Thursday, March 10, 2011

Postcard from Mt. Rainier

This photo, taken in Mt. Rainier National Park, is the base of Narada Falls. And yes, the rocks are really that gold color. They really do look like large chunks of gold, made even shinier by the water.  OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I remember this trip to Mt. Rainier as it was my one and only visit to this great park in the Northwest. Imagine that, living for 15 years in Washington State and only visiting this natural wonder only one time. And here’s another dirty little secret…I never made it to Mt. St. Helens.

What makes this trip even more memorable for me, was it was my first expedition into the wilds with my first, brand new digital camera, an Olympus E-300. I remember shooting on the first day in the park and not being really pleased with my shots. So I took a hotel room outside the park’s western entrance, got out the camera manual and read it in depth and discovered where I went wrong. (You know the old saying about electronic gadgets…when all else fails, read the manual). The next day’s shooting produced much better photos.

This shot of Narada Falls was done on the second day. The falls are just a short walk from the main highway and worth every step. I did shoot the entire falls, but like this one the best as it highlights the gold rocks, which, to me, are just as important as the falls. When one is shooting a scene like this, one should always shoot at different angles, as well as wide angle and close-ups. You never know what may jump off the screen at you when doing post-processing.  

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