Moran State Park in a Different Light

Mountain Lake

October on Orcas Island has its own rhythm. The days shorten, the air cools, and the forests in Moran State Park slip into a quieter mood. I’ve walked these trails countless times, camera in hand, and know them well — the dense evergreens, the moss that carpets everything, the lakes that catch the sky. But lately, I’ve been photographing Moran in infrared, and it’s like stepping into a completely new landscape.

Cascade Lake

Infrared light is invisible to the human eye, but a camera modified to capture it reveals what the forest is hiding. Leaves and grasses glow like they’ve been dusted with frost, even on the warmest days. The mossy undergrowth radiates in pale silvers. Water darkens to black, becoming a kind of void. What was once simply green transforms into something ghostly, otherworldly — as if October has tipped the forest into another dimension.

I love how familiar places become strange again. A trail I’ve walked a hundred times looks alien, unrecognizable. It forces me to slow down and really see. I’m reminded that the landscape is never just one thing; it’s layered, full of secrets, and sometimes you need to look with different eyes to notice them.

Cascade Lake Loop

Cascade Lake

Infrared doesn’t just change the photographs — it changes me. It shakes me out of habit and brings back that feeling of discovery I had when I first began exploring the Pacific Northwest. It’s a reminder that even in a “home park,” there are always new ways of seeing, if you’re willing to look beyond the visible.