This is one of those entries that doesn’t require many words - pictures will do far more justice than anything I could say. Plus, I’m exhausted from this trip and my brain isn’t functioning in a creative writing sense, not that it does often anyway.

That prefix to this aside, I can give a little backstory to this trip…

I had some very good news on Monday the 10th and thought I’d treat myself to a quick trip somewhere - it’s been quite some time since I’ve gone on a trip with no intention other than taking photos, so this felt like the perfect opportunity.

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Thursday forecasted for big waves and massive swells along the Oregon and Washington coast's. Randy (http://www.randybottphotography.com/) and I opted to meet up in the morning at Cape Disappointment in Washington to grab some photos of what was likely going to be a rather epic show. 

Upon arriving, I noticed the gate to the beach was closed and that there was a sign up outside of the ranger's office stating, "dangerous waves today". I parked, walked in to get a Discovery Pass (Washington parks pass) and talked to the lady working inside. She said this was the worst storm they had seen in a long time and that the waves were even carrying driftwood over the road... That's pretty intense as I have been here before during high surf, but nothing like this. 

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I had spent some time hanging out with a friend in Yakima this past weekend. I woke up early on Monday morning to get on the road early enough to catch the sunrise somewhere along the way - I didn't really have a place in mind, just figured I would stop once I found a location. As I headed north on Interstate 82, I could see both Mt Rainier and Mt Adams as I climbed out of the Yakima valley - my first stop was at the rest area as it has a nice view of both mountains. I noticed the moon up overhead of Rainier and thought I would wait and try to catch the moon setting over the summit... Well, that didn't happen. The moon was taking entirely too long and the sunrise was washing out the details of the moon; plus, the colors just weren't happening over either of the peaks.

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Hello and good day!

I am going to talk about our Photo Friday, Episode 5. In this week's episode, Randy (http://www.randybottphotography.com/) and I head up Snoqualmie Pass to Franklin Falls - we discuss circular polarizers, a definite must for any landscape photographer. Along with that, it's the usual shenanigans of fun and adventure and the art of exploration to find new locations to shoot.

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Fall is one of the best times of the year. The changing of color, the cooler air, the smell of a wood burning stove as you drive along through the countryside - all senses come alive. 

I love fall. I find that I spend a lot of time exploring as much as I can in a short window as the season only lasts so long. Other seasons last for months - you won't really miss much if you put it off for a weekend or even a few weeks. It's not like that during the fall - the colors start to change in waves and just one storm could send all of those leaves falling to the ground. If you miss it, well you'll have to wait an entire year to enjoy it again.

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Yesterday I was invited on a hike up to Sauk Mountain in the North Cascades.  I had heard of this hike earlier in the year via a friend's Facebook page - the views looked stunning and I knew I wanted to go, I just didn't know if or when it would happen.  After being invited, I looked it up and realized that was the hike I wanted to do!  Naturally I agreed to join; beautiful views, fresh (smokey) air, some exercise - why not go?  

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I had planned this trip with a friend back at the beginning of April - the coast was due for a negative tide meaning some of the beaches and coves that are typically inaccessible were reachable.  The main area I really wanted to visit was Secret Beach.  I have been to Secret Beach a few times now, but not once have I been down on the beach, and I certainly haven't been on a low enough tide to access the back two coves.  Tide aside, it was nearly a perfect time for the Milky Way to be visible over the water.

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Exposure blending is when you take several photos of the same scene at different settings to create a final image that captures all of the details.  In the case of the image I am using for this, I wanted to get the details of a sea cave along with the view at the end.  Had I shot a single image, I would have lost detail on one end or the other: either you'd be able to see what was at the end of the tunnel or you would be able to see the detail of the tunnel, but not the view at the end.  

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As some of you may already know, my favorite part of Oregon is the southern coast, and one of my favorite places in the entire Pacific Northwest is the redwoods.  The beauty of both of these areas is jaw dropping - if you ever find yourself in this part of the world, definitely visit both areas.  

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As wedding season approaches and people are inquiring, I've come to the realization that I need to express my thoughts and opinions on the importance of ensuring you hire a good photographer.

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This is just a very quick entry to show a visual comparison of the difference in image quality between a smartphone (iPhone 6) to a DSLR (Canon 6D).

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Wrapping up the "best of 2016" series with a photo from Oregon.  Sparks Lake is likely one of the most photographed places in Oregon.  Since I started exploring [online] different places I wanted to visit in the northwest, I have seen many photos of Sparks Lake.  Prior to moving to Oregon, I have been to Bend a few times, but always in the winter, so I was never aware this place even existed.

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Finally!  We are stepping away from Chamonix and back to Iceland.  

Our first night outside of Reykjavik we stayed near Seljalandsfoss.  Earlier in the evening I had been walking around behind Seljalandsfoss and then went into Gljúfrabúi.  Gljúfrabúi is a waterfall in a very tight canyon that creates a ton of spray - I was back there for about 5 minutes and came out drenched.  I was cold and wet and needed to get into dry, warm clothes.

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Like the last photo, "Mountain Spring", this photo also comes from Lac Blanc.  This photo was taken in July on our first hike to Lac Blanc.

The backstory...

We woke up late and none of us were exactly motivated that morning.  The night before was the night we went up to Lac d'Emosson; I can't speak for the other two, but I know I was tired and exhausted for the last few days of early mornings and late evenings.  

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Lac Blanc is one of the places I distinctly recall seeing photos of and thinking to myself, "I'll never see that with my own eyes."  The first time I saw a photo of it had to be back in 2008 - I was searching around Panoramio and found a stunning photo of a lake with jagged peaks in the background at dusk - I saved it and stared at it for years.

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Oh Italy.  The culture, the food, the wine.  Italy is one of those places that if I were to believe heaven were a place, it would be Italy.  

The Dolomites are a very unique mountain range and unlike any other found in the Alps.  The rock is made up of ancient seabed, hence the name dolomite.  Compared to granite, which is found in many other ranges, this rock is typically softer hence why it's more susceptible to erosive forces, but those forces are what have carved and created this stunning mountain range.

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I think I mentioned this in an earlier post, but we spent most of the trip camping.  Camping in Europe is wonderful - campgrounds have a plethora of amenities and most of them have very clean bathroom facilities (that's the thing that matters the most to me; I'm a bit of a germaphobe).  

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Would you be shocked if I told you that yet another one of these comes from Chamonix?  ...Didn't think so.

The Grand Montets is one of the areas where you can access one of the glaciers.  It's a symphony of peaks being carved out by the most erosive force of nature.  There are two cable cars operating in this area during the summer.  The first stops just below the bottom of the glacier - I can only assume that at one point in time this station was actually on the glacier.  The second goes up just below the Aiguille Verte.  

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I touched base on this photo in my Iceland: Day 6 entry, but here are the full details...

I had spent the night before sleeping in the car.  The previous day was a very, very long day and after driving throughout the night, chasing hopes that turned out to be a bust due to weather, we found ourselves heading back west towards Gullfoss.  We made it just past Seljalandsfoss before I realized I was too tired to sleep, so we found a spot off the main road to pull off, set the alarm for an hour and a half and took a quick nap.

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