Hellebore in the rain
Standing tall
Ok, not quite the words to the song, but you get my drift. Maybe it should be more like “April showers bring May flowers,” although these flowers are already in bloom and it’s not yet May.
Raindrops on spring flowers are very photogenic, if you don’t mind getting wet to get the shot.
Copyright Rebecca L. Latson, all rights reserved.
The morning view from my cabin in Denali National Park & Preserve
I recently finished up an article for future publication in the National Parks Traveler, dealing with photographic themes. In the article, I mention I tend to capture sunrise shots (if I can) in every park I visit. This was one such sunrise image, taken during my stay at Camp Denali in Denali National Park & Preserve, in Alaska.
On a side note, I’m glad its getting lighter earlier in the mornings, now. Of course, that means I have to get up earlier in order to get to a prime spot for sunrise shots 🙃⏰
Copyright Rebecca L. Latson, all rights reserved.
Filed under Alaska, Canon, Denali National Park, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Photography, Seasons, summer, sunrise, Travel
Hiking the trail up in Paradise, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Everytime I go to sleep, I dream. There has never been a time (that I can remember), when I have not dreamed something, good or scary. I don’t know if that means I am sleeping well or not. Sometimes, I wake up from those dreams and can’t get back to sleep, no matter how much I try. This morning is one of those times. When that happens, I get up and come to the laptop to work on photos and ideas for my next National Parks Traveler article. As I was working on this image, an idea popped into my head and I decided to run with it. I’ve been trying to write enough articles for the Traveler to have two, rather than one, photo article a month. I’ll see how long I can continue with that. I remember, once, some years ago, having writer’s block so badly that I considered parting ways with the Traveler. Thankfully, that writer’s block didn’t last for long, because I know I would have regretted a move like that.
In the meantime, this image below was taken in the autumn of 2016 in the Paradise area of the park. Fall is one of those hit-or-miss seasons for Mount Rainier, especially in Paradise. It’s either going to be a clear, blue-sky day with The Mountain out and the huckleberry bushes showing off brilliant shades of orange and red, or it’s going to be a misty, foggy day where a photographer must concentrate on what she can see immediately around her, which in this case, was the trail and the different shades of greens along that trail.
Where will the trail take you?
Copyright Rebecca L. Latson, all rights reserved.
A Green Scene Along Maple Glade Rainforest Nature Trail
Quinault Rainforest, Olympic National Park, Washington
In honor of Saint Patrick’s Day, I have here for your viewing pleasure, a very very green scene from my winter visit in Olympic National Park.
I’ve never been much of a fan of green. Well, that is to say, green is not my favorite color, actually, red is. But, the shades of greens within the rainforest and the play of light and shadow have given me a greater appreciation of this color, as well as of the rainforest, itself. The last time I visited this park was about 24 years ago, before I ever even knew what a digital camera was, much less owned one.
So, Happy St. Pat’s Day to you!
Corned beef, potatoes, carrots and cabbage are in the crockpot for this evening’s meal. Maybe a little Irish whiskey afterwards, too. 😋😉
Copyright Rebecca L. Latson, all rights reserved
Filed under 5DS, Canon, Holidays, National Parks, Olympic National Park, Photography, St. Patrick's Day, Travel, Washington State
A home where the bison roam, at Elk Ranch Flats, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
If you’ve never been to Grand Teton National Park, before, maybe you should put that on your next vacation plan. This national park was a part of my road trip itinerary during my move last summer, and I wrote an article about it, which the National Parks Traveler has published. Gives a new meaning to the word “Grand.”
To read the article, click on the photo above.
Copyright Rebecca L. Latson, all rights reserved.
Sitting under the Tree of Life – at Kalaloch Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington
The National Park Traveler’s Episode 4 weekly podcast is out, and I was interviewed for a short bit. I come after the Lionfish Invasion part. I learned quite a bit about lionfish that I didn’t know, including that they are good to eat.
As for my interview, full disclosure: for those of you who have visited Olympic National Park, I mentioned the Tree of Life at Beach 4 and it’s actually at Kalaloch Beach. My bad! I was *thinking* Kalaloch Beach as I was talking about the Tree of Life, but out of my mouth came “Beach 4.” I joked with the interviewer that this is why I like writing better than extemporaneous speaking – I can review and revise with the written word.
To listen to the podcast, click on the photo above to be taken to that episode.
Oh, and for those of you who have to suffer through the start of Daylight Savings Time, remember to move your camera’s internal clock forward one hour. For my Canons, I push the Menu button, then select the tab with the wrench icon on it and scroll down to Date/Time setting to turn on or off that little Daylight Savings icon.
Copyright Rebecca L. Latson, all rights reserved.
Good Morning, Class – I know it’s been a few days since my last post. You know how it goes. You get busy doing things, either photography or regular home/chore/errands and you find you don’t have time for much else. I wanted to show you some example photos Before/After using a lovely little tool in Adobe Lightroom, called the Dehaze slider. You might find it helpful for some of your own images.
These photos were taken during a 2016 autumn visit to the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park, Washington. Autumn, for me, is a magical time to visit any national park, with some caveats. Autumn in Mount Rainier may mean wonderfully crystal-clear skies with The Mountain out in its full splendor, or it might mean you are socked in with low-hanging clouds and fog. While the fog/mist can create some ephemeral, haunting images, it can also get in the way, at times. And, that’s where the Dehaze slider comes in. It really does reduce the amount of whiteness/haziness that you might have in your imagery. The more you move the slider to the right, the more the haze is reduced.
These images are pretty much not edited in any other way than whatever preset I used in Lightroom, along with the Dehaze tool. I didn’t do anything in Photoshop except convert the TIF images to JPG and the color space from ProPhoto RGB to sRGB, with adjustments to the saturation and brightness.
If you use Lightroom for your own photo editing and have never tried out the Dehaze slider, I urge you to play around with it and see whether or not you like it.
Blue Grouse chick – before using the Dehaze slider
Blue Grouse chick – after using the dehaze slider
Hoary marmot – before using the Dehaze slider
Hoary marmot – after using the dehaze slider
Visitor center at Paradise – before using the Dehaze slider
Visitor center at Paradise – after using the Dehaze slider
Copyright Rebecca L. Latson, all rights reserved.
