I received my Canon EF 24-70mm F/2.8 L-series lens on Wednesday, so I took a trip Thursday to Mt. Rainier. Actually, when I left, I wasn’t sure where I was going, but my photographic compass guided me toward Mt. Rainier as a point of natural beauty. The skies were clear in Redmond, and the weather was in the low 70s. Really, it was a perfect day for a drive, and an excellent day for heading to the mountain. I took my T-tops off and began my cruise.
Except, it wasn’t the perfect day for driving because traffic sucked. I-405 was congested the entire way as was WA-167. Normally I don’t let traffic annoy me too much, but I the trip was around 2.5 hours without traffic, and I specifically left around 1:30pm on a Thursday, thinking I’d avoid most other cars. Then, the weather was toying with me. When I would cruise for a mile, the sun would hide behind the edge of a cloud front to the south. I would get stuck in traffic for a while and the clouds would move more south, revealing the sun once more. It was really just teasing me the entire way. I debating heading back because the weather and traffic were both fighting me, but I kept thinking “I’ve come this far…. It’s going to clear up soon.”
Traffic was bad until the last 30 minutes of the trip, and the clouds loomed overhead as I entered the park. I was frustrated but determined. Sometimes clouds can result in good photos, so I pushed onward. I paid the $15 fee to enter and the lady at the booth told me that Paradise was beautiful, and the sun was hitting it. I went right past every overlook and viewpoint area, rushing straight to Paradise in order to ensure I got there while the sun was still visible. A thousand or so feet below Paradise, I broke through the cloud layer and the result was amazing.
I did a little bit of “hiking” to get some more shots before deciding that I’m incredibly out of shape, and I would rather get some “less typical” shots. I found a great viewpoint, and I got some really cool shots looking toward the sun just above the clouds.
On the way back, an SUV changed lanes into me and I narrowly avoided the accident by slamming my brakes, crushing my horn, and swerving to the curb…. It was a bad day for driving, but it was a great day for photography!
You need to monoslideshow these puppies and turn on the Ken Burns effect. Toss on a violin soundtrack, maybe get some voiceover narrations from asadf, and then sell it to PBS.
(By the way, I saw this post in my RSS reader, but on your index page, the most recent displayed post is “Technical Split Off”.)
Haha, that sounds like an excellent plan. Maybe the soundtrack could instead be a techno track with the obligatory “Move it to the side” quote.
Thanks for the heads up on the front page. Looks like my cache wasn’t clearing… and hasn’t been for a long time! I think I got that sorted out but now I have to figure out why I didn’t get an email notice about your comment…. oh Internets…