Mount Rainier Wildflower Bloom...

[Scott Rosenberg]

i'm planning a trip to mt. rainier national park to shoot the wildflower blooms. as this will be my first time in park, i was hoping to elicit some suggestions for nice spots to shoot from. speaking to the folks in the park, it sounds like the paradise area is not to be missed. Any other suggestions?

Many thanks,

[Eric James]

Spray Park is great, but it's a long way from Paradise.

[eric black]

Wasnt a considerable amount of this park closed due to damage from heavy rains last year? Anybody have an update?

[Scott Rosenberg]

Wasnt a considerable amount of this park closed due to damage from heavy rains last year? Anybody have an update?

http://www.nps.gov/mora/parknews/november-2006-flooding.htm

[Scott Knowles]

I keep an on-line resource, information and access guide to Mt. Rainier NP, which can be found at http://www.wsrphoto.com/mtnews.html. It's a month out of date, but the only change I need to add for July is that the road to Paradise is open to cars until the lot fills after which you have to park at the lower campgrounds and take the shuttle. But everything is open as can be expected, only the Carbon River road at the entrance and Highway 123 from the Stevens Canyon turn to Cayuse Pass are still closed due to washouts.

I eventually plan to update the Website with a photography guide with maps, directions and information, but it's a 2-3+ year plan and an eventual on-line book. Suggestions always welcome.

[Paul Metcalf]

i'm planning a trip to mt. rainier national park to shoot the wildflower blooms. as this will be my first time in park, i was hoping to elicit some suggestions for nice spots to shoot from. speaking to the folks in the park, it sounds like the paradise area is not to be missed. Any other suggestions?

Many thanks, Are you hiking? If so, Wonderland trail from Box Canyon trailhead up to Indian Bar area (first pic attached). Not sure about access to trail head after floods. Second recommendations for Spray Park but hike up to Ptarmigan ridge if you can (second and third photos).

[Ben Chase]

Are you hiking? If so, Wonderland trail from Box Canyon trailhead up to Indian Bar area (first pic attached). Not sure about access to trail head after floods. Second recommendations for Spray Park but hike up to Ptarmigan ridge if you can (second and third photos).

I spent much of my boyhood in the Scouts in this area and would also highly recommend Ptarmigan ridge.

Nice pics by the way!

[John Berry]

I'm going up there today. I'll provide a sitrep later in the day.

[Ben Chase]

I'm going up there today. I'll provide a sitrep later in the day.

Beware the marmots, they have been known to carry away small children and pets for food! :)

[John Berry]

I made it back OK, nary a marmot touched me. There is some color but nothing to rave about. I ask one ranger, and she said that the peak was about a week and a half ago. There is some that looks like it is coming in, so there might be another small burst of color. I wouldn't plan on a wide shot of color, but there is enough for close and small area shots. The weather was clear and about 75. Not a cloud in the sky ( read that dull ). Since I rode my bike up there I only took my 6x9 super Ikonta. ( not a bad get by )Then again, unless it's socked in, on the worst days the mountain is still impressive. Sorry I couldn't bring better news. Still I wouldn't dissuade anyone from making the trip.

[Brian Sims]

Beware the marmots, they have been known to carry away small children and pets for food! -- Ben Chase

Ben's right. And the fumes from marmot urine have been known to fog the glues in old lenses, melt the coatings on new ones, and add the equivalent of a 3 second argon light pre-exposure to most B&W films.

[John Berry]

In their defence though, they will "almost" stand still long enough to get a LF shot of them. I think the sound of a darkslide being pulled must scare the hell out of them. I think it's fun to tell people that arn't from the area that they are rats that have been exposed to radiation from under the mountain.

[John Berry]

Here is what was there the other day.

[Ben Chase]

In their defence though, they will "almost" stand still long enough to get a LF shot of them. I think the sound of a darkslide being pulled must scare the hell out of them. I think it's fun to tell people that arn't from the area that they are rats that have been exposed to radiation from under the mountain.

I made my younger brother mortally terrified of them as a young child after telling him that they would eat him in his sleep.

[Scott Knowles]

In their defence though, they will "almost" stand still long enough to get a LF shot of them.

Thanks for reminding me. A few years ago coming home from a day hike, I had just left Longmire when I spotted a LF photographer alongside the road. He had everything set up and was holding a big wind break while controlling the shutter release. The subject was a single, large wildflower in bloom.

I drove past and parked, and walked back to see if he wanted help. After all he was trying to photograph a wildflower on a windy day alongside the highway. Anyway, his wife wrote biology text books and he helped with the photographs (always LF). After a few minutes he said that after 12 exposures he's not sure what he got, and packed up. He said his wife will just have to do with what he got.

So it was a reminder in LF, things can always be worse, like trying to photograph a wildflower alongside a busy highway on a windy day.