Trillium Lake
Today, we woke up to gorgeous, blue skies. It was a bit nippy at 44 degrees, but the sunshine felt wonderful. We shot sunrise at Trillium Lake, but the cloudless blue skies that made it such a beautiful morning also made it a boring day for photography. Without clouds, there was no drama or sunrise colors in the sky. The lake was like a giant mirror and reflected Mt. Hood well, but it was still pretty boring. In fact, I was more interested in the vibrant colors of the trees reflecting in the lake from the opposite side than I was the reflections of Mt. Hood.
We returned to the motorhome, had breakfast, and relaxed for a couple of hours. When we checked out the view of Mt. Hood from our campsite, clouds floated across the sky. We drove back down to Trillium Lake in the late afternoon to re-shoot the lake with the clouds and discovered the lake had been taken over by kayakers and paddle boarders.. This is the biggest change from previous years. The Forest Service has allowed a concessionaire to rent kayaks and paddle boards at Trillium. The fishermen still dominate the lake at sunrise, but as the day continues, the fishermen are replaced by families enjoying kayaking and stand-up paddle boards. The serenity of Trillium is now gone most of the day and evening.
The influx of the kayakers and paddle boarders added "local color" to the area. We were introduced to the latest fashions in Oregon swimming attire.
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After photographing Trillium Lake, we drove to Frog Lake to see if it was a potential Milky Way shooting location. Frog Lake reflected Mt. Hood and provided a different angle, but it wasn't aligned right for the Milky Way. We took a few photos, but Frog Lake didn't compare to Trillium Lake.
We ended our photographic day at Trillium Lake shooting the cottony cumulus clouds as they streamed in front of Mt. Hood. The breeze prevented any reflections of Mt. Hood, but the clouds created an interesting scene as they blew through.
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