waterfalls

A Few Images From Paradise At Mount Rainier

Wildflowers and the Tatoosh Range just after sunset – from Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State, USA.

sunset over the tatoosh range wildflowers in mount rainier national park

Sunset over the Tatoosh Range from Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park (Purchase)

I recently caught up on a bit of my photo editing backlog and have now added just over 50 new photographs to my Mount Rainier National Park Gallery in my image library. I have published a few of those images in previous blog posts, but I thought I would share a few more from the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park here.

It’s not easy being a Marmot! While I was relaxing on a rock waiting for better light along the Golden Gate Trail in Mount Rainier National Park, I saw this Hoary Marmot (Marmota caligata) doing the same. Well, it probably wasn’t waiting for better light, but relaxing after a hard afternoon munching on lupine foliage and gathering nesting material. It clearly knew I was there, but didn’t seem to care at all. Probably was used to people along a relatively busy trail in the Paradise area of Mount Rainier.

hoary marmot resting in mount rainier national park

A Hoary Marmot (Marmota caligata) relaxes on a rock along the Golden Gate Trail in Mount Rainier National Park (Purchase)

You can spot the deer, you can get in position to photograph them as they move through the wildflower field, but you can’t make them look at you! A pair of Black-tailed Deer (Odocileus hemionus columbianus) were nice enough to amble right past me in the wildflower fields on the Golden Gate Trail above Paradise, but never once glanced in my direction. I even scuffed my feet in the gravel trail once… nothing. At least I know I wasn’t disturbing them.

black tailed deer foraging in wildflower field

Black-tailed Deer (Odocileus hemionus columbianus) foraging in the meadows near Edith Creek at MRNP (Purchase)

There is something I always enjoy about the combination of lush wildflowers (in this case mostly Broadleaf Lupines and some Pink Mountain Heather) and a waterfall. The mosquitoes thought so too!

wildflowers and an edith creek waterfall in mount rainier national park

Wildflowers surround a small waterfall on Edith Creek at Paradise (Purchase)

I have always found this angle of view on the Nisqually Glacier to be interesting from Ricksecker Point and other areas near Paradise. This time I photographed it from the Nisqually Vista Trail for an even better view. In this photograph you can see the icefall of the glacier and the terminus at the bottom, as well as the very beginnings of the Nisqually River from the melting ice.

terminus of the nisqually glacier and icefall on mount rainier

Terminus of the Nisqually Glacier on Mount Rainier (Purchase)

You can see even more photographs from the Paradise area in my Mount Rainier National Park Gallery.

Myrtle Falls at Mount Rainier National Park

Myrtle Falls and Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State, USA.

myrtle falls and mount rainier

Myrtle Falls in Mount Rainier National Park (Purchase)

During my earlier trips to Mount Rainier National Park I had been to the Paradise area many times, but had never actually ventured out above the parking lot. In the late summer of 2013 I spent 2 evenings in the area, the first being on Mazama Ridge. This part of the Skyline Trail up to Edith Creek and Myrtle Falls is pretty easy going, and is even paved up to that point. I passed a roughly 80-something woman who was heading up there with a walker. She said she went up there every year and would go even if she had to crawl! I hope I am that tenacious when I am that age. The view is certainly interesting, and the area being surrounded by the blooming wildflowers doesn’t hurt.

As this was my first visit to the area above Paradise I made a few photographs of Edith Creek and Myrtle falls and moved on up the trail. This looks to be a great spot to pull out the longer 70-200 lens and photograph some of the finer details of the falls, as I did with Narada Falls on a previous trip.

You can see more of my Rainier photographs in my Mount Rainier National Park Gallery.

Narada Falls at Mount Rainier NP

The base of Narada Falls at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State, USA.

closeup of narada falls in mount rainier national park

Closeup of Narada Falls in Mount Rainier National Park (Purchase)

During the summer of 2012 I was in Mount Rainier National Park on a photography trip. As with many days at Mount Rainier – the clouds rolled in and you couldn’t see the mountain – not even the Tatoosh Range. On my first trip there in 2009 I remember explaining to some German tourists (who were excited to see Mount Rainier) while standing in the Paradise parking lot that actually the mountain IS right there… you just can’t see it. I suggested some of the waterfalls but they weren’t interested – they must not have been photographers! So with similar conditions presented in 2012 I photographed Narada Falls instead. There are only so many points where you can see the falls, so doing all that much creative with wider angles is not easy. For this photograph I pulled out the 70-200mm lens to find some details I liked. I have a number of photographs of some other details of Narada Falls (such as the one below) but I think my favourite is this photo of the water hitting the rocks at the base..

detail of narada falls

Details of Narada Falls (Purchase)

I also chose this photograph to again play around with some black and white conversions. This was my favourite iteration of Narada Falls in black and white from my experimentation. Does this monochrome version work for you?

