Mount Ranier National Park in Washington state is another of our countries natural jewels. Established in 1899, it has the ‘feel’ of an old park. At over 200 thousand acres in size, and Mount Ranier’s peak of over 14 thousand feet, it makes for a large variety of stunning scenery.

Driving the southern section of the park, you will pass thru several tunnels bored thru solid rock. This photograph is taken from inside one of those tunnels, looking back outside to the east. (Note: Please be very careful if you decide to try and take a photograph like this. With running water and wind noise, it can be hard to hear traffic approaching you). This image was taken early in the morning, hoping to avoid traffic intrusion as much as possible.

Notice that you can see both the rock inside the tunnel, which is relatively dark compared to the outside light level, and the more brightly lit trees outside the tunnel entrance. In a traditional photograph, only one or the other of these two areas would be properly exposed and visible, and the other would either be burned out by bright light, or dropped out in dark shadow.

This photograph exhibits a wider range of light level visibility because it is an HDR processed image. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. The image is a combination of multiple exposures, each one exposed for a different range of light level. The multiple exposures are then combined into a single HDR digital negative, and the resulting HDR image is digitally processed from that hybrid negative. The image has all the light levels adjusted such that they can be seen even on the limited range provided by your computer screen. This more closely simulates the way your eye naturally views the same scene.

I hope you enjoy the photograph, and I want to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Happy Holiday Season!

Driving into Lassen Volcanic National Park in California, the first thing that struck me was the range of vivid, bright colors in the landscape all around me. From fresh greens, dark overhead blue, back-lighted purple colored Thrift ground flowers, light white clouds, and on and on. Its like driving into a new section of the land that is being lit by some special kind of light. Add the deep blue sky reflection off the water in lake Helen, and you have a window on paradise.

The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is located in the White Mountains of California. The Patriot Grove is the highest elevation grove in the park, at 11,323 feet.

When twilight and then nighttime come along, it can be a very eerie place. The dark blue skies of high elevation, 40 miles from civilization, no one around, and no lights in any direction as far as you can see, only the ancient Bristlecone Pines standing around you. If you watch overhead at night, meteors frequently fly soundlessly, and FAST, across the sky above you.

This shot was taken right at twilight, as the sun was about to go down behind the far mountains.