I spent two nights in Mount Rainier National Park before my trip to the Palouse. I really wanted to get a sunrise shot of the mountain in the water of Reflection Lake. When I got to the hotel in the afternoon, everything was fogged in and would be for the rest of the night. I went to bed with high hopes of the fog clearing the next morning. The alarm went off at 4am (twilight was at 4:43am), I looked out the window and could see Rainier. I was so psyched, but it would not last for long. As I headed to Reflection Lake, I slowly realized that the valley was fogged in. Sure enough, you could barely see the majestic mountain. Landscape photographers are used to disappointment and always have a Plan B. Mine was to head back to the hotel and hike the trails.
Undeterred, I decided to head back around 10am to see if the fog had cleared. Sure enough, it had. As I took in this scene for the first time, I knew that a panorama was in order to capture the width of the lake. It wasn't the soft early light that I wanted, but it still was a beautiful scene.