Deigh Light Images

A New View

deighb — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:37:45 +0000

I have spent many an evening out at the West Eugene wetlands and you have graciously shared those experiences with me so last night when Dave Hill and I headed out there I was sort of resigned to accessing the same locations from earlier shoots. Still just being out and about after what seemed like 2 weeks of rain was bound to be a treat for both of us. Fern Ridge reservoir filled to 75% of capacity in just one day so the Corps of Engineers was pulling it down as quickly as they could in order to stay near or on the rule curve for lake. We walked out the normal route – water all around but when we got to the observation tower we noticed that the gate was open so we headed down a road that has been closed to us in the past. Offered entirely new views. The shot below was about 1/2 way up this new road and it was just about 15 minutes before official sunset. Things were starting to glow.

We made our way up the road to near the end and set up for the sunset in some marsh area that was clearly recently underwater. True to form I got my feet wet!! The sunset came on and it was very colorful. However, when I processed the image below I was more taken with the reflection on the water than the colorful sky.

We both had a great time and while it was a bit chilly overall it was so nice to get outside and enjoy the evening.

Frozen morning…

deighb — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:43:54 +0000

I know that many of you have experienced much more snow that we got here in Eugene but we finally did get a small amount overnight and since my morning spin class was cancelled I headed for the Delta Ponds area to catch the morning light on the fresh snow and frozen ponds. After this morning I have a real clear idea of what is is like to be a fish fillet in the frozen food display at the local market – at least my feet do. Still in all it was a nice morning and while I wish for more snow – for photographic purposes – I am sure the town and most drivers are happy with the small amount we got. I saw this image on my way down the hill from the car and it is just seemed to sum up the chill in the air.

I spent some time at the end of the boardwalk waiting for the sun to make an appearance and finally some color started to show in the sky but no warmth. The patterns in the ice were beautiful. Headed back to nice warm car after this.

Good Evening…

deighb — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:09:24 +0000

It was and I wish the same to you tonight. We have had clear and cold weather for the last couple of days and that often times can create interesting and colorful sunsets. Last night was one such evening. I have shot many sunsets over the ponds as the wetlands and the variety and beauty never cease to amaze me. This is a bit of a time sequence as the first shot was right near official sunset (pretty obvious) and the second was about a half-hour later. As you can see the colors got more intense as the evening deepened. I came back to the car chilled to the bone but happy to have spent the evening out.

Not tropical….

deighb — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:49:25 +0000

Many people take mid-winter vacations to a warm tropical beach this time of year. Dave and I went the other direction yesterday and ended up on the South Jetty near Florence, OR. – definitely not tropical. I had been wanting to spend some time shooting among the fishing boats in the Florence harbor and while there are certainly more pleasure craft moored there than working craft there were a few boats that showed the signs of much hard labor and rough seas. Those were the ones I concentrated on as I made my way along the icy boardwalks. Ice, debris and frozen bird poop – Oh Boy!!

Looking for and framing what I would call ‘natural abstracts’ was such fun and even though it was really cold and windy the time was well spent – I think. The first shot is a simple color abstract of a weathered bow in the morning sun.

I then found another old weathered campaigner and notice how I could frame the bow of with the two holes that mooring lines came through and it looked to me a bit like a bird.

We headed back through Old Town Florence to what I have always thought of as an interesting view – the underside of the bridge crossing the Siuslaw River. I have shot this before but the compositional opportunities seem endless. I love the detail in this bridge. Dave commented on it being like a cathedral.

After warming up a bit Dave and I headed for the South Jetty which helps to frame the outlet of the Siuslaw River. We walked the jetty to where we had decent access to the beach. The tide was moving in rapidly and I managed to get myself and most of gear wet – nothing too serious but it seems as if I can never do a shoot without ending up with wet feet. I have camera gear to clean for sure. The surf was rolling in and I took a image slice of the wave action. This is again what I would call a natural abstract.

Slopping my way back to the car – wet shoes and socks – we headed back toward the highway and Dave spotted a very interesting little pond along the road. He got out to shoot but I did not unload the camera till I had done a bit of looking and I realized that there was again an opportunity for a natural abstract along the pond edges. I focused and tripped the shutter and moved the zoom lens from shorter to longer. You never know what you are going to get doing using that technique but I think I got one nice image. Not as nice as some I have gotten using this technique in the past but still ….

We had a great outing. Personally I got to shoot areas that I have been thinking about for some time and as always there are some nice surprises along the way.

Lush

deighb — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:25:04 +0000

Lush was the term Dave Hill used many times today to describe a really nice outing to Lost Creek Springs up on the McKenzie River. Weather forecasts convinced us that today was going to be the best day to be out – at least until the weekend. I have returned to this area a number of times – some of you have gone with me in the past – but it is always interesting to see it in various stages of dormancy and growth. Today was no different. The trees were bare but the moss and ferns were strikingly green – so many shades and as always it is spongy – thickness and water. I shot the following image very low to the ground and in the process got very wet even before I stepped through the ground cover into a pool.

Dave and I spent most of out time just looking at the ‘lush’ scenery – this was rejuvenating – at least for me. There is serenity in these landscapes.

The bare trees made a wonderful contrast to the dark green of the forest canopy – it was really dark down there and Dave and I both had some very long exposures.

My friend Bruce once made the observation that the first and last shot of the day often times turns out to be one of nicest shots and today that held true for me as the shot below was taken just before we packed up and headed for the car. The small riffle caught my attention and this shot was as good as I could do with it.

Finally and just because we have moved through the Christmas season and I did not have a tree and certainly did not decorate I leave you with a tree decorated by nature. I hope you all have a great New Year.