Skutz Falls on the Cowichan River

Skutz Falls along the Cowichan River at Cowichan River Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada.

skutz falls along the cowichan river in cowichan river provincial park

Skutz Falls along the Cowichan River in Cowichan River Provincial Park (Purchase)

A panorama photograph of Skutz Falls I made last spring during a visit to Cowichan River Provincial Park. Judging from other photographs I have seen it would appear this day had rather high water levels in the Cowichan River. I suspect a return trip some fall when there is nice autumn colours will be in order. I bet the water levels will be about right at that time of year.

You can view more photographs from Vancouver Island in my Vancouver Island Gallery.

Englishman River Falls Provincial Park – Spring

Waterfalls at Englishman River Falls Provincial Park in Errington, British Columbia, Canada.

englishman river falls in spring

Englishman River Falls in the Spring (Purchase)

Last spring I again visited Englishman River Falls Provincial Park on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island. Previously I had been to the Englishman River during a nice display of fall colours. Each season brings different opportunities, so I enjoyed the greener surroundings at the falls last spring.

I really enjoy the main falls despite how challenging they can be to photograph, but the first time I visited on the last trip I just took them in and didn’t make any photos. I wasn’t seeing quite what I wanted, and just enjoyed the place instead. On my second trip I photographed these smaller cascades on the Englishman River near the main falls. Not as spectacular as the main falls, but I found these to be rather interesting too.

englishman river falls provincial park

Smaller Falls on the Englishman River (Purchase)

Visit my image library for more photos of Englishman River Falls Provincial Park.

Frozen Eureka Falls

A frozen Eureka Falls “flows” into Silverhope Creek near Hope, British Columbia, Canada.

frozen eureka falls and silverhope creek near hope

Eureka Falls frozen in a recent cold snap (Purchase)

I visit Eureka Falls several times a year on my way to Silver Lake Provincial Park near Hope, British Columbia. This was the first time I had been there in winter, however, and the place looked much different than I am used to. Normally I visit Eureka Falls in early spring when the water levels are higher and of course the foliage is green. The ice on the waterfall was quite thick, but you could still see water flowing underneath the ice. The lower water levels on Silverhope creek at this time of year also allowed me to try some new angles and get closer to the water than I normally am able. Now that I have some more appropriate cold weather clothing I have many locations I want to photograph this winter now that hypothermia is less of an issue! Now all we need is to get some actual snow…

Upper Little Qualicum Falls in Spring

Spring runoff at Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada.

upper little qualicum falls in spring

Upper Little Qualicum Falls at Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park (Purchase)

Earlier this year I visited Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island. The falls and area surrounding the river were much greener than they were the previous autumn which gives these photos a much different look. You can see the difference between the photo above and the Little Qualicum Falls photos I made last year. This time there were people at a wedding scrambling up the trail in light coloured, long dresses (not good on a muddy trail), suits and ties, and high heels. None of these seemed to have worked out very well for them – I saw lots of fancy, muddy shoes and at least one muddy dress. Not ideal clothing if you are intending to visit the falls btw. 😉

You can see other photos from Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park in my image library.

Twin Falls in Lynn Canyon

Twin Falls on Lynn Creek at Lynn Canyon Park in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

twin falls in lynn canyon park in north vancouver british columbia

Twin Falls in Lynn Canyon Park (Purchase)

Late last week I had some good weather so I visited 3 parks in Metro Vancouver. Queen Elizabeth Park, Stanley Park, and Lynn Canyon Park. Queen Elizabeth Park had some great fall colour in the Japanese Maples and Magnolia Trees, Stanley Park had not much at all, and Lynn Canyon had almost zero fall colours. This was not a problem, as one of my main goals there was to photograph Twin Falls on Lynn Creek.

I made two mistakes in heading from Stanley Park to Lynn Canyon. First, my mental note of “its only a 15 minute drive” was a sufficient provocation to Murphy’s Law that I ended up suffering considerably in the eventual 80 minute nightmare traffic jam hell I encountered in North Vancouver. The best part was the large speed bumps every hundred feet for the last mile of the roadway. I only point this out because I learned that if you visit Lynn Canyon, parking in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve side makes for a much longer trek to the suspension bridge and Twin Falls. The last time I was there, I don’t believe the Lynn Canyon Ecology Center existed, and parking there is much easier, albeit not free. I don’t mind a good hike, but my knees would prefer I avoid going up, down, back up, and down again on 200 feet of stairs. Then having to rush back through that all again to get my car out of a parking lot that closes at 7. Live and learn!

As there are many fools who like to jump into the canyon and drown, there are fences all around Lynn Creek. Easy to jump over, but hard to photograph near. The above view of Twin Falls was not easy to photograph. I had to hang my camera on the top of a chain link fence, with only one tripod leg able to reach the top of the rock I was standing on. This made for some rather precarious shooting, but using Live View I was able to wait the 5-6 seconds it took to make my camera still before using my remote to trip the shutter. I made a few extra exposures just to make sure that I didn’t jostle the fence or my camera during the 8 second shutter speed.

… and then all those stairs again…