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Western Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)
©2009 Ed BookI was out for a walk in the forest and found some interesting Sword Ferns filling the forest understory. The sky was clear so some bits of sunlight were getting through to the forest floor which clipped the highlights of any images made showing sunlit surfaces. ('clipping the highlights refers to areas where the light is so bright that the pixels there record white with no details. It's okay for specular highlights to clip (specular highlights are spots of light that are usually pin point reflections of the sun as in a drop of water or shiny metal surface in sunlight) because the eye expects them but broader light areas being clipped cause the eye to be uncomfortable... too bright to look at is the feeling the viewer gets. I was in a deep canyon in late afternoon but the sun was still shining down into the understory blasting clipping at me here and there resulting in unusable exposures. On thing I teach my students is that when there is some attribute of imagemaking that is preventing you from making your intended image, then use that attribute in your favor and if possible exaggerate that factor. (for example, if the wind is moving your subject too much to get a sharp image, then, exaggerate the motion to use it to make your image. In this case, I got low to the ground with the fern between me and the sun to record the fronds backlighted and glowing with light. more fernsPeace Tags: -print available-, forest, green, kitsap peninsula, plant, wa
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 alpenglo in the Duckabush River valley rain forest - Olympic National Forest, WA USA Big Leaf Maple, Vine Maple, Stinging Nettles, moss Peace Tags: -print available-, alpenglo, forest, green, intimate landscape, olympic mountains, plants, trees, wa
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along the Puyallup Ridge ski trail - Mount Tahoma Trails, Washington, USA©2008 Ed BookPeace Tags: -print available-, clouds, forest, landscape, mount tahoma trails, mountains, panorama, sky, snow, trail, wa, waterflow, white, winter
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(Quercus garryana) Garry Oak, Gray Oak, Oregon White Oak, White Oak, Post Oak, Brewer Oak, Shin Oak©2008 Ed BookPeace Tags: -print available-, autumn, forest, tree, wa
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Hybrid Poplar grove, Boardman, Oregon©2008 Ed BookIf you travel east on I-84 through eastern Oregon, you'll see this grove. Get off the exit and go walk in the grove, It's quite surreal, all the trees the same size and in lines... I've been by here a few times but this was the first time I stopped to make photographs. I plan to return again in different seasons and when I can spend more time. Peace Tags: -print available-, forest, intimate landscape, oregon, trees, yellow
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tumbling water near Walker Pass - Olympic National Forest - Washington©2008 Ed BookBefore my Daughter and my Grandkids flew back to the east coast, I spent a few days camping with them and my Son, Seth and my new Daughter-in-law Victoria. On the way home, I visited an old friend, this waterfall along the Rocky Brook road that climbs from Walker Pass on US 101 in the Olympic National Forest. This is one of those places that I keep returning to hoping that the air will be still so I can photograph non-blury Maidenhair Ferns with a long enough exposure to render the water silky. This was the first time the air was still... happy me Peace Tags: -print available-, forest, green, intimate landscape, olympic mountains, plants, spring, wa, waterflow
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Tatoosh peaks beyond Mazama Ridge - snowstorm©2008 Ed BookPeace Tags: -print available-, forest, high key, landscape, mount rainier, mountains, snow, trees, wa, white, winter
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White Pass, Wenatchee National Forest, Cascade Range, Washington©2006 Ed Booksome like it vertical Peace Tags: -print available-, forest, landscape, mountains, snow, trees, wa, white, winter
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About a week ago, Gene, and Phil, fellow ski patrollers and I skied out to this ridge to scout a hopefully proposed location for a new temporary Mount Tahoma Trails hut about two miles beyond the Copper Creek Hut. The view included Mount Rainier above the Glacier View Wilderness and Mount Beljica, the Goat Rocks, Sawtooth Ridge, Mount Adams, Griffin Mountain, Mt St Helens, Mount Storm King, Puget Sound, and the Olympic Mountain Range. What a day! What a view!
(the image also has three sets of cougar tracks that course along the ridge).
Mount Tahoma Trails - Ski Trooper Ridge - 360º panorama©2008 Ed BookWe are calling the ridge Ski Trooper Ridge to honor the Army's 10th Mountain Division who got their start early in the 1940's on Mount Rainier. The location is on privately owned timber company land and so any hut we would erect would have to be stationed in place temporarily being moved after the snow season. We've been thinking of designing some sort of arrangement of ocean shipping containers mounted on trailers. This hut would be crude compared to our (Mount Tahoma Trails Association) other huts which are actually (3) two story cabins and a two story yurt located along our 50+ miles of cross country ski trails.
