This was a sacred moment that I was lucky to capture - snow covered mt.st.helens illuminated by the moon light with cloud inversion in the valley.
This year in 2022, we've seen a very weird spring season because snow extended well into May here in Washington. The long winter inspired me to capture some unique landscape to feature the snow and St.Helens was on top of my list. This volcano erupted in 1980 and part of its rim collapsed from that eruption, which makes it the most unique volcano in Washington. I've hiked up to its rim before, but from a photography point of view, I think the best view is to capture its entirety from the ridge north of it.
To plan this shot, I was basically following the weather forecast and waiting for the ideal conditions to align: 1. A lot of fresh snow 2. Ideal moon phase and weather 3. Cloud Inversion. #1 and #2 are relatively easy to get because I can basically watch webcam and weather forecast and decide when to go. #3 is the hardest because I have to predict when cloud inversion will happen. I learned about the theory behind this natural phenomena, and closely monitored all the related parameters, including wind speed, pressure, humidity, dew point etc and finally I found a short window that all these conditions might align. I decided to take my chance and drove 4.5 hours from home to this spot. It was rainy and foggy on the night when I arrived and I started to doubt about my decision.I spent an hour digging a flat platform from dense snow to set up my tent, and went to bed hoping tomorrow morning magic would happen. Indeed, at around 4:30am when I woke up, I saw clear sky and then I rushed to this ridge and witnessed this moment. It made me speechless.