Joey Priola Wilderness Photography

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  • Stars shine over offshore sea stacks on a remote section of coastline in Washington's Olympic National Park. In November of 1920, the Chilean schooner W.J. Pirrie was being towed towards the Washington shores when a brutal storm hit the pair of ships, forcing the towing vessel to abandon the Pirrie. The ship was no match for the tempest, and 18 of the 20 crew members were killed. Their bodies washed up on the very beach where this photo was taken, and if you search in the woods behind the beach, you'll find a plaque memorial for the victims.
    Spirits In the Night
  • A mountain goat strikes a pose high in the Olympic Mountains on a beautiful summer morning. Mountain goats shed their winter fur every summer, which explains this mountain goat's rather scraggly appearance. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Keeper of the Mountains
  • When I close my eyes and daydream of past adventures, this is what I see - a beautiful sunset, wilderness all around, and an endless vista that beckons me to keep exploring. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Daydreams of my Youth
  • Receding waves rush back out to sea at Ruby Beach, as a lone sea stack looks towards the pastel twilight sky. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Sunken Wizard
  • A collection of colorful pebbles, rounded over time by the action of waves, that I found one morning while exploring the coast near my backcountry campsite. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Pebble Treasure
  • A beautiful Nootka Rose in Washington's North Cascades.
    Renewal
  • Quite possibly the most beautiful coastal sunset I’ve ever experienced, taken during one of my all-time favorite backpacking trips (20 miles along the rugged Olympic Coast from Rialto Beach to Ozette Lake). My numb legs from standing in the frigid winter surf to get this perspective were soothed by a driftwood beach fire and some family wine. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Gods of Olympus
  • Receding waves, caught by pebbles on Kalaloch Beach, streak back towards the sea during a beautiful winter sunrise. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Return to Me
  • Clouds and the sea glow with beautiful light and colors after a phenomenal sunset. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Afterglow
  • On our final day of a backpacking trip along the wilderness coast of Washington’s Olympic National Park, my friends and I ventured south from our camp at Point of the Arches. After climbing over rocky headlands and through pristine temperate rainforest high above the sea, we arrived at a deserted little cove between the headlands. At first this beach seemed just like all the others we had passed by, but upon closer inspection we discovered that the beach consisted of a seemingly infinite assortment of small, smooth pebbles of all different colors. We spent the afternoon lounging in the sunbaked pebbles, and exploring the intricacies of a world that often goes undetected. I used a shallow depth of field here to create an abstract expression of the pebbles, with only a slice being in focus and the rest fading into featureless colors and patterns.
    Pebble Feel
  • An intimate view of a sea anemone I found in one of the many tide pools at Point of the Arches. The opportunity to view sea life such as sea anemones and starfish in a wilderness setting is one of the many reasons why the coast within Washington’s Olympic National Park is one of my favorite destinations for backpacking and photography.
    Medusa
  • A giant fallen tree adorned with moss slowly decays and gives life to the forest that it once towered over. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Giving Back
  • Sea foam and pebbles on Kalaloch Beach. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Fingers Through Your Hair
  • Formed nearly 2000 years ago from lava streaming down the southern flank of Mount St. Helens, Ape Cave is the longest continuous lava tube in the continental US, at 2.5 miles long. Hiking the cave is truly a unique experience. The temperature stays at a constant 42 degrees F, and despite the total darkness, “cave slime” bacteria is able to thrive, and coats the walls of the caves. I used my headlamp to illuminate the twisting passageway of the cave in this photo, and the silver-green color of the walls and “roof” of the cave is actually the aforementioned “cave slime”. Ape Cave, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington.
    Planet of the Apes
  • An abstract rendition of ocean waves, created by moving my camera from side to side during the exposure. Kalaloch Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Sea Dreams
  • After a full day of kayaking along the west side of Washington's San Juan Island, my stomach was telling me it was time for a well-deserved burger and beer. Thankfully, something else inside me said that I would regret not heading out to Lime Kiln Lighthouse to watch the sunset as I had originally planned. I got to the lighthouse just in time, and found this spot along the shore where the crashing surf rose and fell. The clouds lifted just enough for the sun to light up the sky with a sunset so good that I forgot all about the burger and beer.
    The Key For Every Door
  • A beautiful winter sunset along the dramatic coast at Rialto Beach. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Fireworks
  • A sunflower sea star crawls along the sand in the shallow water of a coastal tide pool in the backcountry of Washington's Olympic National Park. Watching this sea star scuttle about was one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had in the wilderness, and I feel incredibly lucky to have had it. Beginning in 2013, the year that I took this photo, a mysterious sea star wasting disease coupled with rising ocean temperatures has virtually wiped the once prolific sunflower sea star out of existence on the North American West Coast.
    Ode to Ned
  • The motion of rushing waves seems to mimic the curve of the clouds, during a phenomenal sunset along a deserted stretch of coastline in Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Sunset Swirl
  • Balsamroot flowers in Washington's Cascades take in a beautiful view of Mt. Stuart off in the distance.
