Hiking Rampart Ridge last April gave a view of Mount Rainier that isn’t often seen. But this particular perspective showed something more: the expanse and beauty of Washington’s Central Cascades are not limited to “The Mountain”; there are numerous other land formations—mountains, hills, valleys, forests, ridges, etc.—that are just as worthy of our attention.
This image has an S-line that takes the viewer up through Pyramid Creek Valley to the hills at the base of Mount Rainier, back left to Copper Mountain, then to Pyramid Peak in the center, and finally on to Mount Rainier. When viewing and photographing landscapes, I believe it is important to take in and capture as much of a scene as possible, rather than only hyper-focusing on “icons” (while I absolutely believe that has its place as well). For me, this is both a fundamentally good practice and a practical way to produce more unique and variable images, even from “cliché” locations.
