[/caption] Crater Lake National Park is one of the best wilderness areas to visit if you are interested in finding clean air and lots of views. With the park sitting just above 6000 feet, you are high enough to see several of the Cascade peaks as well as two states. The snow is usually so deep that it lasts well into July. In fact, when I took this photo it was 6/30/10 and only half of the road was open due to the high snow pack. The air is so clean that it’s like breathing pure oxygen for the first time. The views are absolutely breathtaking and there is no shortage of photo opportunities. Many visitors may find themselves spending only a few hours at the Park but a true landscape photographer could spend several days here. Due to the nature of the lake, the blue color of the lake seems to change its appearance depending on where you are standing along its rim or depending on the time of the day or season. There are miles of hiking and biking trails as well as other wilderness areas just outside the Park. This photo was taken at 3:25 pm and was taken from the south eastern side of the lake. You can see Mt. Scott in the distance. The color of the lake changed as the day progressed. However, I’m not sure if this is due to the time of day or because I had been moving to different parts of the lake throughout the day. I was using my Canon Rebel T1i along with my Tokina 12-24 mm wide angle lens with the camera in Program mode. I was using my UV, warming and CIR-PL filter which put the F stop at F-8 due to having the camera in Program mode. I would never have gotten this photo without using my filters. This is a perfect example of why you should always have plenty of filters when shooting landscape photos. I believe I was using my tripod, bubble level and remote switch when I took this photo. I had the focal length at 17mm and the ISO was at 100. I also set the white balance to -1 due to the intense glare and the reflection of the sun coming off the lake. I would highly recommend visiting Crater Lake National Park to anyone that wants to enjoy a truly spectacular place that is sparsely populated and teaming with outdoor activities.