Sunrise at Chinook Pass
A Slight Detour
Upper Lake Tipsoo
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3:30 AM: nasty alarm goes off. I was half-awake anyhow. Thirty minutes later, showered, dressed, and in the car. A quick sprint across SR-520, a short stretch of Highway 420, and over to Highway 164 towards Mount Rainier. Dreading the drive to Paradise. Tourist season isn't quite over and the crowds have been particularly thick this year. Mosquitoes know this. Along 164, I spot an exit to the right that leads off to "Sunrise". I've seen it many times before. Never taken it. At the last second I grab the exit, completely abandoning the entire planned trip to Reflection Lakes.
Now headed along SR-410, without any idea where I'm going or where I'll end up, I ask myself if I've made a good decision. The roads are dark and empty, but random signs appear pointing to places such as Mount Rainier, Crystal Mountain Ski Resort, and Chinook Pass. I must be headed in the right direction... mostly. Soon enough, I catch glimpses of Mount Rainier. The road steepens and in an impossibly short amount of time I am at an elevation of 5200ft. Sunrise occurs in just under thirty minutes. Find a place to park. Get moving!
Walking now, completely foreign to this place and the sky is getting brighter. Must hurry! Three tourists making images of Rainier from designated planks. No thanks! Looking down upon Lake Tipsoo. Wow, it would be great to get a reflection shot of the mountain. The water is rippled and uneven. Too much wind. Faint alpenglow appearing. Really must hurry if I'm going to make something happen. Look left. Small glacial pond, perfectly still, only a hundred feet off the road. Too dark to see! Flashlight? Yeah, right. There's a trail... some mud... deep mud! Reach the pond. Wow! Mirror calm water, sunken trees, view of Mount Rainier. Perfect!
Rainier Reflection, Upper Lake Tipsoo
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I sink right into the viewfinder. Thirty minutes of relaxed shooting, working the scene while Elk bugle from the ridge above me. The mountain peak is several stops brighter than the rest of the scene. Singh-Ray filters are in left pant pocket. Two split ND filters stacked and handheld in front of a Canon 17-40 f/4L. Alpenglow isn't quite as strong as I'd hoped. I thread my LB ColorCombo Polarizer. Wow! Intense color. So good. Shutter speed of just one second. Nice.
I notice a photographer off to my right. We shoot together for a bit, enjoying the best of the morning light. It ends for us as the sun rises. Inevitable. Two more photographers show up, too late for the party. We chat for an hour until the cold drives us to seek warm cars. Two hours later, back at my home, I am grinning at a 25" LCD screen. I've got to do that again next week!
November 30th, Last Call!
On the last day of November, 2008, I make the drive to Chinook Pass to meet some photographers from The Radiant Vista. With me is good friend and fellow photographer Charles Needle. I had offered to take Charles and his friend Stacy up into the mountains on what might be our last chance before the roads are closed for the winter. Starting the drive in Redmond, a steady drizzle falls from a television sky. We are optimistic but don't want to jinx it! As we near Lake Tipsoo a starry sky opens up above us. Charles repeatedly points towards the mountain and "wows." We meet up with the other photographers just as the show begins.
We witness a sunrise like no other I had seen from Chinook Pass.
My favorite place to shoot this location is from a particular point at the edge of a small pond near the parking area. Some folks call it Upper Lake Tipsoo. Hurrying along, I glance over at Rainier and see this scene unfolding. I can spare sixty seconds! Very quickly, I mount my 3-Stop Reverse Graduated ND Filter onto a 24-70 f/2.8L and shoot two horizontal frames to be stitched together for a panoramic view. I capture two more vertical frames in the same manner, just in case, and sprint off to my "hot spot."
Mount Rainier, Winter Sunrise, Chinook Pass
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The decision to use the 3-Stop Reverse ND Graduated filter for this scene had been made in my mind long before I had purchased the filter. The previous time I shot this location, much of the feedback I received suggested that my standard 3-Stop Graduated ND filter left the sky unnaturally dark and lacking in detail. By using the 3-Stop Reverse ND Grad, I am able to hold back the snowy peak by 3 stops while holding back the sky by only 2 stops. The tactic works wonders throughout the morning and leads to the creation of many succesful images.
Winter Sunrise, Chinook Pass
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In addition to the 3-Stop Reverse ND Grad, once again I find myself using the trusted LB Warming Polarizer when shooting low against the water, capturing reflections of Mt. Rainier in the distance. For the shot directly to the right, I stacked the 3-Stop Reverse ND Grad on top of the LB Warming Polarizer, using just enough polarization to enhance reflections while taming Rainier with 3 stops of ND filtering.
While creating this shot, I am balanced upon a log traversing the stream while my tripod legs are positioned in the water around me. A waterproof top layer, including good boots and sealing all around, is a must in the winter. If I fall into the water, the top priority is to remain as dry as possible.
We spend the entire morning glued to our viewfinders. Conversations happen between shutter clicks and out one side of the mouth so as not to fog up lenses and filters. We exploit the benefit of short winter days at this latitude and milk the extra hour of shooting time.
The temperature reaches a balmy 39F and some of us are forced to strip away layers of insulating wool and synthetics. That waterproof top layer stays on and allows me to lay flat in the snow while shooting. Getting low is essential when shooting dramatic landscapes. Again, staying warm and dry is top priority.
After what seems like an eternity, the good light fades.
Tired and hungry, we pack it in and head back down the mountains into the lowlands. The "Day Walkers", visitors and tourists who rise after the show has long since ended, are making their way up the mountain roads. To those willing to arrive in darkness, Chinook Pass shows its true colors.
Jamie, JFP
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