An Olympic Event
Two weeks ago, conditions looked right for woodland photography, so I set out for the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park. After around five hours of driving, I approached the entrance to the park, only to be brought to a complete halt by an approximately one-hour wait at the entrance gate. I was sorely tempted to turn back, but decided to stick it out, mainly because I figured that the near-solstice day meant that I'd have until the early evening to have enough light.
While waiting, I took an iPhone shot from my car window of the wetlands along the side of the road.
Once I got inside, I realized the obvious: that long lines outside meant dense (collectively and, shall we say, individually) crowds inside. While much of what follows may seem serene, it really was a matter of run-and-gun, wait at a given location for ten minutes so the tourists could finish taking their selfies, etc. Definitely one of the higher-stress shoots I've ever conducted.
Close-up of branch over the Hoh River.
Scenes on the short ascent to the Hall of Mosses trailhead.
Hall of Mosses Trail
Although the forecast had been for clouds, I was surprised, upon exiting the forest, to realize that the conditions for good sunset light were starting to develop. Therefore, I raced down to Ruby Beach, a frequent location of mine, and one where I have tried repeatedly to capture the ultimate sunset, but always fallen somewhat short. Indeed, when I got there, I could see the beach itself had a thin mist in the air, precluding good images from down there; however, the upper viewpoint offered a scene that could only be described as "epic."
So, while this might have started out as an incredibly stressful photo trip, it proved, in retrospect, to be one of my most-rewarding ones.
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