Sunset over the Skagit Valley tulip farms, Mount Vernon WA
Goal was to capture the tapestry of tulip colors. Instead the blue hour sky took the front stage
20 April, 2025
~ 4 min read
Pacific Northwest offers magical transformations that are breathtaking. The annual Tulip festival in the Skagit Valley is one such. For a few short weeks in April every year, this place comes to life. People from all over the country come to see the colorful Tulip farms. The weather begins to play well as well, as if suggesting the pacific north westerners to get out of their homes and start forgetting the winter gloom.
Visiting Tulip festival was an annual spring event in our family until the pandemic hit. Till then, we completed 15 straight years without fail. Living only about 45 min drive away helped continue the tradition. Other than seeing the colors of the tulips, our family loved having the lunch at the Kiwani’s salmon barbecue, which is a special event that happens only during the month of April. They use large pits to grill salmon over wood fire. My wife, who wasn’t a big fan of salmon would love the salmon made by these folks. Oh! The baked russet potatoes with a bit of butter and the coleslaw they gave! Yummy stuff. There were times we went to the Tulip festival only to eat there.
After a few years of not going there anymore, I wanted to go this year. Having commitments during the weekends meant planning for the weekend a challenge. By the last week of April, the flowers will have fully opened up. So, I had to go soon, if I wanted to. After 15 years of visits, family is not interested in it anymore, which is understandable. But I wanted to go during a sunset and hopefully capture some of the tulips with sunset colors.
On April 17, 2025 Thursday, I left work an hour early (I went to work early in the morning). My commute to work (walk, train, car drive) is about 1 hr. and 15 mins. Came home, had dinner, quickly grabbed my gear and started driving ~ 6:30pm. Sunset was going to be 8:03pm. Drive was 50 mins. I had enough time to find a spot (so I thought) before the sunset. I wasn’t in a hurry. Even if I didn’t get any good shot, I was ok.
Over the years, we felt the tulip farmers have slowly reduced the area where they grew the tulips. Years ago, we just had to take exit 221 on Interstate 5 (simply I5), head west towards LaConner and just drive around the area to find acres and acres of tulips. Not anymore. I am not into walking through the tulip farms, just to take pictures of myself or our family amidst the tulips. Those days were long gone. I am in the hunt for a composition that included the rural, farming landscape, ideally with some tulips and some clouds to hold the colors of the blue hour (post dusk lighting).
When you have driven through an area 15 years in a row, even though just once per year, you do remember things. I was driving instinctively around the areas where the tulips would normally be, but in vain. I kept wondering where did all the tulip fields go? Things aren’t the same again. Especially after the Covid pandemic. But having expected this, I started looking for any landscape composition that can catch my eye and make a good photography.
After a few loops, I gave up on shooting tulips. I found a meadow with a couple of trees with Mt Baker in the background. This was going to be a good shot just after sunset if the few clouds could stay. Sunset was about 10 minutes away. I started shooting a couple of compositions as the clouds started withering away. So, I decided to head home and started driving.
I still had some luck left for the day. As I turned right into the Memorial Hwy (SR 536) from Beaver Marsh Rd heading north, I could see the beautiful colors of the sky to my left (towards west). I had to drive east towards I5. To my left was a beautiful looking barn with lovely lighting, with the colorful sky as the backdrop. The foreground lighting was dark as it was well past the sunset. But I know the Hasselblad X2D has a 15-stop dynamic range and it is a champ in these type of lighting conditions.
As I drove past it there was another farm house with a long, white fence with a mountain range as backdrop. I imagined a nice panorama shot. Stopped the car and shot 3 shots. I did not expect it to come this good, when I got home and processed the image. The new camera keeps amazing me. I wish I bought this sooner.
A basic lesson I have learned over the years is ‘to follow my instincts’. If I am not in a hurry and I see a good shot, I drive past it a bit. If I absolutely love to take that shot, I invariably change my mind and come back to it. The barn was irresistible. I did a U-turn and came back to it. Fortunately, it was a business (Red Barn Cider), which meant I wasn’t encroaching someone’s private property. I stopped the car on the drive way (the shop was closed for the day). Realizing I had the 90mm lens on my camera, I quickly swapped it out and mounted the 45mm. Got out of the car and took a few compositions. The building’s front was a little ‘busy’ for it to be a classic photo. Still, the whole scene was a beautiful mashup of colors. The micro-contrast by the marvelously engineered Hasselblad XCD lens transformed those colors into a digital form with ease and flare!
I went to shoot Tulips. Instead, got back with this wonderful shot. I have no complaints! Life is full of surprises. Embrace them for your own good!