Two Benches at Mount St. Helens BW
by Connie Fox
Title
Two Benches at Mount St. Helens BW
Artist
Connie Fox
Medium
Photograph - Outdoor Bw Photo
Description
Two empty benches with a prime view of Mount St. Helens, set against a perfectly clear sky and still topped with some snow (or glaciers) in late summer. Mount St. Helens is a National Volcanic Monument in the state of Washington, south of Mount Rainier National Park. Each destination warrants its own day-trip.
Photographed from Johnston Ridge Observatory, accessible from Spirit Lake Memorial Highway, Route 504. The rugged but peaceful terrain surrounding the observatory, once resplendent with evergreens, is now covered with tall grass, a couple of new evergreens, and brown, sun-bleached stubs of tall trees lost here more than thirty years ago.
As of May 17, 1980, Mount St. Helens, in the Cascade Range, was considered one of the most perfect mountains in the world. But shaken by an earthquake that registered 5.1 on the Richter scale, the active volcano erupted at 8:32 a.m. on a Sunday morning, May 18, 1980.
A mile-wide crater, shown in other pictures in this album, was created by that eruption. The north face of the tall, symmetrical mountain collapsed in a massive avalanche of debris, much of it rock that one finds all over the bleak landscape of the blast zone. Some is embedded in twisted carcasses of evergreens bleached by the sun. Even our white car, parked in the driveway in Houston, Texas, was covered with a layer of dark ash from Mount St. Helens.
At several observatories and other resources, one can learn far more about this mighty volcanic eruption, as well as the subsequent activity that changed the face of this beautiful mountain, verdant region, and so many lives forever.
Shot in August 2012, Nikon D80 with ND filter, with available light. Processed in 2014 in Photoshop Elements and signed by the photographer. Image has been cropped from the top, to an equivalent of 16x9. Larger sizes are available, as are greeting cards. This image is also available in color.
Copyright 2012-14 Connie Steitz Fox
All Rights Reserved
Featured on the homepages of Beauty, January 2014, and Premium FAA Artists and PhotosRUs, May 2014, The Grayscale Outdoors, May 2021. My thanks!
Uploaded
January 17th, 2014
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Viewed 312 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/13/2024 at 12:05 PM
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Comments (9)
Allan Van Gasbeck
Congratulations! Your outstanding artwork has been chosen as a FEATURE in the “The Gray Scale Outdoors” group on Fine Art America — You are invited to post your featured image to the featured image discussion thread as a permanent place to continue to get exposure even after the image is no longer on the Home Page.
Connie Fox
There is, indeed, much beauty here, Karen--and lots to think about. To see beautiful reforested areas and tiny plants trying their best to grow in barren areas would give anyone pause for reflection. The benches were a thoughtful addition.
Connie Fox
Thank you, Dan Marinescu, for featuring this image on the homepage of Premium FAA Artists!
Andrew James
Wonderful view Connie i think i could sit and watch for an age. Lol v
Connie Fox replied:
Thank you, Andrew, for a most enjoyable comment. I agree with you on that! It's difficult to comprehend what happened here so long ago. How peaceful and quiet it is, for now.
Connie Fox
My thanks, James, for featuring the black-and-white version of "Two Benches at Mount St. Helens" along with the color image. I am grateful for the chance for others to view this beautiful scenery.
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