    True to Your Roots
  • While backpacking up to Marmot Pass and Buckhorn Mountain, a break in the clouds and forest perfectly framed the aptly named Mount Mystery. Buckhorn Wilderness, Washington.
    Breakout
  • Rippled sand leads towards a massive sea stack at Point of the Arches on Shi Shi Beach. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Sand Castles
  • Starfish, sea anemones, and kelp adorn the rugged coastline at Point of the Arches on Shi Shi Beach. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Mysterious Dawn
  • A tangle of kelp rests on Shi Shi Beach at sunset, in the shadow of a large sea stack. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Castles and Kelp
  • For one reason or another, it’s just hard to crawl out of bed on some mornings. Or, in the case of the morning this photo was taken, a sleeping bag. It was a damp and chilly dawn on the Washington coast, and I was still feeling weak from a bad stomach bug I’d suffered through the previous week. The thought of rolling over and burrowing deeper into my sleeping bag seemed heavenly, but I knew that I hadn’t traveled here to sleep. I can’t recall when it first happened, but on mornings like this throughout my travels, where the pull of the warmth and comfort of my tent seemed to be stronger than my desire to get out for sunrise, I had begun to recite a mantra of sorts in my head: “if you don’t go, you won’t know.” Maybe the sunrise would be a dud, but if I didn’t get out there to see for myself, I would never know what possibilities I might miss out on. So on this morning, I extracted myself from my cocoon of warmth and comfort, slipped into wet boots and dirty clothes, and struck out for the beach. On summer weekends, Shi Shi Beach can often be lined with hundreds of tents, but on this soggy November morning, the only creatures I shared the beach with were seagulls looking for breakfast. As I wandered about in the dim light of dawn, I could see a faint glow building in the sky to the east, over the forested slopes of the OIympic Peninsula. As the glow intensified, I settled on a composition, and all of a sudden the sky erupted into possibly the most vivid and colorful sunrise that I’ve ever seen. After the show was over, I wandered up and down the beach, admiring the patterns in the sand, the piles of driftwood, and the ceaseless sound of waves heaving against the shore. Eventually I made my way back to my tent, where I joyfully slipped back into my sleeping bag, fully at peace with what I now knew, after I had gone.
    If You Don't Go, You Won't Know
  • The post-sunset glow illuminates the ripples of Cedar Creek as it flows towards the Pacific Ocean. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Dragon Scales
  • Two starfish cling to the rocks and each other as they wait for the tide to come in again. Olympic National park, Washington.
    Holding On
  • Sunset light strikes the face of a massive sea stack along the Olympic Coast on a moody November evening, just steps away from one of my all-time favorite backcountry campsites. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    We Three Kings
  • Starry skies over my tent along the beautiful coast of Washington's Olympic National Park.
    Spirit of Adventure
  • Two bald eagles perched high in an evergreen tree survey their surroundings on a gray and drizzly November day in Washington's Olympic National Park.
    Rock Flag & Eagle
  • Low tide at Point of the Arches reveals a tide pool filled with colorful starfish and sea anemones. The opportunity to view sea life such as sea anemones and starfish in a wilderness setting is one of the many reasons why the coast within Washington’s Olympic National Park is one of my favorite destinations for backpacking and photography.
    Vibrancy
  • A colorful starfish rests on the rocky coastline amongst the towering sea stacks at Point of the Arches on Shi Shi Beach. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Son of Shi Shi
  • Sol Duc Falls surrounded by fresh spring greens. Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Sol Duc Serenity
  • After a day of backpacking through misty summer rain, the clouds cleared just in time to reveal the glaciated Mount Shuksan massif at sunset. Look closely and you'll see two tents (mine is the yellow one on the left) perched above Lake Ann, ready to spend the night camping in a mountain dream. Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington.
    Camping in a Dream
  • Sunset light illuminates sea stacks and weathered rocks on the beach in Washington's Olympic National Park.
    A Moment in the Sun
  • A hardy tree that has somehow managed to grow from the top of a sea stack at Point of the Arches takes in a fantastic November sunrise. Shi Shi Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington.
    Roots
  • Mount Rainer towers above the clouds as seen from an airplane headed to Seattle. This is why I always choose a window seat when I fly!
    Ascension to the Sun
  • Mount Rainier glows with brilliant sunset light and reflects in a calm backcountry tarn.
    Twice as Nice
  • Pink Monkeyflower lines a creek in Mount Rainier National Park.
    Our Only Plan Is To Improvise
  • Two of my all-time favorite places for coastal exploration and photography are Washington's Olympic National Park and Maine's Schoodic Peninsula. The sea stacks that are characteristic of the Olympic Peninsula, and the beautiful cobble beaches that can be found along the Schoodic Peninsula in Acadia National Park, make both of these places among the most scenic coastal destinations that can be found in the USA. While wandering the  Schoodic Peninsula one morning, I discovered this sea stack rising up from a cobble beach that combined my favorite aspects of both peninsulas, as if this sea stack had traveled the 3,000+ miles from the Pacific Coast to join me in Maine on this special morning.
    Acadia Meets Olympic