Photography

Each year, The Mountaineers pair up with the Puget Sound Mycological Society to host a mushroom weekend at Meany Lodge. This special weekend offers attendees a great space to learn about foraging mushrooms in the northwest, both for in food and for other purposes. Besides a bed at the lodge, guests are treated to a wide range of mushroom treats and entrees, making this much-anticipated weekend an event not to be missed! Read more…

The Seattle Mountaineers Photography Committee is launching a new photo presentation series to celebrate the extraordinary photography adventures our Mountaineers members (and others in the Seattle area) have experienced around the world. We will be hosting these presentations to share photos, videos, and storytelling from the photographers among us. Read more…

The rain came steadily through the mountain hemlocks as my group huddled under an overhanging branch. Misty waves of water had been passing through this forest for the last half hour, but distant thunder was what caused us to pause. Raincoats and hats dripped. Read more…

The following is excerpted from Paul Souders' new book, Arctic Solitaire: A Boat, A Bay, and the Quest for the Perfect Bear. This is from Chapter Five: A Hole in the Water. Read more…

Dense fog concealed the subalpine meadow in an eerie white veil. Water dripped from the firs and cedars, and our pant legs were soaked from touching the grass, lupines, and mountain hemlocks. Only a hundred feet in front of me, my friend, Laurie, began to disappear into the white. Waves of heavier mist drifted across the field and lasted for just a few minutes before passing. Every snap of a stick in the surrounding forest would cause us to stop and look. Spray Park is well known for its black bears, and we didn’t want to meet one in a cloud. Read more…

Name: Kristan Tea
Hometown: Ithaca, NY
Member Since:  2014
Occupation: Retail Regional Manager
Favorite Things to Photograph: Kristan is attracted to colors and shapes. Sometimes that’s something organic, sometimes not. She rarely photographs people, because she can take her time with inanimate objects. Kristan considers herself a slow photographer. Read more…

For the second weekend in August, the photography and naturalists committees teamed up for a weekend of events at Baker Lodge. We used the great opportunity to share our love of the outdoors together and develop an enhanced sense of connection. And to take in the Perseid Meteor showers - or so we hoped! Read more…

My first time as a photographer “in the field” is stored in a place in my memory banks reserved for other indelible firsts — kiss, published story, time I set my eyes upon my daughters. I remember slogging along in a flooded farm field with a small group led by Paul Bannick, the renowned owl expert and photographer and Mountaineers Books author. Well, I was slogging at least; I’m sure Bannick was prepared, as usual, wearing some sort of waders. I was stepping daintily in my duck boots, fearful of sinking to my thighs in water and mud that smelled faintly of rotten eggs.  Read more…

Name: Anita L. Elder
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Member Since: 2007
Occupation: Freelance Graphic Designer
Favorite Things to Photograph: Landscapes, animals, nature, and old architecture Read more…

The photography and naturalists committees have teamed up for a weekend of events at Baker Lodge. This is a great opportunity to share our love of the outdoors together and develop an enhanced sense of connection. Read more…

Today is National Nature Photography Day. Mountaineers Books and, especially our conservation imprint, Braided River, works with a number of amazingly talented and dedicated nature photographers. These folks frequently spend long hours alone in the wild capturing images that the rest of us would never see without them. These images have a huge impact on how we come to understand and feel about nature. Often their photos are the only reference we have for faraway places, and they move us to care about those environments. Nature photographers are on the leading edge of connecting us emotionally to the world that we depend on for all of our physical needs and for which degradation in a faraway place  affects the place where we live. Read more…

Name: Erwin Buske
Hometown: Fairwood, Washington
Member Since: 1995
Occupation: Erwin Buske Photography & Procurement Cost Analysis Consulting Read more…

We are launching a new photo presentation series to celebrate the extraordinary photography adventures our Mountaineers members have experienced around the world. We’re hosting four presentations in the next year to share photos, videos, and storytelling from the photographers among us, and we invite you to send us your stories! Read more…

