PNW Photo Spot?

[highkrausen]

Anyone have some last ditch recommendations on some good locations I can visit for some large/medium format this weekend?

I'm looking for some landscape scenes, dense forest, maybe mountain peaks, snow, mossy river valley, etc. Would love somewhere with high likelihood of fog?

Ideas:
Vance Creek Bridge - not sure if I want to put up with the hassle of climbing up.
Colonel Bob's Peak - I'm assuming this hike will be longer than anticipated (or impossible?) given the time of year? Anyone have experience there in winter?
Snoqualmie area?
Anywhere else recommended East or North of Seattle?

Weather looks like Rain/Snow pretty much everywhere tomorrow, which might put a limitation on travel with a rental car too.

Hoping to shoot sunrise to sunset.

[MAubrey]

There's plenty of dense forests in Larrabee State Park and you're right on the shore, too.

[Leszek Vogt]

I was going to send you to a nice place in Cascades, but the snow, as per forecast, will not stop till Mon some times. Hmm, identical with Mt Rainier. Perhaps you can try Snoqualmie Falls (from lower level) if there is a break in the weather.
Kinda like planning on snow in Yos :p

Les

[highkrausen]

Thanks. Today was a disaster. Just too wet to take the camera out. Might look into Thurs/Fri or come back in July ;)

For the record, I made it a ways towards Snoqualmie Pass and turned around. Wasn't worth the 2hr drive. Traffic was horrendous and near whiteout.

[domaz]

Lowland snow can really cause bad traffic conditions in the Puget sound area as you found out. The threat is passed now for a while at least. Here are some of my recommendations for photo spots if you want a short drive or longer drive:

Short(ish) drive:
1. Penrose Point State park - nice little state park on the Key Pennisula. It's a greay rainy day destination, it takes on the PNW mood well.
2. Nisqually NWR - Between Olympia and Tacoma, it's a restored tidal estuary. The landscape is stark and minimal at low tide, which is different than general PNW scenery.
3. Point Defiance- the biggest urban park in the Puget sound region (maybe the country?). Beaches and big trees galore

Longer drives:
1. Mt Rainier / Paradise - It's a classic, unless the weather is good you will likely get more fog than you desire. Bring your snowshoes and tire chains and winter gear.
2. Dungeness Spit (Olympic Peninsula)- Another Wildlife refuge, a long sand spit beach with lots of driftwood, makes for interesting shots. It's also in Sequim which is a small rainshow area of the PNW, so this can be a good place to check out when it's raining everywhere else. Go at low tide.
3. Fort Worden State Park (Port Townsend area)- This is a very interesting park with an abandoned fort and some other maritime equipment (boat in grass etc). Lots of interesting photo opportunities here.

[tgtaylor]

For wet weather shooting I use a Pentax 67II the body of which is protected by a camera "rain coat" leaving just the UV filter exposed to the rain.

Thomas

[chassis]

Sorry to have missed the OP's deadline. For the benefit of future readers:

- Sandy River area near Portland, OR. Can't remember the exact spot, but there are some nice dense forests, and also some open vistas into a river valley. Douglas firs, big cedars and moss. Bald eagles are to be found here.

- Queets, WA area, specifically Kalaloch Lodge at Olympic National Park. The shore is very good, if that's your thing. On the east side of Highway 101 there is a dense rain forest, typical of this area. Big ferns and lots of moss.

- Snoqualmie area, specifically near North Bend, WA. Drive up National Forest Road NF-5600 along the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River. Forests, river scenes and valley views.