SCATTER, part two: a second scattering of summer images. You’ll see fall color creeping in, and towards the end, a brief narration of a fall from grace.
Fall from grace: I’d been wanting to see Mt. Baker, one of the state’s highest peaks, for years. We drove north last Sunday and spent the night nearby to get an early start on Monday, when crowds would be thinner. We didn’t sleep well so it wasn’t a very early start…up and up we drove to a short hike along a stony trail at Artist Point in the North Cascades, where views of Mt. Baker, Mt. Shuksan and other peaks have been drawing visitors since the road was completed in 1931. The clear, thin air was cool, the sun strong.
Views morphed as we followed the well worn trail across rocky Kulshan Ridge. At over 5,100′ vistas spread out in all directions, across glacier-scrubbed slopes set with tarns, scree and patches of late summer snow. The gnarled old evergreens and warm-hued heather we saw are smothered under an average of 50′ of snow in winter; road crews must remove signs at the end of each season if they want to use them next year – the weather here is unforgiving.
The mid-September day was calm enough for a butterfly and a few bees to flit among the last tiny alpine flowers. I expected to enjoy the views and complete the circuit.
HOWEVER, I tripped over a rock and took a hard fall on my right arm and left knee, with a taste of gravel in the bargain. After catching my breath, with full support I made it back to the car for the three hour ride to the emergency room. By that evening I had the diagnosis: the knee was badly bruised but not broken, my face only lightly scratched. But the right shoulder – not so great. The humerus shattered where it fits into the socket, and it was well out of the socket. A skilled, patient doctor scrunched it back in and sent me home with pain killers and my arm in a sling. Several days later an orthopedist re-evaluated the shoulder, giving me the all clear to…..yup, just wait. No driving or lifting anything (not even a camera!) with the right arm for a long time. Hopefully by late next month I’ll be out of the sling and driving again. Talk about curtailing freedom…
Well, it WAS a great view up there but not that great! I will take advantage of the down time and get to projects that fell by the wayside this year as work gobbled up my time. I’ll post more, I’ll visit your blogs more, and I’ll certainly perfect the left-handed fork-to-mouth routine!
Mt. Baker:
More soon! 😉
bluebrightly 
All a triumph of “seeing”.
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Coming from you, prof, that’s high praise!
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Oh, bad news about the fall……hope you mend soonest, and don’t have too much down time….
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Or at least can put some of the down time to good use, right?? Thank you, Sue!
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That’s the spirit!
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Good eye and great photos…
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Thank you very much – that’s good to hear…
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I’d just reached your black and white image of the mountain range Lynn and was thinking how isolated and wild it looked …. so sorry to hear of your accident . It doesn’t take much of a trip on unforgiving terrain to sustain a nasty injury does it , 3 hours to hospital must have been agony . Hugs for a speedy recovery although it might not be a quick as you’d like , both daughter and husband dislocated shoulders by way of horse riding / pararchuting (!) and it took a goodly time to repair .
Your photo gallery as always SO lovely … from the blue beauty of the dragonfly to grands scenes and mystical green forests and what is it with rust we can’t resist 🙂 I’ve a batch to look at of my own yet too . Have a good week ahead Lynn , take care xx
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It doesn’t take much, just a simple misstep in a hard place! I suspect it will be a long, slow road back. Thanks so much for your generous thoughts…yes, rust is fun, and isn’t it all, from the minuscule to the monumental!
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🙂 Fine set!
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Thank you!
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Aw, Lynn. Not your camera arm. I’m sorry for your physical pain and trauma, but not being able to photograph is going to be hard on you. And your followers. I’m sure you have hidden treasures in your stash, so maybe this will be a good time to (re)discover and share them. About the photos in today’s collection: You are a master in controlling depth of field in the close-ups! And I love the abstractions of the second and fourth photos—my favorites of the lot. In the fifth photo the whole composition is lovely, and I enjoy how the puffiness of the clouds mimics the shape of that large tree. Best wishes for learning how to do things with your left hand. (I broke my right wrist a few years ago.)
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Oh yeah, the camera arm…I experimented a bit yesterday…use tilt screen so camera can be held with the free hand and the one in the sling, around waist height…not too good! 😉
Yes, a good time to look back, but less time than I thought there might be…and it’s all so slow! I cover half the territory in twice the time. So glad you like the abstracts – they’re fun to do, and freeing. BTW those first closeups were shot with an old SLR lens known for that nice dof effect.
Samples on flickr: https://www.flickr.com/groups/takumar_50mm_f14/pool/
Thanks for the good wishes – I know you’re on my side.;-)
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I’m so sorry about your accident. I’ve never experienced anything so serious, but I’ve had enough experience with things like rotator cuffs and bruised hips to know how painful injuries can be, and how long healing can take. The good news is that you will heal, and with any luck, sooner rather than later.
The photos are lovely. I’m especially taken with the blue damselfly, and the blue butterfly. Of the mountain photos, my favorite is the black and white, where the ice (?) appeared at first glance to be fog. It just kills me that i still can’t get such clarity with my macro shots, but I’m working on it! More time to practice certainly would help. Soon….
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I like your positive spin, my friend! It’s certainly a very gradual process. A cooperative lens that you’re comfortable with goes a long way with those closeups. Often I’m using an Olympus 60mm macro. Not inexpensive but I love it and it’s been worth it. So glad you liked that black & white, I thought it worked better without color. It was a really complicated scene. The only real ice there, I think, are the little white patches on the left. The rest is just really scraped-clean gravel and such. You can see a faint trail across the slope on the right, too – helps with the scale.
