Photograph Wildflowers in the Subalpine Meadows

Early morning in subalpine meadows creates unique lighting opportunities.

NPS Photo SDRedman

Flowers are a colorful and fun subject for photographers of all skill levels. Subalpine meadow flowers are a signature of the Mount Rainier landscape. With a little bit of forethought, you can plan ahead and take some amazing photos during your trip. Wildflower picking and off-trail access are strictly prohibited so you are going to need to get creative to get the perfect shot. Follow these simple tips to optimize your photoshoot:

Plan ahead

Take a moment before you leave home to make a plan for your trip. There are things to consider even if you are being spontaneous that will improve your trip.

• Know what is in bloom. Flowering seasons change from year to year and the window for peak viewing can be short. Follow the park on social media, check the Discover Wildflowers webpage during the summer, or call a ranger station to learn what is currently blooming and where to find it. If the meadows are not blooming, be prepared to switch focus and photograph one of the many early blooming flowering forest species instead.
• Pack your bag. Bring your camera and anything else to keep your camera operational for the day, like batteries, charge cords, or film. Keep yourself operational for the day too. Pack food, water, and sunscreen for a short trip.
• Time your visit. Early morning and late evening produce what is known to photographers as the golden hour. When the sun is low in the sky photos are more likely to capture golden light and deep shadows. As an added benefit, the midsummer crowds tend to be less prominent in the early morning or evening.
• Know where to go. Visitors can drive to three major meadow areas, Paradise, Sunrise, and Tipsoo Lake. These locations are near comfort stations and are the easiest to access. The subalpine region forms a ring around the mountain so there are many additional meadows in the wilderness areas of the park. Meadows like Saint Andrews Park, Ohanapecosh Park, and Spray Park can only be accessed by hiking in. Consult our website for information about places to go and trails to take.

Work those angles

It is tempting to photograph flowers straight on like an image from a plant identification guide. This is an excellent technique for taking photos that are clear and easy to identify but the result is often uninteresting.

• Let the subject matter be slightly off-center to draw the eye across the image. A popular technique is called the rule of thirds. Imagine invisible gridlines cutting the photo into nine even pieces. Try to line up interesting things like flowers or the horizon to follow these lines. Your camera might even have a gridline function built in.
• Take the picture from a different height. Crouch down low to the ground to photograph the flowers straight on. Stay on the trail. The trail is a handy patch of cleared ground, allowing you to get low without worrying about other plants getting in the way or being damaged. You may even be able to get so low that you can look up at the flower, showing the sky behind it.

Photograph flowers with people

Once you get the hang of photographing flowers by getting low and using the rule of thirds, try adding people to your work. This is where your photo becomes a unique souvenir, but it is also much more difficult to line up and keep the different subjects in focus.

• Photograph your party using the trail. Hang back and take a photo of someone walking ahead of you with flowers to either side.

• Get low and take a photo from the trail of people using the benches from eye level with the seated party.

• Take photos looking uphill with the flowery hillside as a backdrop. Mount Rainier has a lot of elevation change.

• Take a portrait from the chest up with wildflowers in the background. This lets you really see your subject's face. Because you are cropping out everything below the waist you can both crouch down low and shoot uphill so the flowers are even closer to the person you are photographing while staying on the trail.

• Use switchbacks and trail junctions to take photos where both you and your subject are standing on the trail but the tall flowers block the view of the ground. In a full-body photo, the person will appear surrounded by wildflowers.

Photograph flowers with mountains

If you visit on one of those special, clear summer days when the flowers are blooming and the mountain is visible, you shouldn't pass up the opportunity to try photographing the two together.

• Line up the shot. Look for flowers growing at overlooks and on the same side of the trail as the mountain. You might need to try several locations to be able to line up yourself on the trail, the flowers, and the mountain without leaving the trail or damaging the flowers.

• Play with the focus. Take several photos: some with the mountain in focus, some with the wildflowers in focus, and see which you like better. Blurry out-of-focus shapes can sometimes add to the overall composition of the photo.

• Take control of your camera settings. The process differs across models but to keep things at different distances in focus at the same time you need to tighten your aperture. When you close the aperture (increase the f-stop number) you will have to increase the shutter time to compensate.

• Take the shot from a distance if you cannot control your aperture. When you are standing farther from the flowers you have a better chance of capturing both the flowers and the mountains in focus. If you can swap out lenses for a better zoom, go ahead and do so. 

Be courteous

Mount Rainier National Park is a public space that is visited by millions of people each year. Keep the experience of others in mind when photographing the park.

• Photography can be an immersive hobby and it is easy to lose track of your soundings. Share the space at overlooks and remember to let others pass you on the trails.

• Leave the drone at home. Recreational drones are not permitted in Mount Rainier National Park due to the distracting noise and the flight hazard they pose to park emergency rescue operations.

• Zoom with the camera, not with your feet. Even in places where flowers are not currently blooming, stepping off trail compacts the soil and scars the meadow. Leave the meadow intact for future visitors.

 

 

Details

Duration

15 Minutes

Activity

Arts and Culture

Age(s)

All ages, but minors must be with an adult parent or guardian

Pets Allowed

No

Activity Fee

Yes

Entrance fee required, no fee for activity

Location

Parkwide subalpine zones

Reservations

No

Season

Summer

Exact flowering dates vary by year. Follow the park on social media, check the Discover Wildflowers webpage during the summer, or call a ranger station to learn what is currently blooming and where to find it.

Time of Day

Day

Accessibility Information

Wildflowers grow throughout the park and can be photographed from accessible overlooks and pull outs. The Paradise meadow trail system is wide and paved but these paved trails have incline that can be challenging for wheelchair access in some places. Other trails in the park can be steep and challenging.