The Only Sunny Day

This past Sunday lived up to its name. It was the only sunny day in an otherwise dreary, overcast week. I grabbed my camera and headed to Deception Pass State Park, which straddles a narrow strait between Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands.

On the way there, I stopped at a post office parking lot to photograph the young Bald Eagle in the picture above. It was one of about a dozen eagles that were hanging out in the vicinity.

This is the northern side of the state park, which is on Fidalgo Island:

Protected by the Olympic Peninsula and Vancouver Island, there is seldom any surf unless it’s very windy.

I hiked a trail that wound along a cliff edge. There were guard rails in a few places. Many beautiful Pacific Madrone trees grow in this area, often from fissures in the rock on the brink of the cliffs:

Grasses sunbathed a hundred feet above the ocean:

I chose my footing carefully at this spot:

I never cared as much about the weather or the light until getting serious about photography. Now I plan my week around the weather forecast! And to judge by the numbers of dedicated (non-phone) cameras I see being carried around, many others are doing the same.

The forecast calls for another week of damp, gray days. I’m sure my camera will get me outside in spite of it. Some of my favorite photos were taken under a gloomy overcast.

But there’s something about seeing a Bald Eagle in the sunshine, its white head bright against the blue sky, that gets me every time:

Thanks for visiting, and may you be well.