Rise Up (2017)

Sunrise aplenglow illuminating the summit of Mt Rainier (14,411 feet) at Bench Lake, Mt Rainier National Park, Washington. A slight breeze blowing that late summer morning created a nice shimmering look to the reflection. It was a very peaceful and serene morning!

Finding Our Way (2017)

Sunrise alpenglow illuminates Mt Hood above a field of springtime wildflowers in the Columbia Hills of Washington. To achieve sharp focus throughout the frame, I used a technique I call "compression blending". This technique is an extreme form of depth of field blending and involves using a telephoto lens to compress the different elements in the scene. Once the optimal composition is determined, multiple images are captured at different focus points. The sharp images are later assembled in post processing to create one final image that is sharp throughout.

Alien World (2017)

A small mountain stream running through a snow cave in Mt Rainier National Park. This was one of the most interesting snow caves that I have ever found. The green/aqua colors are due to Chlamydomonas nivalis (ice algae) that grows near the surface of the snow and the blue color is the light from the sun passing through cleaner snow. I was surprised to see small plants and mosses growing in the low light environment. Snow caves generally form at high elevations in the cascade mountains after winters with heavy snowfall. Towards the end of summer, small streams form underneath the snow fields and begin to melt out snow caves from the bottom up (water is warmer than snow/ice). The snow caves are fleeting, since they continuously melt all summer and eventually disappear.

Ebb and Flow

Ocean wave action at Cape Kiwanda, Oregon. This is one of my favorite locations on the Oregon Coast. The sandstone formations are very unique and if the waves are not too extreme, it's a great place for landscape photography.