Of the many majestic places to visit in Washington State, the Olympic Peninsula is surely one of them. Whether you’re looking for glacier-clad peaks to climb, tranquil wilderness trails to hike, or secluded beaches to comb, it’s all there. This past weekend my wife and I met some friends at Hobuck Beach, located just south of Cape Flattery (the most western point of the US) and a stones throw from Shi Shi Beach, for what was supposed to be a couple days of surfing in the sun. Well, the sun hardly shone, and the surf was less than ideal. But what does it matter when you’re far away from just about everything on a beautiful beach with friends.

As for myself, I had the joy & challenge of trying out a loaner Canon 50d SLR (a camera I’ve been thinking about buying) in light that varied from grey to dark grey to misty grey. So with little to capture in terms of grandiose landscape images, I opted to look down. Here’s a few examples of what I found…

Sand dollars can be found scattered over the beach, although it’s challenging to find them one piece, their intricate designs intact

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Photographs from Hobuck Beach, Cape Flattery and Shi Shi Beach on the Olympic Peninsula

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The Olympic Mountains provide a picturesque background for anyone living in Seattle. Often cloaked in clouds, when they appear, especially in winter, they lure you in with a mysterious attraction. Olympic National Park, at almost one million acres, is nearly 95% wilderness and boasts glacier-clad peaks, desolate beaches and the last remaining temperate rain forest (that’s 140-167 inches of rain a year – http://www.olympic.national-park.com/info.htm) in the lower-48. The largest herd of free-roaming Roosevelt Elk in the country live among ancient stands of Douglas Firs, Hemlock, and Sitka Spruce forests. So needless to say, the Olympics provide a literal playground for photographers…that is, if your gear holds up.

To make a long story short, my fiancee and I roll into Hobuck Beach for a long weekend of surfing, hiking and cycling. Cape Flattery is a mere 4 miles away and marks the most NW point of the USA. I’m like a kid in a candy store, my Canon digital camera always at my side, my tripod mounted to my bike rack for easy access. Morning comes early, I grab the camera gear and walk to the beach. Pacific swells roll in from Japan, waves lapping the beach, sea birds enjoying the peace and quiet as the sun slowly begins to rise in the east. While snapping a couple photos I realized my camera wasn’t sitting flush on my Giottos ball-head. Without dwelling on it, thoughts of fresh camp-coffee lull me back to camp.

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Upon arriving at camp I focus on this ball-head issue. For whatever reason it’s not screwing into base of my camera right, so I proceed to unscrew the socket base (the pad that is attached to the ball head that my camera sits on.) Hmm…doesn’t really want to come off, but does. So I screw it back on…it gets stuck…and then, SNAP! Pictures are better than words in this case.

Needless to say I’m a little shocked, not only for how easily this snapped in half, but also the fact this was a relatively new Giottos MH-1002 PROFESSIONAL ball head. Sure it’s small, but that’s because I often have limited space for my gear (and I have a relatively small Canon Rebel XT camera.) But come on! Hopefully Giottos can come through for me and salvage this relationship with a replacement. Otherwise, I may be shopping for a new ball head with another company.

UPDATED: I contacted Giottos regarding my broken ball head. As you can see below, they responded promptly and have asked I return the ballhead for replacement. I give them much credit for the quick reply. Obviously they care about their products and keeping customers happy. Kudos to Giottos

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