Well, I may have gotten a bit carried away with this post's headline, but it's not that far off either. Living in Black Diamond and at Lake Sawyer, we certainly fly below the radar screen of the photography community in the northwest. What makes our location so cool is that at this time of year, particularly in December, January and February, the sun rises and sets as far south as it gets. The angle of the sun is also at it's lowest which results in particularly intense colors. With Lake Sawyer waters often calm like glass and given spectacular views of both the Cascades and Mount Rainier, we live in a pretty neat area.
Earlier this week, we saw some of this season's most spectacular scenes to date. Following are photos of my favorite sunrises over the Cascades and of Mt. Rainier so far this year. This first one was taken on Thurs. 1/30/2020 and the other on Monday 1/27/2020. For those interested, I've included camera settings used for each photo. As you will see, I experiment a lot and change settings frequently to best fit changes in lighting and satisfy my penchant for learning through experimentation.

18 mm focal length, f16, 15 sec., ISO 800
Earlier in the week, the clouds parted long enough to give us some great views of Mt. Rainier. Since the trees have grown tall enough over the years to obscure our view of the mountain, I find it best to head out in my kayak. This gives me the mobility necessary to find the best locations.

84 mm focal length, f20, 1/100th sec., ISO400
The other advantage of taking photos from a kayak is this keeps you very low in the water and a perspective you don't often see. I like vertical shots too, though using a longer focal length brings you closer to the mountain.

154 mm focal length, f20, 1/100th sec., ISO 400
Time doesn't stand still either. The changes in scene and lighting over a short period of time make it challenging to make the appropriate changes in camera settings needed, which I do manually, while also trying to keep my kayak properly oriented. Without use of a tripod, all pictures are taken with a hand held camera, which results in faster exposures than one might use if on terra firma.

92 mm focal length, f16, 1/100th sec., ISO800

72mm focal length, f16, 1/100th sec., ISO1000
Back on our dock, more time to play with different camera settings, focal lengths and compositions.

26 mm focal length, f4.0, 4 sec., ISO200
The above photo was the first one I took while experimenting with alternative camera settings and compositions.

16 mm focal length, f22, 3.2 sec., ISO200

35 mm focal length, f22, 30 sec., ISO200
Some fog in these last two photos as the sun began to show on the horizon. While in my kayak, I use manual focus and a faster shutter speed to keep the image sharp, while on the dock, I can use longer exposures and more auto-focus.
Having too much fun and enjoying the beauty we have at Lake Sawyer - Sunrise Winter Capital of the Pacific Northwest.