Painting with smoke

My thought this morning was to travel over to Sparks Lake to see if I could get an image of the South Sister and Broken Top peaking thru the smoke.  The forecast was for clearing but alas it did not come round when I was there.  A descriptive term:  Thick as a Brick  sums up the conditions. There was a bit of brightening on the way back but still nothing that would indicate the mountains were going to make an appearance.

On the way over I kept getting glimpses of a red sun in the clouds and by the time I got to Crescent it had brightened a bit.  Found an area in the midst of an old burn that allowed the sun to be placed against the smoke and darkness.

As an option to shooting the mountains I went down to Devil’s Lake along the Scenic Highway. The sun was desperately trying to make an appearance.  I think I captured it’s peak effort.

Despite the smoke it was still nice to get out and about.  Saw two Sand Hill Cranes on the meadow by Sparks Lake and had a very colorful fox run across the road in front of my car.  What a treat.

These images are better viewed larger so please just click on them and I welcome your comments.

Bryce Creek revisit

“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.”
― Norman Maclean

I have photographed Bryce Creek on the Umpqua National Forest a number of times.  I think I have captured images in most of the seasons, even in the snow of winter, so this morning capturing an image of Bryce Creek Falls in very low flow conditions added to the others.  This waterfall is set in one of the prettiest mountain watershed scenes I know of.  I followed Charlotte Gibb’s advice on not including the sky in order to compose a more intimate image.  The light was just right to light up the pool below the falls with golden color.

Driving up the road there was a pullout/overlook that required a stop.  The morning light working its way thru the riparian vegetation painted the pools of the stream in a nice soft green light.

With all of the hardwoods filling the watershed I am thinking that an autumn color trip is called for and given another month or month and  a half I intend to get back up there.

Your comments are more than welcome and as always click on any image to get a larger screen view.

Splitting the Dark

From a short wander on the docks in Florence, OR

Comments are always welcome.

Intimate dunes

Spent the morning hours on the South Jetty just south of the town of Florence, OR. There are some beautiful dunes that you have to hike up some steep sand trails to get to but it is worth it IMHO.

There was enough sun to highlight the contrast both in color and B&W. These are what I would term Intimate Landscapes – no sky and an emphasis on detail.  I welcome your comments and thanks for looking.   Click for a larger screen view.

A walk by a small stream..

After a wonderful day with my niece and her family at SunRiver in Central Oregon I drove to Sparks Lake with the hope of getting a sunset shot over the lake with the South Sister and Broken Top.  The grand landscape sunset shot simply did not materialize – blue sky and not much to hold my interest.  Moving on I spent some time wandering along the banks of a small stream looking to capture some detail in the flow and along the bank.  I read an e-article a while back that was titled ‘No Such Thing as Bad Light’ – true – one just has to change your view.  Below are a couple of detail images that I found. (Can you see the alligator in the first image??)

Sunset at Dexter

A while back my friend Chris mentioned that the parking lot at the Covered Bridge at Dexter Reservoir was a great place to shoot a sunset.  I had never done that so last night was a ‘first time’ treat for me.  Apparently this is a very popular place for people to sit and photograph and just enjoy the sunset.  The small parking lot filled up as the evening went on.   Last night was full of color as the sunset descended into the far hills.  What a lovely way to spend an evening.

First image is a very wide angle shot done with my 14 mm prime lens.

As the sun moved lower the colors changed and the scene became more what I would expect of a sunset over water.

Have to keep this place in mind for autumn and winter sunsets.  Click for a larger view and as always I welcome your comments.

Connections

These two images are from a small pond near the Mt. Pisgah Arboretum that I visited early this morning – trying to beat the bright summer light and the heat.

The first images is called:  Connecting the Dots.

This next image is a bit of a natural abstract that I found looking at the same pond.  Slowing down and really taking the time to look.

Was a wonderful way to start the day – classical music on the radio and sunshine filling the Valley.  Click for a larger view and as always I welcome your comments.

A Lovely Summer Evening

Spent part of last evening at Shorelane Park on the edge of Fern Ridge reservoir. I have shot here many times in the past and while not always successful in coming back with reasonably good images I think last night I managed to capture a couple that will give you an idea of how lovely it was. There were clouds scudding across the hills being blown apart a bit by strong winds but creating interesting formations. The setting sun always seems to add interest and drama.

As the sun set the color in the remaining clouds seemed to come up and be reflected in the choppy water.  It was a really nice evening and I hope these images convey some of that to you.  Comments are more than welcome and thanks for looking

Alton Baker Pond

Spent the early morning hours on the banks of a small pond in Alton Baker park here in Eugene. I watched a video on YouTube yesterday – an interview by Alister Benn – one of my favorite photographers – of T. J. Thorne. He has a new ebook out titled “There is No Such Thing as Bad Light”.  I have not purchased it just yet but the interview was heartfelt and informative.  This morning that book title was in the front of me wee brain as the light was rather flat. Got me to slow down and really look as I wandered along. Found this simple welcoming view to the edge of the pond. Spent about an hour down there and it was a very nice way to start the day.

Hope you all enjoyed the holiday and as always comments are more than welcome.

Spring blooms

As I said in a post yesterday I think the Metolius River is one of the prettiest rivers in Oregon and in the spring the banks are full of wild flowers.  Not just the banks but there are small mid-channel bars that are covered with beautiful bouquets.  Below is one example.

South of the town of Sisters are hillsides that were severely burned a few years back.  Those hills are coming back and are covered with ceanothus that are bloom.

Thanks for looking.  Stay healthy as we move into yet another phase of virus protection.