Crater Lake Blueminosity

On my way up to Oregon, on my usual pilgrimmage to Mom's, I made a stop at Crater Lake National Park, for several hours. I had hoped to focus on the Phantom Ship, a small volcanic spire near the southeast shore. As I was driving up the road into the park, I noticed there was still plenty of snow around, and realized my original plan wasn't going to work. Now, I had already shot much of the area around the Lodge, so I picked some other spots along the west edge of the scenic caldera.

There was a healthy breeze down on the lake's surface and it produced these very interesting ripples reflecting the morning sun's rays. I wanted to take advantage of this unusual vision of Crater Lake by not using the polarizer.

Using the polarizer facing away from the sun produces the usual stunning blues that Crater Lake is so very famous for. YES, it really DOES look that blue to the naked eye!

Here's another example of not using the polarizer and seeing the wind's ripple patterns on the lake, near Wizard Island. It's a very surreal scene, very much like a painting might produce. Nope, I didn't apply any filters or processing to get this unique image!

I ventured around the lake to see how far the road had been opened with the snowplows. I can certainly testify as to just how much snow this place gets during a wet winter. Nearly half of the road around the lake was closed due to snow on July 1st. The boat tour wasn't running yet, either. However, I did find some nice shots looking down into that perfect blueness.

I finished up with a peek over the side at the "Devil's Backbone" and the amazing blue water.