Sahale Camp Photomerge

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Photomegre is one of the multitude of Photoshop Tools. It is a system of merging 2 or more images into a panorama.
Here are two original jpeg images from Sahale Glacier Camp. I took these with the thought in mind to later merge them. using a tripod I captured one image and carefully swung the camera on the tripod and lined up the second one. It wasn’t any fancy movement, I made note in my mind of where the frame’s edge was and pointed the camera in the approximate place to take up where the first image left off, planning for some overlap. I was using a 24 mm lens. I set my image quality when capturing the images so that I would have both a RAW file and a jpeg of the shots.
IMG_1468 em

IMG_1469 em

Once back home I opened both of the raw files together in Photoshop CS6 and synchronized them so that what ever changes I made to one were duplicated on the other. I worked to lighten the foreground and darken the sky. Using the sliders for highlights, shadows, exposure, clarity, whites and contrast I played around until I liked the result.

I also used the brush tool on the foreground to bring out more details on the rocks.

I saved the images as jpeg files. Here they are. sa 3em
sa 3_1em

Once this was done and images saved I went to Photomerge, selected the two modified images and let Photoshop work its magic. Untitled_Panorama 1201 em

Opening the panorama as a jpeg image I filled in the corners using the clone stamp tool and tweaked the levels settings a bit, and Viola! Here is the final image.

Sahale Glacier Camp, North Cascades National Park

I have printed the image as a 40″ x 15″ canvas print and it is very stunning.

Skagit Valley Greening Cards for Sale!

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I have updated the cost of the cards and locations where you can purchase them!
Skagit Valley Greening Cards for Sale!

The 10 images below are now printed on 5.5″ x 8″ thick linen finish paper. They have a luxurious feel to them and the colors are magnificent. One side is the image an the other side has the name and location of the image. They can be send as post cards, but come individually sealed in a plastic sleeve with an envelope.

Price is $3.50 each; a bundle of one of each (10 cards) for $25.
Wholesale pricing available!

The shipping cost varies based on the number of cards you’d like, email me for prices
AndyPorterPhotography@gmail.com

Send in your payments (checks or money orders only, please!) to:

Andy Porter
440 Nelson Street
Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284

The cards will ship out within 24 hours of your order being received.

Here is a list of locations where you can purchase the cards:

In Mount Vernon
• Skagit Valley Hospital Main Pharmacy, in the Skagit Regional Clinic Building
• Skagit Valley Hospital at their new River Bend Facility Pharmacy
In Sedro-Woolley
• Simply Silver and More located on Metcalf Street in Downtown Sedro Woolley
• Hoagland Pharmacy on Highway 20
• Sedro Woolley Auto Licensing and Chamber of Commerce office on Metcalf Street
In La Conner
Caffe Jubilee on First Street

red tulips blue and orange sky Skagit Valley Tulips

DCF 1.0 Sahale Glacier Camp, North Cascades National Park

carnival 5em Sedro-Woolley Carnival

Orange sky, pink tulips Orange Sky, Pink Tulips @ Skagit Valley

mt baker Mount Baker

Sahale Arm Trail, North Cascades National Park Sahale Arm Trail, North Cascades National Park

Light and Tulips Light and Tulips

Point of the Arches Point of the Arches, Olympic National Park

waterfall 2-Recovered em Indian Creek Waterfall, North Cascades National Park

Arches National Park, Utah Arches National Park

On the Cover of Northwest Travel magazine

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Here is an image I captured and it is now on the cover of the May/June Issue of Northwest Magazine! The image is Mount Logan and a waterfall on the North Fork Bridge Creek Trail, North Cascades National Park. One of my favorite places in the North Cascades…Here is a link describing how to get there!
Northwest Travel May June 2014
Here is my full sized original image:
Mount Logan from North Fork Bridge Creek, North Cascades National Park

“Wilderness 50” Celebration

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2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Wilderness Act. In September of 1964 President Johnson signed into law the Wilderness Act, one of the most important pieces of legislation in the US regarding protection and preservation of Wilderness.

