Saturday, June 6, 2009

Carkeek park, Seattle


Sunset, Carkeek park
Equipment: Canon 20D, Sigma 10-24mm
Image details: 18mm, f/22, 30sec, ISO 200

Carkeek park is a little gem of a park located in Seattle close to Golden gardens park. The first thing that hits you when you get close to the park is the dense vegetation - tall old growth trees with thick undergrowth, feels like a temperate rainforest. Take the time to hike the trails of the park - its a wonderful experience. As an added bonus this park is not as popular as the neighbouring Golden gardens park.

Inside the park the Carkeek road is a loop. To get to the beach drive along the Carkeek road to the railroad. As soon as you enter the park, take the right fork, take the left fork if you need to get to the parking lot . Cross the bridge over the railroad and you have a small picturesque beach to shoot! As an added advantage the carkeek creek drains out to the ocean in the same spot. There are usually waterfowl in the area and you can get some interesting shots - so remember to bring your long lens.


Gadwall male(?), Carkeek creek, Carkeek park
Equipment: Canon 20D, Canon 100-400mm
Image details: 400mm, f/5.6, 1/125sec, ISO 200



For sunset shots pick a day with interesting clouds, otherwise its a boring sunset shot. Sunset is usually around 9.00 pm in the summer. The best colors are usually five minutes after sunset. Use your wide angle lens, get close to the water and locate a spot where there are lots of small rocks. Its important that the water splashes over the rocks for best effect. The longer the exposure the better it will look. Also use a graduated neutral density filter to get correct exposure on the rocks. Stay away from the extreme left area of the histogram. It's important to get detail in the rocks for a good picture. Experiment with your angle of view - try to get low down and not just from the eye level. Both the above pictures we shot a little below the knee level.

If you are interested in railroad shots, the railway track run right by the beach and you can get some interesting shots of the train at sunset.

Directions to the park

No comments: