baker the lookout commands a wide view of the North Cascades.

Now maintained by the Skagit Alpine Club the lookout is open to the public and if you wish, you can spend th night there.

Which is what I did a few days ago, I hiked up, hoping to get images of the night sky and Milky Way.

But, alas, it was not to be, after sunset the clouds rolled in.

Evening at Park Butte Lookout Mt Baker from Park Butte Lookout 2 Mt Baker from Park Butte Lookout Nooksack Valley from Park Butte Lookout

North Cascades Photo Tours and Prints

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North Cascades Photo Tours and Prints

The North Cascade mountains in Washington State are rugged, lush, stark and colorful all at once.

Lupine and the North Cascades

Lupine and the North Cascades

Abundant rainfall creates fantastic meadows filled with wild flowers while at the same time sculpting the ridges and peaks into serrated knives of stone.

The two main entry ways into the North Cascades are the North Cascades Highway (Hwy 20) and the Mount Baker Highway (Hwy 542)

Mount Shuksan and Picture Lake, along the Mount Baker Highway

Mount Shuksan and Picture Lake, along the Mount Baker Highway

While there are a few places, such as Artist Point (located at the end of Hwy 542) and Washington Pass (the highest point along Hwy 20) where you can drive to see the scenery, most of the time a trip here involves hiking.

Liberty Bell from the North Cascades Highway

Liberty Bell from the North Cascades Highway

Along these two byways there are many side roads leading to trail heads that take you up (always up!) into the high country. There are so many trails and choices!

The North Cascades Highway (Hwy 20) is a part of the Cascade Loop Scenic Byway. This is the Best Road Trip Vacation in Washington State!

North Cascades Photo Prints

If you are interested in fantastic, colorful prints of the North Cascades to adorn your home or office here is a link to my North Cascades Gallery. There you can purchase Canvas Wrapped prints (framed prints are available) as well as Fine Art prints.

One of the most popular hikes along Highway 20 is the Lake Ann – Maple Pass Loop. This 7 mile hike visits Lake Ann, cupped amongst peaks snow and flowers and offers spectacular views of the nearby summits.

Maple Pass Trail

Wildflowers along the Lake Ann – Maple Pass Trail

North Cascades Photo Tours

This summer I am offering Guided Photo Tours of the North Cascades. We can pick a trail, based on your available time and venture into the mountains for some stunning scenery and photographic opportunities and/or training. Tours are available for both day hikes and overnight trips.

Skyline Divide is a trail reached from Highway 542. This trail leads up and onto a ridge carpeted with lupine, paintbrush and other flowers with grandstand views of Mount Baker, adorned with glaciers.

Mount Baker and Lupine from the Skyline Divide Trail

Mount Baker and Lupine from the Skyline Divide Trail

 

 

If you are looking for a guide book that catalogs most all of the North Cascades Trails, I recommend the book “Hiking the North Cascades” by Erik Molvar (Falcon Press). This book provides accurate info about each trail including mileage, elevation gain, and details of flora and fauna.

 

Another fabulous day hike is the Sauk Mountain Trail.

This trail is an easy(ish) hike up into the high country with smashing views of the Skagit Valley. Skagit Valley from Sauk Mountain

If you like a dash of solitude to go along with your mountain scenery then you’ll need to don a backpack and hike at least a day travel from the parking area. Here the crowds disappear and you have the place (mostly) to yourself.

Hiking along Sahale Arm

Hiking along Sahale Arm

In the next installment I will describe a few of the most stunning overnight and extended hikes in the North Cascades.

Trail along the North Fork, Bridge Creek

Trail along the North Fork, Bridge Creek

 

 

 

 

 

If capturing images of the Night Sky is your thing, check out our Night Sky Photo Tours and the Night Sky Photo Gallery!

 

Glow of Aurora Borealis

Glow of Aurora Borealis

 

 

Lake Ann – Maple Pass Loop

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On July 1 I hiked the Lake Ann – Maple Pass Loop. Usually this trail does not open (due to snow) until late July or even August. But the trail was completely snow free from top to bottom.

I started late to get the evening light. Here are a few images. Oh, and there were a few wildflowers.

If you’d like to go on a North Cascades Photo Tour and get shots like this, here is the place to find out more and sign up!

Lake Ann from Maple Pass

Lake Ann from Maple Pass

Lake Ann from Maple Pass

Lake Ann from Maple Pass

Maple Pass Trail

Maple Pass Trail

Maple Pass Trail

Maple Pass Trail