Today we have some mountain photos (and a flower) by reader Jim Blilie. His narrative and captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
Here’s another set of my landscape photos for your consideration.
These are another set from Washington State, where I have lived most of my adult life. I moved here in 1984 to enjoy the outdoors and spent my 20s and 30s mountaineering, sea- and whitewater-kayaking, and back-country 3-pin skiing. We still enjoy hiking; but my climbing and skiing days are long in the past. I have tried to make sure that none of these are repeats; but it’s possible one or two slipped through my review.
First, a summit shot, looking south, from Whitehorse Mountain, which is prominently visible from the northern Puget Sound area and looms above Darrington, Washington. We made a winter ascent in February 1986.
Next is a shot of Mount Rainier from near Tacoma, Washington, taken in January 1990:
Also taken in January 1990, a shot of Lake Washington at sunset:
Climbers on the Easton Glacier on Mount Baker. March 1990:
Aerial view of the crater of Mount Saint Helens, taken from a Cessna 72 (the old fashioned way), March 1990:
View of the rising moon and some islands from the top of Mount Constitution on Orcas Island, July 1990; Pentax A 400mm f/5.6 lens with matched 2X teleconverter:
View of the summit crest of Mount Rainier, taken on a climb in February 1988:
A view of Mount Adams, out current neighbor, from the north from the Goat Rocks Wilderness, October 1986:
Climbers on Desperation Peak in the eastern Olympic Mountains, July 1989:
Grass Widow flowers (Olsynium douglasii), taken on Mount Erie, near Anacortes, Washington, 1990:
Misty mountain ridges in the central Cascades, September 1990:
Finally, a ringer. Me on the summit of Dome Peak, August 1986. I did the Ptarmigan Traverse that month with a group of climbing friends, climbing seven peaks along the route:
All images are scanned Kodachrome 64 with minor global adjustments in Lightroom, except for the photo of Mount Rainier which is scanned Fujichrome.
Equipment: Pentax ME Super and K-1000 camerasPentax M 20mm f/4 lens
Tokina ATX 80-200mm f/2.8 lens (this was a superb after-market lens)
Pentax A 400mm f/5.6 lens with matched 2X teleconverter
Pentax A 35-105mm f/3.5 lens
Could be one or two other Pentax M series lenses, not 100% sure
Ridiculous – the good kind – as in, astonishing beauty and magnificence that pretty much causes the equivalent of a computer crash in my head.
Amazing pictures and even more amazing adventures! I am just in awe.
Thank you! Beautiful pictures. You captured the essence of our Pacific NW. (from an Oregon neighbor)
Loved ’em all but was especially taken with the “Misty mountain ridges” shot.
I think I’d have cropped the bottom from it halfway down that bottom cloud, then it’s stunning.
Fantastic. This is one of the reasons I live in the Pacific Northwest. The Cascades to the east, Puget Sound to the west, the San Juan Islands to the north. It’s unbelievable, but it’s all here.
Thanks for sharing Jim. Loved misty mountain ridges as it brought back memories from my summit hikes in southwest VA years ago, looking toward North Carolina and Tennessee. Dome Peak certainly looks like a young man’s game!
The spectacular mountains and scenery of the US, thank you.
I am always in admiration of climbers, something I tried but realised it is just not for me, the reward of the views must be well worth the skill and time. Not for the faint hearted!
Stunning images.
You just can’t beat Fujichrome slide film.
Images are almost 3 dimensional when viewed on a slide projector.
I shot with Kodochrome and Fujichrome with a Nikonos 5 underwater camera back in the day.
Wonderful and breathtaking photos! Wow!
These are wonderful. I especially am impressed with the one on Desperation Peak.
As others have said – truly stunning!
Ooh, that Lake Washington sunset!