As I now sit here, about to post a few of the photos from the trip, I listen to some mellow folk music that go well with these photos.  It makes me appreciative of the area where I live.  Out of the few shots that were the likes to my eyes, the shot of the bridge over the creek without the waterfall is my favorite.

The rest of the camping trip was spent with the family at the campground, enjoying our time together.  Julie and I went back to the same waterfall with Julie’s brother and our twin nephew and niece, who are 6.  It was great to see the excitement of the twins when we hiked into the beautiful landscapes that Oregon has to offer.  I hope the excitement of being in nature lasts for them as it does me.

I packed up my gear and headed out.  My wife, Julie, wanted to come along and be my assistant.  It was a little over a 2-hour drive.  In the many years I lived in Portland, I will shamefully say  that I have never been out to the mountain before this experience and that was a mistake!

We drove up I-5 and took exit 49 to get onto the road that leads to Mt. St. Helens.  It was 52-mile climb to Johnston Ridge Observatory that sits at just above 4300 feet, 5 1/2 miles from the crater.  With the clouds rolling through the mountains, I could tell it was going to be a breathtaking experience once we got up to the observatory .  I was eager to pull off the road and start taking photos, but I was on a time crunch to meet the group at 2:30pm.

We finally arrived and I spotted the group right away, satisfied to see that it was a bit smaller than other worldwide photo walk groups I was involved with in  past.  I could tell this was going to be a good group because they were willing to take the time to drive out there and had a love of nature;I was right.  I joined the group, met our group leader, Scott Batchelar, and we were on our way.

By the time we walked around and up the hill to get to a good spot to start shooting, a big cloud had moved in front of the mountain.  It was a disappointment at first, but it encouraged me to look around at the smaller things and that’s when inspiration hit me.  I saw some tree stumps on a hill and I envisioned the composition and that it was going to be an HDR shot right away. I went ahead and started taking multiple exposures for the HDR photo. UPDATE: The HDR photo has been updated from the original posting to bring out the detail of the stumps and have it a little bit brighter overall.

By the time the tree stump photos were taken for the HDR, the sun started to peek through the clouds and cast a brilliant light across the landscape.  This was the moment I was waiting for and couldn’t have been any happier.

Looking behind me, I saw sun spots along the road we drove up on.

Looking to the right of the above shot and at the mountains in the distance, there was another scene I could not miss!

Brilliant light was all over the place that I could not keep up with everything I wanted to capture on camera.  It was a truly breathtaking experience.

Within our group, we had Ken Sandusky of US Forest Service take us to the Coldwater Visitor Center, which was closed to the general public in 2007.  From there, we were able to see the the mountain 8 miles away as well as Coldwater Lake.  We were able to walk on their paved trails and enjoy the sights and sounds of the area.  For a moment, I took my concentration away from the mountains and focused on the real small things.  I put on my macro extender and started taking photos.  It was not until I got home and viewed it on the big screen that I had a cool shot.  Can you spot what makes it neat?

Turning my focus back to the mountains, the clouds were still hanging around.  I could not resist in taking a few more photos.  When I returned home and looked at the last shots on the big screen, they were just beautiful in black and white.

Out-of-this-world amazing experience!

This was by far the most successful landscape photo outing I have had in a very long time.  Mt. St. Helens will see me again soon;  it is now one of my favorite places in the northwest to go explore in.  To complete the Worldwide Photo Walk event, I now have to choose ONE photo to submit to the group for a contest.  With having this kind of result, it will be a very tough choice for me.  Do you have a favorite?

The walking event also included a contest where the best photo from the group was submitted to the worldwide contest, which big prizes could be won.  I, of course, submitted this photo, but unfortunately I didn’t win the best photo of the group and was ok with that; I had a great portfolio piece based on my eyes.  I later submitted the photo in another contest within the Columbia Council photo club, in which clubs from California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho participate in, and won honorable mentions for the photograph.  I learned two valuable lessons from the photo walk- 1. You can find GREAT photographs within your local neighborhoods. 2.  If your photo doesn’t do well in one contest, submit it to another; you’ll never know who’s eyes will be seeing it.

We went on a few tours in Puerto Vallarta that included snorkeling, kayaking, and candle-lit dinner with a show on a remote island, but one of my favorites was an off-road adventure into the small towns and farmlands of Mexico. At one of the stops, we met a women whose family grew corn, grounded it, and made their own tortillas. The woman was making the tortillas as the off-road truck pulled in. She was making them for our group to go along with fresh pinto beans (known as Mexican meat by the locals), cactus salad, salsa, and guacamole. I was able to capture an experience that signified her way of living. We were honored to be welcomed into her home and was an adventure we would never forget.