The First Last Light

Spent the first evening of the new year at one of my favorite local spots hoping for a sunset.  I got one.  First shot was just as I walked up to the pond along the access path and my first reaction was “Oh Wow!:

The light was dropping and the color in the sky was coming on both over the water and in the adjacent field where the image below developed.

Moving back to the edge of the reservoir I watched the evening light come on.  I stayed until pretty much everything went flat and dull and walked out in the dark.  Love the sounds that come on during those times – bullfrogs and geese.

What a nice way to start a new year and I hope there are many more to come.  Click on the images for a larger view.  Comments are more than welcome.

 

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Winter Etchings

“The thin snow now driving from the north and lodging on my coat consists of those beautiful star crystals . . . Nature full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand” 

Henry David Thoreau

The forecast was for another rain front moving in yesterday albeit a bit colder than the preceding one.  On the lookout for snow I headed toward one of my favorite places to photograph – Clear Lake and Fish Lake.  I made an intermediate stop at Olallie CG to photograph in the old growth.  See yesterdays post.  It was spitting snow when I left the campground and headed up river.  When I got to Clear Lake the weather had morphed into a full on snow storm.  I went out on the dock at the resort – seriously snowing and blowing. (I think I could hear Elvis singing Blue Christmas)   Love being coated by snow.

By converting these images to Black and White I can almost get the look of an etching – the branches stark against the storm filled sky and I think it captures the cold really well.  (Not nearly as good as the work I see of print artists like my friends Heather and Mika.)

Four wheel drive on the road up the hill back to the highway and more snow on the road up to Fish Lake near Santiam Junction.  Another black and white winter etching below.

Time in the mountains, in the snow, with my camera is a real gift and yesterday felt like a day late Christmas present.  Click on the images for larger views.

NFMF Willamette River

Time spent on a beautiful river surrounded by the vibrant colors of autumn is always something I enjoy and yesterday was one of those stellar days that make autumn so special, especially for photographers but really for everyone who takes the time to get out there.

The North Fork of the Middle Fork Willamette River joins the Middle Fork just west of the small town of Westfir.   I picked up my friend and fellow photographer, Tim Giraudier, a Westfir resident and we headed up river looking for photo ops.  We went up the road to what is called The Canyon.   It was early and the light had not come up just yet so we noted places for stops on the way back down the road.  There was one stop that we both were familiar with – a small stream cascading over a what I am sure was a rock slide from a storm event a number of years ago.  The boulders are now covered with moss making for very uneven walking.  The shot below is from that stop – looking upstream.

We both took the time to shoot looking down the small trib.  Not sure which image I like best.

Moving on we found an area that I had shot a number of years ago with Bruce McCammon and Dave Hill.  The colors were so much better than what I remembered – low water and great color.  Decided to call this image Aqua Oro.

Not sure how long the color will last – I think one good storm will take out most of the leaves so if you can get up there I would recommend it.

Click on the image for a larger view on your monitor and as always I welcome your comments.  I do have some more images that I plan to use in another post.

Enjoy

 

 

End of Summer

The last days of summer are upon us.  The days are getting more even and the mornings are chilly and the local apples are ripe and crisp.   Last night I went out to the wetlands, a place I love to photograph.  The sunset was colorful and just filled the sky.  This panorama was shot near official sunset – light dropping fast.  Click on the image for a larger view which I think helps.

Not sure what it is about mud but I found myself stuck in the mud along the bank and once again came home in need of a good rinse.

 

Out of the Smoke

After what was a miserable afternoon yesterday – heat, wind and smoke – the air started to settle toward the last hour before sunset.  I went out to Shorelane Park to see what the sunset would bring.  Sometimes horrible conditions can make for interesting light.  These two images were shot about 30 minutes apart – the 2nd one right before official sunset time.  Came home with a set of lenses that needed cleaning and a nose that needed blowing!!

