The Snoqualmie Valley is one example after another of the verdant beauty of the western Cascade foothills. Of course, my natural reaction to living in such a setting has become to study the landscape photographically. Some mornings, I’ll leave for my office, but won’t make it a mile before I feel the need to stop and photograph. Slowly, I’m learning the photographic language of the area, and I’m honored to share some of the wonderful discoveries that have come from staying close to home. Deeper into the valley, old growth trees grip misty mountainsides, which give way to rock buttresses and toothy summits, plastered with snow and ice. Speaking objectively, but with prejudice, the mountains of the Pacific Northwest are some of the most diverse, complex and beautiful places on Earth. I learned to love these places as a skier, climber, hiker and biker, but I continue to be amazed as a creature of nature and a photographer. The longer I spend in the vast and wild west side of the Cascade crest, the less need I feel to travel to far-off lands; the more I feel the need to deeply explore, understand, protect and share the place I call home.