Champion Creek

It was a very nice Spring morning driving up to and along Champion Creek, a tributary of Brice Creek, on the Umpqua National Forest.  We were initially headed for an old mining ghost town in the Bohemian mining district but there was a log across the road that stopped us before we got to the town site.  The Champion Creek road is really rough – basically chiseled out of the rock hillside and the roadbed is nothing more than hard rock in places.  The road pulls away from the stream and you find yourself driving thru massive old-growth timber with the stream down in a steep canyon. 

Prior to exiting the main road we stopped at Cabin Creek CG and the dogwood are in bloom!  This is one of my favorite mountain blooms.  They are just lights in the forest and while a bit scattered right now I am sure there will be more to come in the next week or so.

Heading up Champion Creek we came to a gorgeous waterfall. I do not know the name of this drop but it just fits into the landscape and since I am a sucker for waterfalls I had to stop.

My thanks to Chris for the location suggestion and the invitation. Comments as always are more than welcome.

Roman Nose Mountain

My friend Chris invited me along on an outing to Roman Nose mountain in the Oregon Coast Range. It was so much fun exploring a new-to-me area and piqued me for future visits. We found a small lake near the top and the reflections from the riparian vegetation were very interesting. Dropping down a mile or two from the top there was a clear overview looking east with the Cascades in the distance. Twas a really nice morning.

Reflection – Roman Nose lake

Roman Nose Overlook – looking east.

Comments are always welcome

A Spring Visit

Sweet Creek in the Oregon Coast Range is one of my favorite photography locations and going this time of year especially mid-week, there are almost no visitors. Except for an old retired Forest Service hydrologist that was the case this morning.

I went early knowing that it would still be rather dark under the old growth along the stream. I found a new-to-me road that crossed the stream further down than where I normally start to photograph and found the stream wrapped in fog. What a treat – a new view painted with nature’s brush.

I made my way to the upper parking lot, loaded up the camera gear and headed toward the stream and Sweet Creek Falls. I had listened to a Podcast featuring Charlotte Gibb on my way over and she talked about finding Intimate landscapes. I found the image below one on my way along the stream below the falls. I think it fits the definition as she described it.

I then went to Sweet Creek Falls with the idea of finding a different way to photograph it. The last image was taken with my Canon R5, 35-70mm wide angle lens at f2.8, ISO 100 and a 10 stop Neutral Density filter resulting in a 30 second exposure.

Splitting the Frame

When I first started shooting more seriously and attempting to absorb as much information as I could I remember watching a video on photographic do’s and do not’s and they stated that one should never split the frame horizontally. Well as usual I am a poor student so here is an example of how I split the frame.

 

 

Salmon Creek

My thanks go out to fellow photographer April Norman for the tip and directions to Salmon Creek falls near the town of Oakridge. I went up this morning and found a beautiful stream in spring flow. I know it will change as its watershed drys and images taken at that time will certainly look different and beautiful in their own right.

I parked at the gate leading into the campground and walked down toward the stream. Trails everywhere – an indication of a well used facility when open. There are two small waterfalls plunging into the main stem just across from the main campground. The first image below focused more on the detail.

Scrambling up a rock bank I walked further upstream until I was just above the two small waterfalls.  This is a lovely stream and I know I will be back for another go at  getting interesting images. 

As always you comments are more than welcome. 

 

A thought

“Poems are made by fools like me/ But only God can make a tree”                      Joyce Kilmer

I guess I should substitute Photographs for Poems. I love this tree that I found along the wetlands that I came across on my way to Smith Rocks.

 

Wizard Winter

I stuck my head out of the motel door on Wednesday morning to find about 2 inches of fresh snow draping the car and parking lot. What a treat. I left Sisters early with the goal of getting to Wizard Falls on the Metolius River. From Camp Sherman on I left the only track on the 5 miles of fresh snow (~4 inches) into the parking area. It was still dark as I gently walked down to the bridge. I set up the tripod and camera and made all the necessary adjustments to try to capture Wizard Falls in the first light – aka The Blue Hour – with a fresh coat of snow. It was just at freezing and I had to wait about an hour for it to develop.

Am learning about focus peaking on my new camera and have say it really worked well on this morning. I have a lot of other images to review and work up from the morning and may post a few. As always your comments are welcome and click on an image for a larger view.

 

Central Oregon visit

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday morning roaming the roads around Sisters and over as far as Smith Rocks north of Redmond. A few years ago a Sisters friend guided me along the back roads toward Smith Rocks. I followed the signs to the Faith, Hope and Charity winery which makes finding your way much easier. I remembered a small pond from that time and was lucky enough to find it again – this time partially frozen. 

Moving on I stopped at a small wildlife viewing area and while not much was happening in the wildlife department there was this small tree lit up in the mid-day light.   May have to return when it is in bud this spring and again in the color season.

I drove on to Smith Rocks and have to say I was a bit worried about it being overrun with people but it was not too bad however there are signs, like a new parking lot, of the growing popularity of the facility.  Some of you will recognize this portion of the river.

I spent the night in Sisters and woke to about 3 inches of fresh snow and left early to shoot on the Metolius River.  Perhaps tomorrow I will have something to post from that portion of the trip.  Fresh snow is such a delight.  As always your comments are more than welcome.

 

First shots

On Tuesday afternoon a new Canon EOS R5 decided to come home with me. I spent most of yesterday watching tutorial videos on camera set-up and use and then whacking my forehead when it did not work but being delighted when whatever routine I was trying to set up did. This is a camera full of features that I am only learning – it will be a long time coming to discover all the ways it can help my photography. I have say after years of shooting my Canon 5D Mark IV it came to feel like an old friend. I knew all of its’ quirks and what to expect and I do miss it a bit but am enthusiastically looking forward to growing with my new friend.

I went to Wildwood Falls on the Row River east of Cottage Grove this morning just to test out the camera in the field. It is an amazing tool. Here are a couple of images from this outing.  It was a fun morning and I hope to get better with this camera.   Click for a larger view and as always comments are more than welcome.

 

Quiet evening

“Softly the evening came with the sunset.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Had another glorious evening at the West Eugene wetlands. I went out there with my friend Chris and I think we were both taken away with the sunset – it started out in almost pastel colors and then as the sun kissed the earth the colors came of stronger. The first image below is right after walking down the access road and the last one was just before the color started to drop off, just after official sunset. T’was a wonderful evening.

I have been reading an e-book by Alister Benn called The Color of Meaning (https://expressive.photography/) and I think the color, contrast, atmosphere, geometry and light in these shots played out on the still water convey the quiet gentle evening that came out last night. Sure hope so as that is how I felt.

As always click on the image for a larger view and I welcome you comments.