Wilderness 50 “The 50th Anniversary National Wilderness Planning Team (Wilderness50) is a growing coalition of federal agencies, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and other wilderness user groups whose purpose is to plan and eventually implement local, regional, and national events and projects, specifically designed to elevate the profile of wilderness during the 50th anniversary celebration.”

One of their programs was to hold a photo contest and use the winning images as a part of their plans to inform people about the significance of the Wilderness Act.

More than 50 images were chosen and these will be displayed as large format prints in the Smithsonian Museum, in Washington DC starting in September!

I submitted several images to the competition and this image, here was chosen as an Honorable Mention in the People in Wilderness Category and will be used on signage for the various events and displayed in the museum.
Morning at Sahale Glacier Camp Sahale Glacier Camp in the Steven Mather Wilderness in North Cascades National Park, in Washington.

As a part of the process I was asked to submit a personal story about the image. Here it is:

“My connection with wilderness began when I was 16. I spent a month in the Sawtooth Wilderness in Idaho, learning how to backpack, climb and survive. The trip changed my life and encouraged me to continue. Treks along the Pacific Crest Trail and the Andes followed.

Then my life changed again and I was off on a different purpose. For almost 20 years I followed the light only to wind up in the darkness. And then I felt the wilderness call to me again, beckoning me back into her arms.

I had packed my old life in boxes and uncovering them produced an old hiking guide. I scoured it and found the most exciting sounding trip in there, recruited a few friends to accompany me and off we started.

I had forgotten what mileage and elevation gain portended and as we began our trip up to Sahale Camp. It slowly came back to me, what sweat and struggle were all about.

We finally made it to the camp well after dark and collapsed in our tent.

This image was captured the next morning. My life was changed anew; I had found a new purpose. Wilderness had rescued me again.”

I am excited and proud that any image of mine would be used to promote and protect wilderness!

Northwest Travel Magazine

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Here is the cover of the March-April Northwest Travel Magazine, featuring one of my favorite tulip images…
1098369_679024302154650_238131136_n
Here is my original image…
red tulips blue and orange sky

Next months issue will feature another cover shot I took, in the North Cascades National Park. Here is the image.Mount Logan from North Fork Bridge Creek, North Cascades National Park

Sahale Camp Panoramas

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Sahale Glacier Camp sits at the base of Sahale glacier atop 3 piles of rubble each crowned with a ring of stone. The views are breathtaking: a 180 degree sweeping view of the North Cascades, a sea of peaks stretching out to the horizon.
Sahale Glacier Campsahale camp sunset Panorama
I have visited many times and tried to capture the feel of the view. Here are several panoramas, some from sunrise, and several from sunset, each comprised of two or more images merged.
Morning at Sahale Glacier Camp 1 emAndyPorter_sahalesunset_LandscapeSahale CampSahale Glacier Camp, North Cascades National Park Panorama Sahale sunrise_Panorama1emMorning at Sahale Glacier Camp 2 em
Sahale 2010Panorama2emMorning at Sahale Camp with visitor

North Cascades Book

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I just got word that these three images will be included in a new book about the North Cascades, due out in the Fall of 2014.
More details coming soon!

Camping-under-the-stars-NCNP Camping under the stars

Mt-Baker-and-Coleman-Glacier Mount Baker and Coleman Glacier

Sahale-Hiker-NCNP Hikers on Sahale Arm

Wildflowers of Washington

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My three favorite places to experience wildflower explosions are:
1. The Pasayten Wilderness. Here you’ll hike through acres of nothing but wildflowers, as far as you can see. And I don’t mean clumps of flowers here and there, but solid unending hillsides and ridgetops. Pasayten Wildflowers on the PCT em