Beating the rain

deighb — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:18:43 +0000

Yesterday was filled with errands so I was not able to get out and shoot and it left me nervous about being able to find some time in the mountains without getting too wet so I left early this morning with the Oakridge area in mind. It has been a very long time since I visited Salmon Creek Falls just a bit northeast of the town and I am not sure why it popped into my head last night as a place to visit but there I was. Not the most spectacular waterfall I have ever photographed but it does sit in a rather dramatic bowl that I think is very lovely and I am sure is a popular recreation site in the non-Winter months. I had the place to myself today.

The water is quite low right now due to the overly dry December we have had and as a result it is crystal clear. I got caught up in the patterns of the stream as it played across the bedrock and I think the image below shows the clarity and the beauty of the stream close up. Sure glad I beat the rain as the stream will get a little color as it rises.

Just above the main falls is a lovely canyon and as I was setting up and trying to compose an image the sun momentarily came through the clouds and lit up the tips of the conifers along the stream and resulted in some nice reflections in the pool. Seconds later it was gone.

After an hour or so I made my way back uphill toward the car and was just struck by the pattern and the freshness of this small group of ferns growing out of an decaying log along the trail. I love detail like this. Sure was nice to out and about again and to beat the promised rain.

Frosty morning…

deighb — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:27:16 +0000

My friend Dave and I spent a couple of hours on less than heavily traveled and not developed trails in the Delta Ponds area yesterday. We arrived, after a less than worthwhile excursion to a field out by the new hospital, in time to experience the sunrise just breaking through the trees over the still frozen ponds along the trail. Yes! that is frost on the river banks.

I have to really thank Dave for getting me out and about on these paths. They are not the standard well developed trails that surround this area and while a little more difficult to navigate they do lead to ponds and back areas that offer more interesting areas for photography.

I spent a lot of my time once again looking for the detail in the frozen vegetation along the path and while these are not great images they do capture some of the beauty that surrounded us yesterday as we walked along. Both of us were pretty chilled when we finally got back to Dave’s house for a very welcome cup of coffee.

I hope you all have a very Happy Christmas and I send you my heartfelt thanks for taking the time to read my blog throughout the year and to view and comment on the images. Much appreciated.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Simplicity

deighb — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:48:08 +0000

My friend Dave Gibson sent a link to a recent talk by Chris Orwig at a TED conference and I suggest, if you have the time, to pop over and enjoy the roughly 20 minute video. The title is “Finding the Magnificent in the Mundane” and I viewed it right after a chilly morning walk in the wetlands. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78ARBe2JCXw

We have had thick fog for the last couple of mornings and it resulted in flat rather dull light so I spent my time looking for the detail especially in the winter killed vegetation along the path. I managed to get one nice shot – magic in the mundane.

Still cold right now but I have a great fire going and I am off to a art/photography show this evening in Springfield presented by some very talented ladies.

Wahclella Falls

deighb — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:55:38 +0000

This beautiful set of waterfalls is located just south of the Bonneville Dam exit off I-84 and is a relatively easy 1 mile hike into the base of the falls. However, EASY did not apply to my day out there yesterday although being in the Gorge this time of year is simply wonderful and the color and emptiness of the landscape is always renewing to me. I had seen a great image of this area that my friend John had forwarded a while back and this was my first attempt to get up there to see if I could come anywhere near duplicating that shot. What I learned is that it is not an easy area to photograph. I spent a great deal of the 3 hours I was in there making my up and then down a very loose, unstable and steep scree slope to the north of the main waterfall area and above the access trail. This was hard scrambling but from what I remembered of the photo and from what I saw yesterday the image was taken even higher on the scree slope than I managed to get. The waterfall to the right of the image below does not run unless there has been a lot of rain – such has been the case in the PNW lately.

The goal was to get all three waterfalls in one shot or in multiple shots that I could combine and I think I failed rather miserably but learned a lot about what I need to do on a future visit. I dropped off the hill and managed somewhere along the line to crack the protective film on my LCD monitor on the camera. I put a new one on last night – no damage to the main screen so my advice to all you shooters out there would be to be sure to get one of these protective films.

The image below is from the access trail leading to the upper bridge crossing and you can see two of the waterfalls. From the damaged bridges laying in the stream channel below the lower crossing I would say that at times this creek gets to moving a lot of water. I know I will be back hopefully this winter and with some company. Must say moving around on that scree slope was a bit daunting by myself.

Winter sun

deighb — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:17:53 +0000

After a week of dreary weather and the promise of another week just like the last Sunday was the sole day in the forecast that showed sun and clear sky. It was near and below freezing as I left before dawn to drive to the Delta Campground area on the South Fork of the McKenzie River. Along the way I kept getting distracted by beautiful river and forest scenes. The colorful leaves on the hardwoods along the river are just about gone what with the recent storms and heavy rain but there were still some nice views as I moved along. Plenty of stops along the main river to shoot and just enjoy being out with no rain. I still have some images to work up from those stops.

The road leading into Delta CG is closed about halfway up but it is a pleasant walk with lots to see. The fallen frozen leaves crunched under my feet as I entered the nature trail and the bridge crossings were covered with ice. I was grateful for the heavy winter coat I had on — it was award from our Staff Officer when I worked on the Willamette NF (Thanks Herb!). There are 3 bridge crossings on the trail and I think the middle one is my favorite both looking upstream and down. I got there in time to frame an image with the sun just coming through the timber and beginning to light up the scene.

I spent another hour wandering around in the campground area and then went over to the town of Blue River and did some exploring along the river for possible areas to shoot the next time I head up this direction. All in all in was a very nice way to spend a chilly Sunday morning and next time perhaps I will make it up to the snow.