Not all landscape photography can be done at sunrise and sunset. I went out to Mt. Hood a little while ago, and I wasn't really planning on being very serious with taking photos. I took my camera along anyways, and I tried to create interesting images when the light was just not that good.

We started the day adventuring up to and around Mirror Lake. Its not a relaxed hike as it goes straight up a mountain, but it is also not super strenuous either. We hiked up loosely following a small stream to the lake where it is sheltered from wind on all sides allowing the water to be completely smooth and glass-like. It created gorgeous reflections of the clouds we were lucky enough to have as I played around with different compositions and settings.

We ended up finding a few spots to hang out, and Alexis found giant crawdads to play with. You can just see how incredible the water is though up there, and it adds to my belief that you can't beat mountain lakes! You'll still see me going to the coast a lot, but the mountains are where my camera is clicking away the most! 

After leaving Mirror Lake we went straight to getting food. Government Camp has a great little dinner in the Huckleberry Inn where we got some good sustenance before continuing the mountain adventures. We saw one lake that was almost completely dried up in addition to the stunning Trillium Lake. I shot some stuff of Mt. Hood from Trillium Lake before moving on to another location using my 10-stop ND Filter that ended up being my favorite shots of the day!

I really enjoyed shooting while ducks swam around in front of me. I actually used my iPhone to take a photo of the ducks because it was quicker and easier. That photo actually turned out pretty nice for a phone camera! 

The next shot is a blending of two images. One is an 8 second exposure of the water to turn it into a glassy effect reflecting the clouds above, and the top part is exposed without a filter on for the sky maximizing sharpness. The light was fairly harsh, but I think the processing and way it was captured maximize the interest and beauty of the location given the opportunity I had!

We then went out to Frog Lake that was sort of disappointing as a location for photography, but the mud had a really satisfying 'squish' to walk on! Alexis also posed for some really great portraits at the lake as we enjoyed the rest of our day in the mountains.