Sunrise Burns away the Spring Frost

 

The warm sun of a spring morning rises over the frigid fields, burning away the frost left by the icy grip of winter. Crystals fall to shining pearlescent dew that gilds the fronds of new green grass like a billion jewels, stars shining in a green void as if embedded in an emerald cosmos. Soon the frost will no more silence the chorus of fogs, and birds will fill the sky with song. Spring has finally arrived.

Mavic 3 Cold Weather Test

 

The DJI Mavic 3 captures amazing photo and video quality, and is also capable of flying in temps as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit. For this video I flew in weather approaching that level of extreme cold, and the Mavic 3 performed perfectly. 

Summit Lake Legacy Forest - Stop the Delica timber sale!

 

Summit Lake is the brilliant, crystalline gem of the Capitol Hills. Folded into the northern flank of that small, forested mountain range, Summit Lake is home to salmon and people alike, and both depend on its clear, clean water. That water quality is dependent on the wild forests that blanket its watershed, and unfortunately that water source from which people drink and in which salmon spawn is threatened by the "Delica" timber sale.

Beatty Creek Legacy Forests - Big Trees in Peril

 

The deep, quiet valley of Beatty Creek is one of the few wild valleys home to big trees and diverse, natural legacy forest left in the Capitol Hills. Here can be found a vibrant, native ecosystem largely untouched in over a century, with large remnant old growth trees that stood watch over the landscape long before Europeans set foot in the Pacific Northwest. Sadly, this beautiful forest is in imminent danger, as the Washington Department of Natural Resources (WA DNR) has put most of the irreplaceable forest here on the chopping block. The Smuggler and Oracle timber sales should be canceled, and the forest granted the permanent protection it deserves.

Lowland prairie on a quiet winter day

 

In the mysteriously lumpy prairies of Western Washington, winter is a quiet and subdued season. Oak trees stand with twisted branches bare against the faltering light of January, and the marshes concealed beneath high water. Shadows race over the open plain and through the dense forests which so closely border it as low clouds scud quickly overhead.

The Razors Edge of Winter

 

The fine line between resplendent green foothills and snow laden alpine peaks is but a razors edge delineating the kodachrome world of color and the monochrome world of the mountain winterscape. In this thin limbo between snow and sleeping emerald forest, nature holds its breath, unsure of whether to wake or sleep, it waits for the battle between the warmth of the slumbering valley and the resolute chill of the sky to duke it out and settle the their differences. The war of the snowline rages on till spring brings reinforcements from the south to drive the winter the highest peaks to nurse its wounds and rally its forces for the inevitable turning of the earth to bring about its downward march once again.

Severe Flooding in the Pacific Northwest

Severe weather brought major flooding to the lowlands of Southwest Washington in the Pacific Northwest this week. Many roads were underwater, including a long stretch of the I-5 freeway. Towns such as Centralia, Chehalis, and Kelso were seriously affected. This natural disaster is the second of its kind to hit the region within the last few months, and such disasters are only likely to grow more devastating and frequent as climate change alters our global and regional weather patterns.

Aerial segments of this video were all filmed with the Mavic 3. The Nikon Z6 +70-200mm 2.8 S was used to film the clips captured from the ground. I really appreciated having the 7x optical zoom on the Mavic 3, as it was often impossible to get close to the flooding due to road closures and generally hazardous conditions.