I included some of the rain-covered grass and Rosy Spirea flowers, details that are very well resolved by the Sigma SD1 Merrill at my chosen aperture of f/16, in order to add interest to the scene. With my camera pointed towards Rainier which was completely obscured, I changed to my Sigma 8-16mm F4.5-5.6 DC HSM wide angle lens and framed the reflections of the gentle pinkish hues of the clouds and clearing sky in the lake. On one completely overcast morning when it looked like nothing was going my way, I suddenly witnessed a partial clearing in the sky to the east. Waking up just after 4 AM, I went to the lake nearly every morning – unless it was pouring, which it was about three mornings in a row. As the name suggests, on windless mornings one can capture a perfect reflection of Mount Rainier with the summit illuminated by sunrise light. One of my favorite places to shoot at Rainier turned out to be the Reflection Lakes in the Paradise area. Therefore, I had no choice but to take a page out of my most recent entry for the Sigma blog. I suddenly realized the name for the peak makes sense, and moreover, thought “Mount Rainiest” would be more fitting. What followed was a miserable week of record rainfall during which the peak was completely covered by clouds the vast majority of the time, every now and then partially peeking out and taunting the photographer without revealing itself in all its glory.
I didn’t realize that when I arrived in the park, the first morning would be the last time I would see the summit of the 14,409-foot tall mountain. I wasn’t too worried because by all accounts, Rainier had seen a beautiful sunny summer. But, as luck would have it, that shouldn’t have been my primary worry.Īs the locals will tell you, the Seattle region is pretty notorious for its amount of precipitation. The area experienced a warm spring and summer, and thus the wildflowers emerged earlier than expected. My biggest concern was whether I would arrive on time to catch the peak wildflower bloom. After much obsessive planning and conversations with photographers around Washington State, I was able to make my first trip to the region this year. Late every summer, nature photographers flock to the Pacific Northwest with the hope of capturing the majestic beauty of Mount Rainier and its gorgeous subalpine meadows.
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