Magic Mountain

It's kinda a long story - sorry.

Been away for a while - about two weeks now. Camped out in Rainier National Park with what must have been every other photographer in the NW. Fortunately, I was in the backcountry most of the time and saw few other people at all until returning to civilization (White River Campground) to renew my love affair with the place you see here. While I can't usually guess what images any paricular trip will bring and even less often go out with the intention to capture a very specific shot, this place has been the focus of more of my time and attention than any other in my life.

About a mile and a half hike from Rainier's Sunrise park, this stunning overlook offers views of the White River, a raging and clearly defined torrent of glacial waters surrounded by flood plains leading up towards the great peak. The foreground is complimented by a few late wildflowers and alpine Fir. I've returned to this very location to shoot at least twenty seperate times on four or five trips over three years. Until recently (this morning), I had never seen the truly great light I wanted to really show off the landscape.

It was raining lightly when I woke up at 3am. Cold and in the upper 30's it hardly looked like any sort of decent weather for photos. However, being as though it was the last day of my trip I decided to make the drive, then hike up there one last time.

As I began hiking, it had stopped raining and the cloud ceiling had lifted above me revealing more of the familiar landscape. I then noticed the moon starting to peek through the clouds near the mountain - one day past full it was setting in the East at sunrise. I hastened my pace, but still figured clouds on the horizon would block any light from reaching the peak. It didn't. A sliver opened on the horizon, just as the mountain revealed itself dramaticly for less than five minutes bathed in vibrant alpenglow before disappearing again. I was shocked! There was not one other cloud in the whole sky with light on it. I must have captured 100 images in those few minutes using all varieties of grads and bracketing to ensure a decent exposure. This, I believe was shot with a 2-stop hard and soft grad. The upper clouds are soft due to their fast pace and longer shutter speed. I hope you enjoy it also.