Another round trip

Just a couple of lines to THANK YOU! all for the kind and thoughtful birthday wishes yesterday and a special thanks to my dear twin sister for accompanying me on this journey.  You are the best

This image was shot at a little pond along the Willamette Pass highway on my way to SunRiver.  Morning sun  breaking thru the haze.

 

Sunset/Sunrise

“A Repeatable Miracle”

DeWitt Jones

Often referred to by landscape photographers as The Magic Hour it is roughly that half hour before and after official sunrise or sunset.   Magic images can be made at those times but not always.  Still a repeatable miracle just sometimes not as dramatic.

After having dinner in a new brewpub in Bend with four of my favorite people:  Tanner, Jenna, Thea and Riley I headed out looking for a sunset.  Initially I was going to go up to Sparks Lake and the Ray Atkeson Overlook but the haze and smoke building up against the mountains did not look promising.  Instead but mostly by mistake I went up Tumalo Creek and got there just as the sunset color and light was coming on.  The light at Tumalo Creek gave me hope for a sunset at Sparks but when I got on the right road and headed up into the mountains it was clear (no pun intended) that a sunset was not going to develop.

Leaving my motel early this morning (0430) I headed back to Sparks Lake with the hope of a sunrise full of color and drama.  I had hope when I shot the image below that the color would develop but it just did not come around – smoke and haze filled the scene as the morning light came up.  Oh Well, sure nice to be out and about in the mountains.   As always click for a larger view and I look forward to your comments.

 

Shotgun Creek

Shotgun Creek is a small stream near the town of Marcola east of Springfield and this time of year the low water, exposed bed material and dappled sunlight combine to make soft and gentle images.  There is a lot of vegetation along the banks and that can make for cluttered images so I spent time standing in the middle of the stream in my TEVA’s and shorts trying to focus on just sections that would convey what I was feeling thru what I was seeing.   I think of this type of image as an intimate landscape.

I have been rather sick the last week or so with a nasty summer cold so this was a real treat to get out and exercise my eyes and my lenses and let my mind engage with nature.

Any comments are, as usual, more than welcome and I hope to continue recovering and getting out more and more this coming week despite the heat.  Click on the image for a larger view.

 

Summer Doldrums

There are many references in sea going literature to being stranded in the Doldrums – very little movement and the protagonists wonder if they will ever move on – “all the boards did shrink”.  Such has been the case around here for a week or so and I have found little reason to head out with my camera – the sky was flat and featureless – looked like someone had ironed a sheet.  Kept myself occupied with exercise, lawn mowing, weeding, watering and cleaning my house – all of which needed doing.

To my surprise and delight yesterday afternoon the sky filled with some very interesting cloud formations.  I kept watching until evening and headed out to one of my favorite local spots to capture a sunset.   God Speak!  Me and a little golden lab spent time just enjoying the evening.  Finally his owner showed up in a panic to claim him and I loaded the car and headed for home.   Click on the image for a larger view and as always comments are more than welcome.

On A Clear Day

With the thunderstorms moving thru overnight I was hopeful of finding some interesting remaining cloud formations along the top of the 3-Sisters as seen from Scott Lake.  Additionally I wanted to see the results of the fires that were in the area last year.  Well the fires were pretty spotty along the Scenic Highway and the road crews had done a very good job of downing the danger trees and opening the road.  However the heavy rain last night brought down mudslides on the east side and blocked the road from Dee Wright Observatory east.  They said the the cleanup mite be finished this evening.  I think the fire damage was much more extensive on the east side but I did notice some extensively burned areas on the west side further upslope from the road.

I stopped in at Scott Lake and all was well – not great for photography but nice to see no fire damage in the area.  The mosquitoes were quite healthy and hungry.  Still cannot figure out why when he had the chance Noah did not off those two on the boat!!

As I said the photography conditions were poor – aka – boring – but on the way out I happened to notice these wonderful strands of air born pollen and debris along the lake shore.  Made for some very interesting natural abstract compositions.

Always does me good to be in the mountains and it was fun shooting the abstracts in the pond.  Comments are always welcome.