( Here's a larger version of this photo (~600K) )Peace Tags: forest, landscape, mount rainier, mount tahoma trails, mountains, olympic mountains, olympic mtns, panorama, photohoop, snow, wa, winter
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Mount Tahoma Trails north district near the Morge Lakes Cirque©2008 Ed BookI've seen lots of cat tracks in the snow this year but they were mostly made by Bobcats. I didn't see any cats though. These tracks were much bigger and there were three sets. I suspect siblings or mother and offspring who were still with her. I have seen Bobcats and fox and martins and rabbits and hares on the trail system and elk, deer, and bear in the summer up there but have yet to see a cougar in the mountains. I'm certain that they have seen me and have seen their tracks on my own. I often ski in remote areas alone and sometimes at night but do so much less lately because I'm paranoid of the big cats. Last week, I was skiing down one of the trails and saw where two sets of cougar tracks entered the trail and were ahead of me going the same direction. It was snowing and they were fresh enough to not have snow in them. I made lots of excuses to myself for stopping, a snack, then a drink, then some photos, and then another drink, and and and till I realized that it would be dark soon and I had a couple more miles to go. I didn't enjoy that ski so had to repeat it again the next day early when I wasn't afraid. (I'm afraid of the dark and of big animals that would like to eat me and can usually handle one fear at a time but when they gang up, they become symbiotic and I chicken out.) I even practiced swinging my ski poles around to be ready for a confrontation. Peace Tags: -print available-, forest, landscape, mount tahoma trails, mountains, snow, wa, winter
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freshwater from Big Beef Creek freezing in Hood Canal tidewater©2007 Ed BookPeace Tags: forest, high key, kitsap peninsula, landscape, puget sound, river, snow, trees, wa, white, winter
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Big Beef Creek at the Hood Canal tidewater©2007 Ed Bookfresh snow at sealevel Peace Tags: forest, high key, kitsap peninsula, landscape, puget sound, river, snow, trees, wa, white, winter
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Kitsap Peninsula - Puget Sound lowlands (bog along Sesame St up the road from Nika Trail©2007 Ed BookContrary to some opinions that I may have generated with my last post of some peaks in the Olympic Mountains from our home here on Nika Trail... Although we have views of the mountains like that view, we're not in the mountains but in the Puget Sound lowlands and our home is at about 350 ft above sea level. The Olympic mountains rise to about 5700' along the Hood Canal (fjord) that separates our Kitsap Peninsula from the Olympic Peninsula and the peaks are about 20 miles away. Peace Tags: -print available-, forest, kitsap peninsula, landscape, nika trail, puget sound, snow, trees, wa, white, winter
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 ©2006 Ed Book camera motion––not a Photoshop effect. Peace Tags: -print available-, abstract, autumn, digital painting, forest, green, mount rainier, rain, trees, wa, yellow
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a few years ago, Bob was mountain biking in the Capital Hills near Olympia and found that he was being followed by an emaciated looking very young and obviously lost husky. The dog couldn't be chased away or dissuaded from following. After about eight miles of trail, Bob decided that he had found a new friend, or rather, vice versa. Luka went home with Bob and they've been together since. Here, we see them on the trail enjoying the snow. Luka is strong and loves to run and run she does and wow is she strong. While I was talking to Bob, she sat patiently waiting but obviously eager to get up the trail. I turned and went up the trail a little way to photograph them coming up the trail toward me and behind me heard Bob yelling for Luka to stop. I turned to see that Bob had fallen and Luka was running full speed, dragging him behind, flailing in the snow...
 ©2007 Ed Book Peace Tags: animals, blue, forest, mount tahoma trails, people pics, snow, trail, wa, white, winter
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 ©2007 Ed Book If you're a Washington state resident, I have a request for you.
There are funds available for recreation on state Department of Natural Resources lands and a large portion of the Mount Tahoma Trail system is located on these state lands and The Mount Tahoma Trails Association (MTTA) is a non-profit organization that maintains the trail system. There is a line item to purchase and maintain snow cat grooming equipment for the trail system on the Department of Natural Resources appropriations bill being considered this week by the state legislature. As there are no fees for trail or hut users and all work is done by volunteers, the trail system meets the criteria for these recreation funds. The current sno-cats for grooming are old and in need of constant repair. (They were obtained being retired from service at other trail systems and have been kept in use with much volunteer effort but they spend most of the time unavailable, needing repair.)
SO... what it takes: please call the legislative hot line at 1-800-562-600. You will be asked for your name and address to determine your representatives and then
say that you would like your elected officials to support the Department of Natural Resources appropriations bill to purchase and maintain snow cat grooming equipment for the Mount Tahoma Trails System.
That's all it takes. this phone line is well-staffed from 8AM to 8PM.
We've been told that these phone calls are effective and will significantly contribute to the success of maintaining a safe trail system with reliable grooming equipment.
Thanks and
Peace Tags: -print available-, forest, mount tahoma trails, mtta, snow, trail, wa, white, winter
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 ©2007 Ed Book Peace Tags: -print available-, alpenglo, clouds, forest, landscape, mount tahoma trails, mountains, snow, sunset, trail, trees, wa, white, winter
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