Heather Lake
One of the first hikes I did in Washington shortly after arriving for my job was a short 4-mile day hike to Heather Lake. I actually hadn't even planned on...
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One of the first hikes I did in Washington shortly after arriving for my job was a short 4-mile day hike to Heather Lake. I actually hadn't even planned on doing any hiking that day but thought, eh why not? it's only 4 miles! Well I'm here to say that hiking with no supplies nor the right gear is rather strenuous when there's a fairly significant elevation gain... alas the final view of the lake was completely worth it, as it sat almost placid tucked away in the Cascade Mountains and allowed for me to take some wonderful shots of the wall of rock dusted with snow reflecting off the lake in the waning hours of the day.
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Mar, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took a day drive out to the Cascades, and stumbled across a trailhead several miles down a dirt road. I decided to do the hike to Heather Lake even without any supplies because it was only a 4 mile trek to the lake. As nice as it would have been to have those provisions, the end result was absolutely worth it, I came up on Heather Lake just as the sun came out and cast a beautiful blue sky above, contrasting wonderfully with the bright green mountainside.Time
Since I stumbled across this hike seemingly at random, I believe I ended up here at some point in the mid afternoon. Sometimes I like to just shoot at whatever point in the day just to work with what I'm given, I think it adds an interesting challenge to a shot when you have no idea what kind of light you are going to be working with.Lighting
Given that I had a mostly clear sky by this point in the afternoon, I had something to work with. The lake was tucked neatly at elevation in a sort of bowl, with the peaks rising above one side, which eventually gave me some fun shadows to play with as the sun disappeared behind the crags.Equipment
I shot this with my Canon EOS Rebel t2i, with the EF-S 10-22mm USM wide angle lens.Inspiration
Seeing the mountain so clearly reflected on the lake surface was just incredible. The trail loops around the lake, but finding the right spot for a good shot was a bit difficult until I came all the way around to the side where I shot this. The sun had gone down just enough to start casting shadows on the mountainside, and I saw an opportunity to add some symmetry to my shot, which is something I really enjoy.Editing
I tweaked the lighter areas and the shadows just a bit to give the image better contrast, as well as adding in some color that had been lost. My t2i is at least 5 years old by now, and has been used heavily, so I have noticed a lack in certain qualities of my RAW images, requiring a bit more post-processing. Also I really wanted to make the color and contrast give the image more pop.In my camera bag
I have been carrying all the equipment I own in my bag, which at the time this image was shot was: Canon EOS Rebel t2i, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8, Canon EF 100-300mm, Canon EF-S 18-55mm (kit lens), and the Canon EF-S 10-22mm USM. Since then I have bought a new body, and added another lens to my equipment.Feedback
I have only been on this hike one time, however for any shooting done in the Cascades of Washington, I would certainly recommend bringing a tripod, wide angle lenses, ND and polarizing filters. It's tough to have a clear sky day out here so check the weather often and plan for neutral skies or rain often. Otherwise for this specific location, I would suggest going at different times of year just to see what the lake looks like, I admit I'd love to do this hike in the winter when the mountains are covered in snow. For the composition, however, if you are hoping to achieve symmetry like this, hope for less wind and always try to add a little more, even if it's something seemingly insignificant as a rock jetting out of the water in the foreground. I prefer simpler compositions which can emphasize the pure natural beauty of a landscape without trying to include everything in the frame, it gets too distracting.
