Seeing Beyond the Grey

Today’s post finds me harking back to my time at Mount Rainier National Park. I had just come off a great couple of days in the very remote regions known as North Cascades National Park. I had a great time photographing the Lark trees and shooting one of perhaps my most favorites shots thus far in my life, the sun coming up over Diablo Lake. Wow, what a shot.

After spending a few days braving the cold in North Cascades, I thought I’d make my way to Mount Rainier and began the drive south past Spokane and Seattle.

About 75 miles or so outside the park, the massive Mountain made itself visible and it’s a sight to behold. I drove toward it eagerly anticipating a few awesome days of photography. It’s amazing to me how quickly the environment can change.

As I ascended the roadway leading to the eventual park entrance clouds began to blow in and before long, the entire peak and 1/2 the top of the mountain was fully encased in clouds, never to make itself seen again during my time at the location.

While I held out hope the scenario would change, it never did. This challenged me some regarding my ability to see something, anything that might be worthy of photographing.

Eventually with some patience and some scouting, I was able to indeed find a few scenarios which allowed for some decent landscape photography opportunity.

It required some creative thinking and some patience.

In my mind, this sort of acts as a metaphor for our lives. Not every day will be a sunny day. Ask me, I can tell you that’s the truth, living through my own set of personal challenges right now.

I’m having my own set of “cloudy days” that don’t seem to want to quit. And time seems to drag for a long time.

God knows, however, the ultimate plan for my personal well being. He is in full control.

It’s easy as a human being to think that I have the control. I try and figure it all out, work it to conform itself to my personal wishes. Often times, however, I end up frustrated and never really see the results for that which I would like or hope.

Denial of reality tends to make matters worse as I stubbornly try and finagle situations to my liking and desires. More often than not these are attempts to avoid the scary things. Those things which would require a true stance in faith.

It’s the faith which needs to grow in response to the cloudy times.

The sun is up there, behind those clouds, and it’s this fact I always need to remember. However, as you can see from the image of the side of Mount Rainier, beauty CAN be found in spite of the clouds.

It may require some extra effort, or as in the case of photography of the Box Canyon on the Wonderland Trail, looking in a direction you may not have fully planned.

To see Mount Rainier in all it’s beauty will generally require one to look UP. As it was not visible, I had to look other directions. I found a nice shot on the Box Canyon trail, part of the Wonderland Trail.

While the trip to Mount Rainier and it’s photography wasn’t what I had hoped, I did the best I could given the parameters I was being dealt.

There’s always another trip, another day, another week in which I can find ways to photograph that mountain. It will, for this time, have to wait

I hope you enjoy the video attached which details the photography adventure to the park.

Until next time,

rob out