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Mount Rainier National Park

Photography In The National Parks: The Faces Of Winter

There are many faces to winter in a national park. Some park units have no snow, while others host feet of the fluffy white stuff. On sunny days, the atmosphere is clear and sharp, producing saturated colors for your camera. On not-so-sunny days, your camera’s LCD lens might be filled with varying shades of gray and white. Contributing photographer Rebecca Latson provides examples of what you might see through your camera’s lens and how to prepare for winter photography in a national park.

Photography In The National Parks: Capturing The Colors And Character Of Fall

Fall is that magical time of year when the air is crisp and clear and the leaves in many park units change from summer green to saturated shades of yellow, gold, orange and red. In this month’s column, contributing photographer Rebecca Latson discusses capturing those colors in your national park photography.

Autumn Moonlight And Mist Over The Mountain, Mount Rainier National Park

A foreground of brilliant red and orange huckleberry bushes light up by moonlight, with a tall, snowcapped mountain in the background wrapped in a light veil of mist, all  beneath a dark sky dotted with stars, Mount Rainier National Park

There's a quote by John Muir etched into the steps leading up to the network of trails in the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State: "...The most luxuriant and the most extravagantly beautiful of all the alpine gardens I ever beheld in all my mountain-top wanderings." Muir must have seen this spot in the late spring or early summer, when the wildflowers were beginning to reach their peak. Do you think he ever saw this spot in the autumn as well, when the huckleberry bushes turned shades of brilliant red and orange?

Rebecca Latson

INN Member

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