[/caption] The summit of Mt. Hood is normally snow-capped throughout the entire year but late winter offers some of the best views since the timberline and its summit is engulfed with the white stuff. visiting on a day with a clear blue sky gives you the advantage of photographing the entire summit with only blue sky and snow capped mountain. It’s best to use a tripod in order to avoid any camera shake and blur. However, I took this shot without a tripod and the winds were howling at near 45 mph. I was fortunate to have good lighting and kept a steady hand. I only kept a few of these photos since many of them were blurry due to camera shake but if you take enough, you can sometimes end up with a few keepers. I just make sure the image stability is on and I make sure to wait for the wind gusts to slow down and then concentrate on keeping a steady hand. Removing the CIR-PL will help reduce the risk of camera shake but then you risk the chance of over exposure due to the intense glare caused by the sun and the albedo from the snow. Best practice is to always use a tripod but if you don’t use one be sure to secure the camera and take several photos. I was using my Canon 55-250mm lens and set the focal length at 187mm.