“Chinook Summer – Mid-July brought monsoon moisture and the threat of lightning to the Pacific Northwest—the perfect excuse to head into Mount Rainier National Park to chase some sunset drama. By mid-summer, the park is fully awake. The trails are clear, and alpine wildflowers are beginning to peak. This year, the upper Tipsoo alpine basin was a vibrant Garden of Eden, bursting with a dense bloom of lupine.
Hoping for a dynamic cumulus sky to backdrop Tahoma, I began scouting for a foreground that would tie the bounty of wildflowers to Tipsoo Lake and the mountain beyond. I eventually settled on a small trailside creek framed by lupine, paintbrush, and aster. After setting up my gear and tweaking a few test shots, it was time to hurry up and wait.
The patience paid off. A breathtaking sunset unfolded, illuminating rare mammatus clouds that signaled the approaching storm. To capture the immense dynamic range of the scene, I shot a series of exposures focusing on the foreground, midground, and mountain. The final piece is a focus-stacked blend of three images, preserving the incredible atmosphere of that fleeting summer evening.”
