I had grand plans to be up at 4am to scoot up to Hurrican Ridge to catch the sunrise. The plans didn’t last. It was tough enough to drag myself out of bed at 5:45am for the regular 6:45am pickup. Like yesterday, Peter and Layla arrived at the exact same time I did. Couldn’t have worked out better.
We were the last up the ridge, which was fine with us.
The light was flat, the mountains dark, the clouds thin and whitening the whole pale, pale blue sky. I bought a graduated neutral density for just this reason–to darken the sky so my camera could handle the sharp contrasts. I forgot to use it.
Another tough subject. No foreground, constrasty subject. My hopes for this trip was to get one great shot I could use for my Christmas cards this year. But I’m beginning to despair of a great shot. I’ll settle with learning some great new techniques and getting some nice, but not stellar shots.
Peter, Layla and I were the first to leave the ridge, which was fine with us.
It wasn’t even 9am, and our afternoon subject would begin at 12:30pm. On the way down, we ran into some deer, which consumed a bit of time. After that, my first thought as navigator was to head to the harbor for some reflections. But it was windy (no reflections), so we headed back to the Marymere Falls trailhead from Day 1, this time to focus on Lake Crescent. Peter stopped us on the way to shoot some forget-me-nots, which eventually pulled me in, too.
Tongue Point was our 12:30 appointment, and for once on this trip, we had a challenging subject that yielded some good shots, with a lot of work. The weather wasn’t fighting us, the 
subject wasn’t foreign to me. Not that I had ever shot tidal pools before, but close-up/detail work and color are things with which I’m familiar. But we did have to work: the entire path was encrusted with barnacles and shells and slippery slimy kelp. Our subjects–anemones, starfish, etc.–were hidden in cracks and crevices, behind kelp and rocks.
Low tide was 2pm, and a few moments after that, someone told me that a cluster of serving-bowl-sized, multi-colored starfish were clumped together right where the waves were coming in. I was entranced, so much so, that I didn’t realize the tide was coming in until my right boot was almost entirely underwater.
Next, the harbor again. I wandered a bit, but was bored, and when two boat-owners engaged me in conversation, I put my camera aside and began chatting. They gave me a tip: a 1920s wooden sailboat originally commissioned and owned by prize fighter Jack Dempsey was up in drydock for repairs. I went up to the repair shop, started chatting up the workers, and soon enough, I was talking to the Capella‘s new owner. I didn’t really get any interesting shots, but it was fun to wander the drydock during working hours with permission.
Not much after that, though. Sunset was back at Ediz Hook, but the most memorable moments were the local reporter, the crazy lady telling us how to get the best shots, and the conversation I had with one workshop participant about Microsoft’s fantastic ability to burn money like fuel (he’s a Microsoft partner).
Tomorrow, we meet at 7am for one last morning destination, and then the workshop is over. Tough, frustrating, but a good challenge.
I vote for the clumps of multi-colored star fish. They are just awesome and not seen by many people. …. for the Christmas card I mean. And yes you sure have got water falls licked!