Olympic National Park is one of the most unique and diverse national parks out there. After spending a week exploring, I was left wanting more. The typical guidebook highlights a variety of photographic opportunities—powerful ocean scenes, serene rainforests, waterfalls, and even some wildlife.
For me, I just wanted to explore the park, grab a few photos, and get a general lay of the land for future visits.
My agenda:
• Stay at a cabin in Sequim
• Visit the Hoh Rainforest
• Drive to top of Hurricane Ridge & explore
• Fast stop by La Push Beach
• Hiking at Lake Crescent
• Ocean photography at Crescent Bay
My goal wasn’t to photograph as much as possible (though I certainly tried), but to scout the area, enjoy the park, and spend time with family. Over the week, I took 1,822 photos and ended up with about 60 images I’m happy with. Out of those, maybe 12 will see the light of day.
Let’s break down those numbers:
• 60 selects / 1,822 photos = 3.29%
• 12 finals / 60 selects = 20%
That’s a low percentage of selects, but I’ve found it to be fairly normal. As a numbers guy, I like tracking these details to gauge my discretion and accuracy in the field—how much shooting translates into quality photos. My goal is to increase the percentage of selects, giving me more options for final images.
It may seem counterintuitive, but the fewer photos I take, the more efficient I can be in the editing room. This also challenges me to shoot with more purpose and intent. I enjoy this personal challenge—it takes confidence in your skills to nail the right settings for a well-exposed photo while experimenting with various compositions.
Now, let’s take a tour through some of the photos that highlight some of my time in Olympic National Park.
Photography
Final Thoughts
The Olympic National Park is an excellent location for a large variety of photographic opportunities. The park in general favors recreational activites wthout a singular point of focus, so you can make the most of your time as you see fit.
I brought my full kit just to be prepared, but in hindsight mainly used my 16-35 and 100-400 lenses. Tripods are a must for low-noise images, given that your weather conditions are very unpredictable. However, if you stay to the main hiking trails and attractions prepare to arrive as early as possible for the best compositions, lighting, and less crowds.
A circular polarizer is also a recommended item to have given the wet and green nature of the park. I didn’t have one unfortunately which lead to a lot of images not making the cut due to unnecessary reflections from green foliage and water.
I would also recomend Anthony Jones’s paperback: A Landscape Photographer’s Guide to Olympic National Park. I found this to be an invaluable resource to better plan my daily agenda and go after the locations and photos that were most important to me.
Olympic National Park is a large destination, so don’t try and tackle too much. Focus each day on one or two primary locations, and leave yourself plenty of time to relax and explore one of the most unique national parks in the country.