With all the news about the wild fires growing between Leavenworth and Steven Pass, it blows me away that we were just there camping! No more than 4 days prior. We were probably about 10-15 miles south of the fires too. However, at the time we were there, it was extremely hot and we didn't do much but enjoy the landscape and take a dip in the water. Our campsite was just an unmarked area, pulled right off the side of the road. Enough to fit the cars, tent and couple chairs to relax in. We did take a hike up the mountain in search of some boulders to climb, but as we topped the hillside we found what appeared to be the remains of prior fires. We walked around of what looked to be the 1994 fire that engulfed Icicle Creek Canyon all over. Anyways, enjoy the photos and do hope that current flames can be put to rest before any more damage is taken. It sure is a beautiful landscape of the Northern Cascades.
Read MoreWhenever I get stuck inside the house on rainy days i'll tend to test out different setups or gear, in this case a lens I borrowed from a fellow photog for the weekend. I don't do this often but I thought it would be nice to do a quick review. This is not a new lens, but an older Russian Zenit model that I have found to be really impressive! Production of these were between 1958 and 1960. It's all manual focus with focus confirmation, as well as manual aperture control. It has a max aperture stop so you can limit your f-stop. As shown below I always left it at 8, but it would be fine 4 or even 2.8 :) This lens has an attached, built-in lens hood so you never have the trouble of losing or twisting on/off like other hood types. The storage case is a solid tube that holds up to 3 or 4 filters stacked. And to top it off, a nice gun metal finish to let everyone know you're serious. See the lens and various sample images below...
Read MoreCouple images I wanted to share of our favorite place in the Pacific Northwest! It's a great place to relax and spend time camping in the Summer. As the season changes to Fall and Winter, it's very interesting to see how the landscape changes from what is normally seen during the summer heat. Can't wait to get some snow up there!
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