As a photographer it's tough to beat state parks for scenery to photograph, bonus for lesser known or visited parks that present photo ops that aren't as cliché.
Here in Washington, our state parks are accessible with a yearly pass (called the Discover Pass) or a daily use fee. However, they do offer a handful of Discover Pass free days. Two of the free days for 2015 happen over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday (which I had off from work). Taking advantage of the free day, I took my two year old son and my camera to the park hoping to do some eagle watching. As January also happens to be part of the peak season for migratory eagles in the Skagit Valley, I came sporting my 55-300mm lens hoping for some eagles and wildlife photos.
Well, the eagles weren't around while we were there and the only Raptor I saw was a hawk making a landing on a phone pole during the drive there. Wildlife viewing was minimal at the park as well, all we saw were a few small birds (probably finches) and some half eaten dead salmon. We even had some light rain at the park, even though it was dry and nice when we left home, so my little one didn't get any playground time as it was soaked.
Here in Washington, our state parks are accessible with a yearly pass (called the Discover Pass) or a daily use fee. However, they do offer a handful of Discover Pass free days. Two of the free days for 2015 happen over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday (which I had off from work). Taking advantage of the free day, I took my two year old son and my camera to the park hoping to do some eagle watching. As January also happens to be part of the peak season for migratory eagles in the Skagit Valley, I came sporting my 55-300mm lens hoping for some eagles and wildlife photos.
Well, the eagles weren't around while we were there and the only Raptor I saw was a hawk making a landing on a phone pole during the drive there. Wildlife viewing was minimal at the park as well, all we saw were a few small birds (probably finches) and some half eaten dead salmon. We even had some light rain at the park, even though it was dry and nice when we left home, so my little one didn't get any playground time as it was soaked.
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| View from the river's edge |
On this trip I was sporting the wrong lens for the type of photos I would end up looking for. Times like this I can really start to see the appeal of all-in-one zoom lens like Nikon's 18-200/18-300 or Tamron's new 16-300mm, would have come in handy this trip!
Blessings,
Jesse
