Chuckanut Spring
A few days ago I had a little time to kill between appointments in Fairhaven so I headed down to the North Chuckanut trailhead for Bellingham’s Interurban Trail to see what I could find. It was a glorious warm and sunny spring day, somewhat uncommon for late March around here. I didn’t have a lot of time so I didn’t hike far with my camera and tripod slung over my shoulder.
This little waterfall, just above the trail and only a short distance north of the trailhead, is always one of my favorites. I spent most of my time working the falls, finding various angles and watching the late afternoon sunlight play on the water. Of all the images I made that afternoon, this is my favorite, shot with my feet nearly in the creek and my camera low to the ground. An exposure of 1.3 seconds at f/11 blurred the water and the 24mm wide-angle lens expanded the sense of space.
Heading back to the trailhead I liked the way the sun was playing through the trees along the trail and stopped to make a couple of frames. The moss-covered trees are red alders (Alnus rubra). Sword ferns (Polystichum munitum) line the trail, and there are lots of Indian plums (Oemleria cerasiformis) in the woods.