Nature pics from Hurricane Ridge, WA

[FlyingSquirrel]

Recently, I visited the Hurricane Ridge area of Olympic National Park, in Washington state. It was the first time I'd been there, and I really enjoyed it. I had the company of some wonderful members of the photography meetup group that I joined some time ago.

Hurricane Ridge is very accessible to just about any vehicle, despite being a mile up into mountains. It is extremely popular and heavily visited, for its incredible views, habituated wildlife, wildflowers, hiking, and much more. After a bit of driving, a ferry boat ride, more driving, and then miles of winding roads through the mountains, we reached a very large, paved parking area, and visitor center. The sizable visitor center is perched at the edge of the plateau, overlooking apparently infinite mountain ranges and valleys. It has a gift shop, restaurant, and other facilities, which one would not initially expect in such a seemingly remote area.

Although the area is highly developed within the confines of the paved roads and parking lot, a mere two minutes of walking brings you face to face with rugged wilderness, stunning views, sheer cliff faces, wildflower cloaked meadows, and a plethora of wildlife. It's not uncommon for deer to approach visitors to within 10 feet or less, as happened to myself a few times. There were an absurd amount of deer throughout the area. I can't begin to count how many I saw. They were left, and right, about every 50 feet. I also saw Ravens (which I was excited about, since I've never seen one in person, and I am fond of Corvids), chipmunks, marmots, and quail. Animals I had looked forward to seeing, but did not, were mountain goats, bear, and a few others.

We did minimal exploration along the more developed trails, lingering and meandering slowly, while taking photos often. Additionally, we took a side trip along an unpaved road that was blasted out of the mountain. An uncomfortable drive for anyone moderately afraid of heights, just wide enough for two small vehicles, edged with nothing but crumbling stone and gravel, and a sheer drop off of perhaps 1,000 feet. While being driven by my carpool partner, I tried not to look to the outside edge of the road for the several miles of this primitive road. When I did, I was sorry. The fearful experience was worth it, however, because I got several of my favorite shots of the trip along that road.

I hope you enjoy the photos. C&C welcome. Thanks for viewing.

Shots taken with Canon 7D, 10-22mm, 70-200mm, and a borrowed 100-400mm.

Dappled sunlight, punching through dramatic clouds, falls upon mountain ranges in the Olympics.



A rolling blanket of fog creeps through the mountain valleys.



This deer casually walked by droves of photographers, within 15 feet, along a meadow lining a cliff face. Photographers that had big glass (500+mm) had a bit of a problem on their hands when these large animals were so close. I was thankful that I brought my shorter lenses on this trip, believing the stories of habituated wildlife.



An Olympic Marmot pauses to inspect the photographer. This species is endemic. I cloned out an ear tag, which is used to track and study them. When our caravan pulled over, and everyone exited the vehicles, the marmots promptly made an exit of their own. A family of marmots was visible high up the cliff face in a talus slope, but too far for any shots. Later in the day, our caravan had split up, and my carpool buddy and I pulled over to explore the same spot. Finding nothing, we were entering the truck to leave, and out of the corner of my eye I spotted two lumps on a nearby hill. We walked up the road slowly, taking photos of the marmots, then moving closer, alternately. Our quiet approach, on foot, by just two people, was less threatening to the animals. When we were about 20 feet away, we stopped. The marmot then moved closer to us, and closer, and closer. It came down the hill and gave us the stare-down. It came to within about 6 feet of us, posing for numerous photos, then slowly walked up the hill and began eating flowers. It was one of the best wildlife photography experiences I've ever had.



Early evening light casts a warming glow upon this deer, which was about 30 feet from a paved trail, surrounded by 10 photographers and numerous hikers and tourists. I became annoyed by a tourist that was clapping and making noises to get the attention of the deer. He stopped, but then his wife walked off the trail into the meadow, which is illegal to do in that particular area. I politely admonished them for their behavior, as did another member of our group to a woman that brought her pet dog on the trail, which is also illegal in that area.



Campanula piperi. This is the less common, white form. Found nestled in a rock crevice, among other wildflowers, along the terrifying, unpaved road

[Shadowman]

Nice series The animal shots and greenery are a bit overexposed, you should be able to add more detail to those.

[IzzieK]

Spectacular views...If I were to choose a favourite it will be #2 with the rolling mist. The animals are cute too even though a John said it needs a little bit more PP...

[Mike Buckley]

Wonderful images, Matt! Knowing your post-processing skills, I'm assuming you're going for a rather light, airy look intentionally.

a tourist that was clapping and making noises to get the attention of the deer.

Doing anything including getting too close that intentionally or accidentally gets the attention of an animal is illegal in an American national park.

[Brownbear]

Thank you for sharing. What a special place. Wonderful images. I especially love the 5th image, as is. Gorgeous! Followed very closely by #2. (as is, ie; I like the lighter exposures)

[bnnrcn]

Great images Matt May be some more PP for #4 and #5.

[Wavelength]

Very lovely images...

[terrib]

Those are some sharp wildlife images. I especially like the portrait and the marmot. As far as the light, the portrait looks good to me. The other 2 do look a little bright but not so far out that it bothers me.

Glad you got to experience that.

[ied]

Sounds like a fun adventure for sure. Great captures, I especially like those of the wildlife. It's a plus when they stay put and pose for you!
Irene

[ShaneS]

Beautiful series of images Matt! I bet is was challenging to find compositions for the landscape shots as it seems there would be a good one at every turn I would love to see more of those but do find the wildlife portraits a pleasure to view as well, particularly the first deer (love the fur on the horns) and the marmot.

[FlyingSquirrel]

My sincere thanks, to everyone, for your replies. All very thoughtful, helpful, and enjoyable.

Regarding exposure in processing:

1. I just moved, and the lighting in the room that I edit in is completely different than in my previous home. Not much I can do with that issue.

2. I haven't calibrated my monitors recently

3. I typically prefer slightly brighter images than most people. I just go with what looks good to me, and generally that ends up being a lighter exposure in processing.

4. One more thing, is that I find that sometimes it is not necessary to try to recover every single detail in an image. In my opinion, letting some areas get really dark or light is not always bad. I have found that trying to save all highlights and all shadows can lead to flat, bland, artificial looking images. I'll agree that there are times when it is good to get all the details you can. I used to do it with every photo, but they looked boring to me.

Nevertheless, I appreciate the feedback and advice, and do take them seriously (despite some of my points above, which I felt legitimate to point out). I have examined the photos and considered your points of view.

The paragraphs labeled 1 and 2, above, notwithstanding, I am now in slight agreement on the marmot photo being a tad bright, but only in the lightest fur on the sides. The rest looks perfect to me. The full body deer shot looks perfect to me. The plant shot looks just how I like it for the most part. I see detail in the blooms, though I could pull back the highlights a tad for the blooms in the center of the photo (when I tried it, the blooms looked too bland to me, though). I may rework a few of these and post the new versions, if I can make the time to do so.