Back to the Scene of the Crime

One year ago I was wandering along Ruby Beach in Washington's Olympic National Park. I was looking at small tide pools when along came a rouge wave. As I turned to get away I tripped over a rock and fell into less than a foot of water. My $7500 1Ds Mark II also went for a little dip. At first I was laughing. Then I could smell the electronics burning. Bummer. End of vacation. End of my 1Ds? (I'm sure to get letters from Nikonians telling me that not only can their D whatever tread water but it can do the backstroke. C'mon let's keep it real.)

Hey I thought maybe, just maybe, Canon could repair it. After all the water didn't go into the chamber with the sensor and mirror. The tripod had kept some the camera above the water line. I drove straight home. It's 1400 miles and took over 22 hours. Then I took the camera to Canon Repair. The day after I got the bad news. It could not be repaired. Bad Sensor, Broken Shutter, the list went on and on. I tried to turn it on everyday for a week, but I finally gave up.

Three months later I decided I would sell the camera for parts on EBay. I bought a 5D and and life would move on. (At least as far as photography goes. It's rather hopeless in rest of my life.) I put the battery in, and much to my surprise the camera came on, and the shutter fired. Wow! I checked it out and everything was working except the buttons on the vertical grip. I took it apart and tried to clean it. I could see a little corrosion on the battery terminals but nothing else. The vertical grip controls still didn't work, but it was obvious that Canon Repair had never taken the camera apart. Bad Canon, bad!

Fast forward to a year after the mishap. What else could I do except go back to the scene of the crime. The famed Ruby Beach of Olympic National Park. Take that. (Well I really don't have much of a line here. I was never good with words that's why I took up photography.) I just had to go back and finish what I started. Two beautiful sunsets later I felt great. Things had come full circle, or so I thought.

Now as for the rest of the trip. I had always wanted to see Sol Duc Falls and driving inland from Ruby Beach it's about an hour. I got up at 4:30 packed and left by 5:15. Then there's the hike in. It's a little less than a mile in, but I had to hurry. There were no overcast skies for me and the sun would be up over the trees in no time. I got there just in time to get a few snaps. I couldn't get the entire bridge in since direct sunlight had begun to hit it. Now for the hike back. I was tired, very tired. About half way back I tripped on a tree root and did face plant. Ouch! I quickly got up and checked out the camera. What ya know - the vertical grip controls now work. Everything works! Now I know as your reading this you think that I must be some klutz, but I've only slipped one other time and that was in deep snow and I managed somehow to keep the camera from hitting the ground. I'm sure my reputation is forever ruined, but my 1Ds Mark II is just fine, and that's what counts.


The pictures above are all from my 1Ds Mark II. Below is a slide show from my trip. 95% is the 1Ds MK II - 5% is the 5D. In 12 days from L.A (10 days of Shooting) : I went to: Olympic National Park, Mt Rainier, Columbia River Gorge, Crater Lake, Redwood National Park, and Rodeo Beach CA. You can also see more in my Washington State 2 Gallery, Redwood National Park Gallery, Misc Central Coast Gallery (Just the Rodeo Beach Photos) and a few of the top photos in my Oregon Gallery.

Photographing Mt. Rainier National Park

I had so much fun hiking and photographing at Mt. Rainier National Park. Easy access, a wide variety of subjects and it wasn't too crowded. (At least weekdays.) In late July I found beautiful skies and an abundance of wildlife and wildflowers. I got more shots in 3 days than I usually get in a week. The Paradise Inn which is inside the park was being remodeled until 2008, so I stayed in the nearby town of Ashford. Just outside the park it's about a 20 minute drive up to the main locations.


Early mornings I would head over to Reflection Lakes. There were 2 lakes and only 3 or 4 photographers so I felt like I had the place all to myself. There wasn't much of a sunrise so I waited until the light began hit some foreground. The lake remained calm for a few minutes and I got some shots in. As the wind picked up I would move on.

Paradise Meadows is known for it's spectacular wildflower displays. The blooms generally start in late July and peak the first week of August. I was there just as things were beginning to heat up. Avalanche Lilies covered the hillsides. Fields of Indian Paintbrush were about to bloom.

The honeycomb trails of Paradise Meadows offer many vantage points. I took the trail up to Upper Myrtle Falls. You'll want to get there midday. Earlier it's in shadow. The wildflowers are easy to spot and deer roam the hillsides.

For sunset I'd travel back to town and stop at some of the turnouts along the way.They over look the valley. Plenty of room to park even if you're in an R.V.


The very first day I saw some foxes playing, but they scurried off before I could get a shot off. I asked around and was told that the picnic area might be good. Wow! Deer, grouse and the foxes, all in one morning! The little red fox cubs even tried to play tag with me. They'd run in and out and then dart at my feet. Apparently people had been feeding them. Mom stood by and watched them. When she figured out that I wasn't going to feed then she ran off and the cubs followed. It was only a couple of minutes, but needless to say it was the highlight of my trip.

There are many grand vistas, waterfalls and hidden treasures left for my next visit. I can't wait. Hope to see ya there!

See more photos of Washington on my photo gallery at http://www.craigwolf.com/
Join Don Gale's Mt. Rainier Photo Workshop at http://www.photographybydon.com/
Plan your own trip with a photo guide on Mt. Rainier http://www.photographamerica.com/.