After Haystack Rock, Ted and Kara set aside an afternoon with me to visit Lake Trillium up near Mount Hood. At this time of year, the lake was completely frozen and the ice thick enough to walk on without any issue. Unfortunately, we didn't anticipate that the road leading up to the immediate campsite would be blocked off, and we ended hiking what felt like half an hour in each direction to and from the lake. The path itself was beautiful and we were dressed to endure the cold, but we nevertheless drove home cold, tired, aching, and hungry.
The lake and mountain itself was a surreal view, and being able to walk from one side to the other made it feel oddly small. Ted practiced his Wim Hof breathing method and I observed the strange flower patterns in the ice. The falling snow stuck on the surface like gravel and gave it enough traction that there was no issue with sliding.
This time around, I wanted to accentuate the blue snow in editing. I enjoyed using the low quality of noise to mirror old nature photography from the 1960s and 70s when color was relegated to documentary and educational work. These are the kinds of photos you might find in a high school biology textbook. I wanted strong contrast and bright saturation to bring color in an otherwise monochrome environment. This will likely become the running theme of my photographs going into 2021.