2025 was a year of focus. I updated the homepage and my photography galleries to focus on our home, with the amazing and unique ecosystems that we have here on the Olympic Peninsula. My goal is to document and tell the story of the wild places in public spaces here on the Peninsula, with the aim of inspiring others to take action to protect them. This includes Olympic National Park, our National Forests, our amazing coastlines, and state land managed by the WA Department of Natural Resources for all of our benefit.
I’m really enjoying shooting with a drone for the unique perspective they provide. Almost half are drone photos this year. And keeping it local – six of the photos were shot within 3 miles from home. 🙂
Carolita is really loving writing, and is now working on her second book, while continuing to edit her first. We were treated to another great fall fungi season and enjoyed more foraging for edible mushrooms.
Elwha Legacy Forests coalition has continued to grow local community support for saving our legacy forests on WA state land. However, our hopes for the new Commissioner of Public Lands, Dave Upthegrove, halting the logging of legacy forests has been met with disappointment. WA DNR continues to auction off amazing naturally regrown, diverse forests on the Olympic Peninsula and in the rest of WA state. Some have been halted, like Parched and Alley Cat, at least temporarily. Mostly, that’s thanks to the finding of rare plant communities or at the request of our friends and neighbors in the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. We’ve spent a lot of energy trying to stop the logging of the amazing Doc Holliday forest (mostly U5, U6 & U7), but I’m afraid we may lose that battle. We also lost Ode to Joyce this year to clear-cut logging. And now our national forests are under even greater threat of logging, including under the misguided idea that cutting down or thinning forests reduces risks of fires in the wildland urban interface. With more road building and younger trees, it actually increases the fire risk. We have a lot of work to do speaking up for these precious remaining intact ecosystems!
Below are my 10 favorite photos I shot in 2025. As always, they’re not necessarily the best, just my favorites. Each one has a special meaning for me.
Sunset on Hurricane Ridge
These first two images were shot during an amazing sunset up on Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. There was a inversion layer, with clouds in town and fog on the road up the mountain. But once we got above the cloud layer, it opened up with an amazing view and perfect high altitude clouds. It was also a sunset hike with a great group of people, including Carolita’s mom. 🙂
Sunrise at Salt Creek
I’ve been enjoying getting up before sunrise and heading out to our local scenic spots to capture the morning beauty. Salt Creek Recreation Area is a wonderful forested park, campground and beach area. There’s a huge shallow reef that has amazing tidepools when it’s low tide. I’ve heard it’s also a great place to scuba dive in the kelp forest surrounding the exposed reef.
There’s a wonderful trail heading east from the parking area, but the surrounding legacy forests are threatened with even more clear-cut logging (‘Birds Eye View’ and ‘Tiger Stripes’ timber sales). Fortunately, there’s an effort to expand the county park to include more of the amazing legacy forests there.
Moonrise over Baldy Ridge
I love how the giant rising moon dwarfs the forested ridgeline between Mt Baldy and Mt Storm King, above Lake Sutherland. I don’t do a lot of night photography, but sometimes everything just lines up!
Sunrise, Fog and Forests
Early morning sun, shooting up the valley, creates a pattern of shadows from the treetops rising out of the fog. The lake shoreline behind the trees looks like a cliff, dropping off into the abyss of more clouds.
Indian Creek Colors
Fall colors in the Indian Creek valley, as Highway 101 stretches off towards the Elwha River Valley. We were able to save the WA DNR legacy forest on the right side of the highway from the ‘Shore Thing‘ timber sale, as part of the WA state Natural Climate Solutions program. The wetlands around Indian Creek have some amazing habitat and are part of the Elwha River Watershed.
Stretching for the Light
Mushrooms sprout out of a big leaf maple tree in our forest. I love the lighting and texture of the mushrooms as they all crowd the small space, arching their stems to rest upright.
Glowing Mushrooms
Glowing mushrooms pop out of a branch on a fallen tree in our forest. For this one, I added a little bit of lighting, as dusk was quickly approaching, showing off the gills under each mushroom cap.
Trees in the Fog
Tree tops stick out through the morning fog, with a cloudy Lake Crescent in the background. They stand out so much because they are the ‘leave trees’, a reminder of the forest that used to be there, before DNR cut down the rest of the trees.
Gothic Sunrise
Foggy creek in the Bogachiel River Valley at sunrise, framed by a big leaf maple tree. I love the moodiness of this image, with the arching maple, reaching like fingers over the foggy creek.
Love and Joy
A bonus photo – full of joy and love. My son and new daughter-in-law got married at a castle in Ireland over the summer and I was privileged to be their wedding photographer. I was so happy to be a big part of their special day!
Carolita & I wish everyone a Happy New Year! May it bring you wonder, joy and healing in nature.