Name: William Francis Butler Jr.
Hometown: Seattle - Ballard
Member Since: 1999
Occupation: Retired School Administrator
Favorite Things to Photograph: Sunsets, especially when something makes them extra interesting. Objects, like backlit Joshua Trees and flowers. Read more…

Six of us ventured to the Bremerton Waterfront on Sunday, March 26, for a photography scavenger hunt. The weather was wonderful, blue skies with interesting clouds, not too hot and not too cold...perfect weather for being outside! Read more…

Name: Steve Johnson
Hometown: Urbana, IL
Member Since: 1986
Occupation: Retired Cartographer, Graphics Supervisor, GIS Manager
Favorite Things to Photograph: Cultural and natural landscapes, Travel, Waterblurs, Nature, Urban Form Read more…

For April, get down low and shoot images of feet. It can be your feet doing something interesting, or other people’s feet, or even animal feet (paws). Include faces if you want – but make sure the true subjects (the feet) really stand out. Read more…

You can capture the magic of nature right in your own backyard. Join us this spring for field trips with our Seattle Photography Committee to explore a city lake, the waterfront, downtown, a ghost town, see migratory birds, and more! Read more…

The Seattle branch Photography Committee has three workshops coming up between now through May, two of them brand new! Join us to learn how to  master landscapes, close-ups, and street scenes. Read more…

Name: Harry F Higgins
Hometown: Sumner, WA
Member Since: 1998
Occupation: Civil Legal Aid Paralegal; Professional Photographer
Favorite Things to Photograph: Architecture, Nature, Abstracts Read more…

Name: Mike Waller
Hometown: Normandy Park Washington
Member Since: 2008
Occupation: Retired, former Director Woodland Park Zoo, early in his career, Mike worked as a project manager on Gasworks Park and the Seattle Aquarium.
Favorite Things to Photograph: Mike is generally a "photographic omnivore", but currently concentrates on landscape/travel, street/event and abstract photography. While at the zoo, Mike did a lot of wildlife photography, much of it in Africa. Read more…

Get to know your camera better and learn new skills!  The Seattle Branch Photography Committee is offering photography workshops during the first half of 2018 to help you capture your adventures and savor them later. Read more…

Sunny Walter was a dedicated Mountaineers member and passionate photographer, with a keen interest in the natural world. When she was Chair of our Seattle Photography Committee, she compiled a list of the best places and times to capture nature in Washington. Read more…

Name: Char Davies
Hometown: Seattle
Member Since: 2008
Occupation: Retired CPA
Favorite Things to Photograph: Landscapes, abstracts, plants and flowers, industrial sites, some street photography Read more…

Name: Dennis Day
Hometown: Lake Forest Park
Member Since: 2008
Occupation: Educator
Favorite Things to Photograph: Macro, landscapes, long exposures, macro. Read more…

Name: Heidi Walker
Hometown: Grew up in Monroe but now live in Edmonds
Member Since: 2003
Occupation: Desk Jockey at a nonprofit
Favorite Things to Photograph: flowers, landscapes, and people out adventuring Read more…

Name: Doug Schurman
Hometown: Woodland, WA
Member Since: 1993
Occupation: Finance Director
Favorite Things to Photograph: Birds Read more…

Name: Michael Montgomery
Hometown: Kennewick, WA
Member Since: 2004
Occupation: Software Engineer at Amazon
Favorite Things to Photograph: Things that sit still. Flowers and landscapes. Definitely not birds. Read more…

Join us on September 21 for the next Mountaineers Books Web Series episode with author Maria Mudd Ruth. Maria calls herself an accidental naturalist and has written more than a dozen books about natural wonders that have, one, fascinated her and, two, she became obsessed with learning about.  Maria’s new book, A Sideways Look at Clouds, shares her curiosity about clouds and what she’s learned about them—why there are so many variations, what they tell us, how far away they are, and why they are even there, among much more. Read more…

At The Mountaineers, we love to hike! For members of our photography committee, we typically plan shorter, easier hikes to accomodate plenty of time to photograph nature. We took two hikes during the month of August 2017.  Read more…