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all beautiful … those rust shots in particular speak out, such stillness in the slow change.
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Interesting way to think about it, thank you for saying that, and making me pause…
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Dear Lynn, I’m so sorry to hear about your fall and the obvious pain that you must have experienced at the time and continue to experience I have no doubt. I know only too well how disability can restrict but we always find ways to limit these restrictions as much as we can if we’ve a mind to do so and I’ve no doubt you will have.
These photographs are wonderful as always. I love the way you ‘see’. Really superb work! I’m very much looking forward to seeing the fruits of the projects that have been waiting for, as we were talking about only the other day, a serendipitous moment such as this.
Take care and get will soon! 🙂
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Yes, no doubt! 🙂 Any encouragement from you shines…
Thanks so much for your good words Adrian.
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Sending you gobs of great wishes for a speedy recovery. What an utter bummer to end your hike that way. But I bet I’m going to enjoy seeing you posting more perhaps? I’m such a klutz with my left hand that I’m not sure how I’d manage. Shattering the ankle about six years ago was bad enough. It was many months before I could drive. I bet that three hour drive to civilization must have seemed endless.
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Gobs – cool, I could go for that. Yes, hope post more, though everything is so slow, and I’m trying to work some, too. Many months – perish the thought! Well, it seems many of us have wrecked one body part or another. I’m in good company, eh?
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An impressive selection Lynn, with high marks for seeing, composition, processing and your willingness to experiment. I’m very sorry to hear of your accident – the injuries we suffer for our art! It sounds very painful. I hope you will make a speedy recovery.
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Thank you Louis…I appreciate your thoughts, and hopes. I’m hanging in there, as we say on this side of the pond.
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Such a great diversity of shots ~ the second one seemingly comprising everything nature and natural with its movement, love it. And then to hear about your fall, I winced. How quickly a slip can turn on a mountain into something more serious (especially while carrying camera equipment). I wish you a quick and painless recovery, and I like the attitude you have of it being an opportunity to focus on another area of life while recuperating ~ that is the beauty of living life well, so it doesn’t surprise me you will do well. Cheers and take care.
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The second shot (obviously) uses intentional camera movement, and is of some plants I bought that were blooming. The colors were so pretty…and a hummingbird graced us with its presence while the salvia (the blue one) was in full bloom. Love those fierce little birds! How can I juggle the camera, an extra lens or two, water and snacks, and use walking sticks? That’s the question. I don’t like the idea! Thank you VERY much for your positive words! I’ll try to live up to that!
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What a beautiful transition to Fall! These images are gorgeous and full of color and wonderful texture. So sorry to hear of your accident. I hope you take good care and heal quickly!
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Hi Susan, thanks for your thoughts…I am taking care, so I can get back out and take pictures!
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Love the photographs. Sorry to hear about your knee, though. I guess at least you hadn’t broken it. (It was also lucky from our point of view that you hadn’t broken the camera.)
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🙂 Good thought! Nothing but a spot on the lens that dusted right off. The knee’s not broken but the shoulder is, so it’s going to be a serious challenge to use a camera for a while.
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OMG! I’m really sorry and appalled to hear about your injuries, Lynn – such things happen in an instant, they come out of nowhere, and then hit us long term – I wish you a very speedy recovery. Haha! I don’t know your character, but please just do what the docs say – no extra “going out on a limb”!!!, just heal well. And what a stunning collection of images you’ve posted here, far too many really good ones to mention them all – but really good photography, your’s is one of my favourite blogs. Look after yourself! Adrian
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I’m trying to stay the course and not get rambunctious…it sure is tedious! Thanks very much for your good words, I appreciate it!
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Oh I’m so sorry to read of your fall! I love viewing/reading your adventures, and I can just imagine how you’re feeling to have them stalled for a bit, horrid for you! Beautiful images though, hope the strength of the memory of the mountains can help the month ahead!!
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Stalled, yes, I am….the memory of THOSE mountains ain’t such a good one, but yes, I’ll get back out before too long. Thanks for your kind thoughts, nice to hear you enjoy hearing about my wanderings, too. 🙂
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Huge big ouch on reading of your misadventure here Lyn and of course I hope recovery is relatively smooth for you. Magnificent shots and scenery, a shoot you’re not gong to forget in a hurry!
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Thanks Patti — I’m coming along!
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I’m very sorry to read about your shoulder….not a good thing for someone who wants to be up and out all the time. I wish you a speedy and uncomplicated recovery…..
And gorgeous photos, too. I am rather fond of your fence post…and absolutely love the final image….so very wonderful…my heart lives in such a place…..
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No, it’ snot fun when you’re used to being out and about all the time! I will take that wish for an uncomplicated recovery and treasure it!
The last one is Mount Baker…I won’t be going back up there soon – we decided we like Mt. Rainier better! 😉 I’m really glad you like the fence.
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Lovely shots.
So often you just want a “do over”. Change something that you’d done previously. I’m guessing that climb is one of those moments for you.
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Yes, but it’s given me space to slow down and re-evaluate things, which is so valuable. I think in the long run, it had a purpose…just hope I get back to full functioning of the arm!
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