Pasayten Wilderness Wildflowers on the PCT em

Wildflowers in the Pasayten Wilderness em

andyporter_Wildflowers at Jim Pass on the PCT, Pasayten WildernessFlowers on Lakeview Ridge

2. Goat Rocks Wilderness. The south side of the Goat Rocks, along the PCT near Snowgrass Flats has some of the brightest, most colorful, died and gone to flower heaven displays. gr 2 em

gr 4 em

sw 5 em

sw 7 em

Wildflowers, Goat Rocks Wilderness emsw 8em

3. Sahale Arm, North Cascades National Park. Here the backdrop for the flowers is absolutely magnificent, the jagged peaks surrounding Cascade Pass juxtaposing with the flowers for a truly breathtaking effect. View from Sahale Arm Trail, North Cascades National Park Sah WF 1m1emSah WF 3emSahale trail with flowers

Copper Ridge, North Cascades National Park

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AndyPorter_CopperRidge_Landscape
Copper Ridge is located in the northern section of the North Cascades National Park, in Washington. To get there from Bellingham you drive east on Highway 542, the Mount Baker Highway, past the town of Glacier and turn left on Forest Road 32, for Hannegan Pass. The road ends at a parking area and here your hike begins. The first 4 miles climb 2,000 ft. up to Hannegan Pass. Along the right are nice views of Nooksack Ridge. CR 7emFrom the pass the trail descends and after 1 mile you reach boundary of North Cascades National Park and the trail junction with the Copper Ridge Trail. CR 6_1em

Any overnight stay in the National Park requires a permit, which you can obtain from the Ranger Station in Glacier. Permits are limited and first come first serve, be sure to get there at the crack of dawn (or even better right when the Ranger Station opens…) to snag a permit. Also, one little known tip is that you can get a permit one day before you start your trip, so if you can arrive and get a permit to camp at Selesia camp the next night then on your first night you can camp at the site just west of Hannegan Pass (which is not in the park, no permit needed).

From the trail junction you head north and up to Copper Ridge. Its another 3 miles until you reach Selesia Camp which is perches out along the ridge commanding fantastic views east towards Whatcom Peak and Mount Challenger Whatcom Peak 1and south towards Mount Shuksan and Mount Baker. CR 9em

No matter which wy you look from here the views are smashing. cr 4em

cr 5em

CR 10em
Continuing the hike north along the ridge (2 miles and 1,000 ft EG) soon brings you to the Copper Ridge Lookout, the highest point along the route commanding a sweeping view in all directions. Copper Ridge Lookout em

CR 4_1The lookout is regularly manned with Park Rangers. Make sure to have your map available to spend time locating peaks all around. Mount Shuksan from Copper Ridge

Arriving at Copper Ridge Lookout North Cascades National Park

After soaking in the sun and views at the look out the trail now traverses over some rocky slopes for another 2 miles as it heads down to Copper Lake. Nestled in a nook along the ridge the lake sports a small island/peninsula offering a wonderful place for a swim. There is an official campground here, the last one before you exit Copper Ridge and plunge down to the Chilliwack. Copper Lake 2

From Copper Lake your ridge hike continues another 5 miles of spectacular views. Waterfalls, meadows and gorgeous vistas abound. CR 2

CR 5

Copper Ridge _Panorama1em At about 11 miles from the start of the Copper Ridge Trail (16 miles from the car) the ridge hike ends and the trail plunges down more than 3,000 feet in less than three miles to the Chilliwack River with its sparkling waters and levitating salmon, but that’s a story for another day! copper ridge Panorama1em

Sahale Glacier Camp Panoramas

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These two shots are from Sahale Glacier Camp in North Cascades National Park. Each image below is composed of 2 shots photomerged in CS 6. I opened the two images to be connected in Camera Raw and synchronized my changes, lightening and darkening the sky and foreground with brushes and then used the automated photomerge option. A first for me and I am pleased with the results!
Sahale Glacier Camp, North Cascades National Park Panorama

Sahale Glacier Camp