Snowing hard in Eugene when Dave and Sally Hill picked me and we headed out for a day of exploration up the Mohawk River over the hill and into Brownsville. This was a route I have ridden on my bike many times. One time in particular with Bruce and Dianne McCammon and Dave and Mary Gibson. Got my tail smoked going down the long hill into Crawfordsville.
Today we made our fist stop along McKenzie View Drive and both Dave and I spotted the remains of an old apple crop still clinging to the trees and coated in snow. Reminded me of another outing from earlier this year when Paula Goodbar got the definitive shot in an orchard we all spent time in. This one is just nice but not nearly as good as hers.
As we drove along Marcola Road Sally and I simultaneously remarked on some wonderful orange trees set in front of a stand of leafless cottonwood. Made for a lovely contrast with just enough sun to light them up.
We moved on, headed up McGowen Creek and the snow got deeper to the point where turning around seemed the wise and sensible thing to do. Did not want to dig another car out of a snow bank. McGowen Creek crossed the road and Dave and I spent quite a bit of time shooting in driving snow.
The shot below was a nice surprise for me as my first look at the images in Bridge did not spark much interest. It may be too confusing for many of you but I think it showed the dark deep forest we were operating in. It is better larger so if you are at all interested just click on the image.
We walked back to the car covered in snow when I just had one more quick and hopefully creative shot pop into my head so back down the road I went to the stream crossing. The shot below was a 6 second exposure and I zoomed the lens when exposing the image. Another shot some of you may find interesting and some may find is not to their taste.
Exploring a few more side roads and on the lookout for rumored Oreo cows – we saw 1 – we made it on to Brownsville – a town that would be fun to explore more fully. We chose another side road – Gap Road – and found this lovely pastoral scene against a snowy ridge line. Then it was on to home, lunch and a warm fire.
I am hoping for more snowy outings this winter.
Your zoom brings me back to my childhood: pickup sticks!! My favorite is one that I would not have thought I would like, and in fact didn’t like much until I took your dare. Larger is an order of magnitude better for that shot…looks like an opportunity to take AspenCreekPhoto up on their next sale of 16x24s!!