Roots and Rocks. Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington. August 28, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Weathered tree roots stretch across boulders at Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington.
I made this photograph at our first stop after we arrived at the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. (Technically, that isn’t quite true, since we had earlier stopped at the “ranger station” to ask some questions, but this was the first “real” stop for photography.) The road into this area twists and turns as it ascends toward and then past a ski area, and here we couldn’t help but pull over at a hairpin curve that provided a panoramic overlook to the valley below and the ridges to the east (?) of our position. Although the original reason for stopping was this dramatic view, I soon found nearby “intimate landscapes” to also be very interesting. While I often hike and climb long distances to find my photographs… for this one the tripod was on asphalt and the subject right next to the road.
On a technical note, for this photograph I used a lens that I’m increasingly fond of for photographing subjects like this one, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM (link to B&H). I find it useful to be able to put a bit of distance between myself and subjects in which the entire image may include only a few square feet, and the ability to fine tune the composition with the zoom is very useful. Although I didn’t do it in this photography, working with a slightly longer focal length also lets me have the option of isolating the subject against an out of focus background. I have the non-IS version of the lens – because that was the only version available back when I got mine – though I would almost certainly get the IS version if I were to replace it.
This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
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Nice to know I’m not the only one who takes a picture of the thing that just threatened to trip me! Your pic is a billion times better, though. Great clarity…and the location can’t be beat.
“Things that threatened to trip me…” – I like it. Yes, I suppose that one advantage of looking for and photographing these “subjects underfoot” is that we might be just a bit less likely to fall over them! :-)
Dan
Beautiful detail Dan. I very much like to shoot details, unfortunately they most often escape me and I tend to overlook these little beauties. The 70-200mm is also getting more and more usage in my case. During this last summer I used it almost as much as my wide angle.
That all said, it’s very inspiring to read and see this, as it reminds me to look more for details.
Cheers, and greetings from Finland.
Hi Sven, and thanks for “dropping by” and leaving a comment. It is often difficult to look away from the “grand landscape” and see these smaller scenes. The story behind this photograph is perhaps an example, in that we initially stopped to photograph because we were inspired by the impressive and gigantic landscape of deep valleys and tall, snow and glacier-covered ridges and peaks. It was only after we spent perhaps a half hour exploring this spot – and first shooting the big stuff – that we turned our attention to the many smaller but interesting subjects closer at hand.
Dan