While March is cold and dreary in the Pacific Northwest, signs of spring manage to squeeze in. The Cherry blossoms peak in mid-late march, and different sets of flowering plants start showing off their colors with every passing week. But for the best signs of spring, there is no better place that the wildflowers of California. The bumper rains of the winter of '22-23 meant that the spring of 2023 was going to be a superbloom year, where acres of predominantly sun-drenched dry landscapes were going to be transformed into a vast carpet of colors.
I paid a visit to central California during this time, and even though I was a week early, the scope and size of the wildflower blooms I witnessed was nothing short of extraordinary.
As before, you can buy this calendar at this link.
Carrizo Plains National Monument
CA USA
Waiting for Dinner
When do you decide from being a spectator to becoming an active participant? When it comes to wildlife, my principle is never (interfere). But there are times which have come close to testing it. This was certainly one of them.
Out at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, it was still early in the season. The salmon still hadn't started their upstream migration to their spawning grounds. They were waiting patiently in large numbers at the mouth of the river for some hidden signal that only they knew. The grizzles had just come out of their long winter hibernation, looking both famished and tired. The salmon is a key component of their summer diet, and the ursine population needed every salmon they could get their paws on; it was the only way to recover from the lost reserves.
And so, this year, the grizzlies waited at the same spot they wait every year. They were hoping to catch their break-fast, a feast of juicy salmon. However, with the slow run of the salmon, they just kept waiting in the cold waters of the river, looking sad and forlorn. 634 Popeye ( I think ) was one of them, and every spectator out on the deck felt so sorry for this guy that we all contemplated just feeding him a salmon from the store. Thankfully our better instincts (and a warning from the ranger) prevented us from doing so. So all we could do was just watch nature take its course.
Katmai National Park
AK USA
The Arrival of Spring
In the PNW, there are many signs of the seasonal changes in the spring. However, my favorite amongst those is the bloom of the tulips in the many farms that dot the Skagit Valley of Washington. Acres of carefully maintained gardens featuring a bounty of different kind of flowers provide plenty of splendid opportunities for photography. Here is one such farm at sunrise featuring a silhouette of Mt Baker.
Skagit Valley
WA USA
2023 Photography Calendar
My 2023 landscape and nature photography calendar is now available for sale through Lulu
This calendar showcases a wide variety of landscapes from the frozen slopes of the Arctic and the Pacific Northwest to the sun-drenched cities of Italy. With the pandemic easing, we have been blessed to be able to travel and explore the different corners of the country and the world. And this calendar has captured my favorite memories and experiences.
And remember, this calendar is for a good cause - all proceeds will get donated to Sierra Club Foundation. We are gifted to have such amazing public lands, and having visited 54 National Parks and many more wilderness areas, I have come to realize the vital importance of our public lands system in protecting and preserving nature, culture, wildlife, and landscapes for the future. The Sierra Club Foundation helps secure protections for public lands and waters, promote healthy ecosystems and communities, and fight for clean air and water, and build a diverse, inclusive environmental movement that reflects and represents today’s American public, and prioritizes important connections between environmental health and social justice.
Seattle WA
USA
Shadows and light in the Palouse
The warm yellow hues of the late afternoon light, juxtaposed against the gentle shadows on the rolling terrain of the region, add the right bit of drama and depth to a scene that would been boring under the mid-day sun.
Here is one such composition where the light highlights the undulating terrain.
Palouse
WA USA
Aftermath of a thunderstorm
The thunderstorm reason usually passes by the Palouse region a bit before the summer seasons. During the summer, one is typically greeted by bluebird skies over the rolling green fields. However, that is not particularly conducive to photography.
I wasn't hoping to get great weather in a trip earlier this year, but I was a bit more lucky with the weather patterns. Even though it was late June, cumulus clouds continued to roll over the region, an aftermath of a wet weather pattern. That lead to a nice pattern of shadow and light over lush wheat fields.
Palouse
WA USA
Junuary
While summer has officially begun in the Pacific Northwest, it quite doesn't feel like one yet, especially when compared to the halcyon days of June last year. But I am not complaining as the rainy days have kept the temperatures cooler and landscape in spring-like conditions well into summer. I still get psyched about seeing puffy clouds march endlessly into the horizon, and colorful wildflowers showing off their blooms well into June.
While hiking recently along the Columbia River Gorge, I captured a few photos that symbolized the fresh conditions that the wet Pacific Northwest has been having.
Columbia River Gorge
WA USA
Spring in the step
Even though the tulip blooms only last a couple of weeks, they put on a kaleidoscopic show of color that draws in tourists in record numbers. Perhaps it is their fleeting nature that makes them so special - they certainly would lose their charm if their blooms last the entire year.
Which one do you like the most?
Skagit Valley
WA USA
Light in the glade
Earlier this year, I embarked on an short winter hike on a remarkably sunny day. Hiking through the thin fog that hugged the forest floor, I came across this scene where the sun broke through the fog. I realized this was the perfect opportunity to capture the volumetric lighting enabled by this fog. Specifically, I was looking for the chiaroscuro from the sunlight striking the trees trunks in a specific angle, wile leaving the rest of it in shadows. With the right framing, this can lead to a powerful composition
Mt Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
Horsetail Falls
Nestled in one of the lush green canyons lining the Columbia river gorge, this waterfall tumbles over an overhang of basalt columns. When I visited this place in spring, I saw the ribbon of white twisting its way through the lush undergrowth. The black walls of the canyon were adorned with fresh growth of mosses and lichens fed by the mist from the gushing falls. From this vantage point, I could spy the trail going under the overhang to give a unique perspective of the waterfall.
Columbia River Gorge
OR USA