Row River/Brice Creek

“happier than a dog at a BBQ for the blind” 

Christopher Moore

That pretty much sums up my feelings about my time along the Row River and Brice Creek this morning.  It was perfect for photographing streams – overcast with a bit of rain resulting in soft morning light – long exposures and wet feet.

Brice Creek is a tributary to the Row River – east of Cottage Grove and easy to find. Had the place pretty much to myself.  There is lots of access to the river combined with plenty of safe pull-outs along the road for parking.  Also right now the wild dogwood is in bloom punctuating the green of the conifers and deciduous trees along the road and the river.  Loved the soft green of the new leaves and I made a vow to come back in the autumn – the color season.

These three images are all from Brice Creek.  The first is a panorama of a large cascade about mid-way along my trip.  (Be sure to click on the individual images for a larger view.

The next image is a closeup section of that cascade.

The last image is of a tributary to the main stream.

Some of you may find images such as these boring but they make me happy so I am not going to apologize for them and will probably keep shooting them.

As always comments are more than welcome.

 

 

 

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Magical Places

Over the past couple of months I have been fortunate to visit two magical art and ecology institutions in Oregon.  In February I stopped for a return visit to PLAYA at Summer Lake (http://playasummerlake.org/) in the heart of Central Oregon at the edge of the Great Sandy Desert.  Today I stopped at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology (www.sitkacenter.org)  located on the Central Oregon Coast just north of Lincoln City.  Two very different ecosystems  that share a magic that can best be described only by being there – peace infusion.

I have heard about the Sitka Center from friends here in Eugene who have conducted workshops over there and one who just returned from a 3 month residency.  I have been wanting to head that way for a some time – not sure what kept me from going.  Today was the day – windy and rainy – iconic Oregon Coast weather.  Along the way I stopped at Devil’s Punchbowl between Newport and Lincoln City near Otter Rock.  I had hoped for surf large enough to spout up thru the bowl for a dramatic image but the surf was just not big enough to get that to happen.  So consider this a scouting trip and I will be hawking the websites for a day when the surf comes round.  Still it is always great to be on the Oregon Coast.

The above image is just an overview of the area.  The next image is of the punch bowl.  Would love to see the surf come pounding thru that opening and erupting in the bowl.  Perhaps next time.

I drove on up to the Sitka Center and got a tour from a very gracious young woman named Kimberly.  Great location, studio space, quiet and creatively spacious.  On the way out I stopped to photograph a small stream that crossed the access road. The skunk cabbage is just coming into bloom – love the way they light up the green field.

I think the next trip up there calls for an overnight stay – evening and morning light.  Thanks for looking.

 

Hult Lake

I stopped for a short visit at Walt O’Brien’s studio the other day and there were some very nice images on the walls taken at a lake I had never heard of.  I asked Walt about the location and it turned out it was relatively close to Eugene – in the Coast Range.  I followed Hwy. 36 west – stopped at the Low Pass store for directions – pretty easy and accurate and drove on to the cutoff for the map dot of Horton – at least I think I went thru Horton – hard to tell.  At Horton  (not a Who in sight!) the road splits and I took the right fork and in a few miles came to Hult Lake which I found out is also called Horton Pond and is basically a reservoir.

This was a bit of scouting trip for future photo opportunities but I luckily found the lake shrouded in fog.  I shot my way along the shore and found some places that I think will be great come the autumn color.  The image below was taken after about an hour of shooting and was as the morning sun was just beginning to burn off the fog coating the lake.   If you click on the image to get a larger view I think it is better.  I welcome your comments here or on FB.

Vivaldi Images

Below are the three images that were selected to be part of the multi-media presentation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on the Mckenzie River by the Eugene Symphony.  I am very honored to be included in this work and so looking forward to the dress rehearsal on the 14th.  The actual performance is on the 15th so if you want to attend I believe there are still tickets available. Click on an individual image for a larger view and as always comments are welcome

No Moon

Got up a couple of times early this morning hoping to get some indication of clearing so that I could attempt to capture an image of the Lunar Event but there were just too many clouds in the Eugene area.  Hope folks in Central and Eastern Oregon were able to see the site.  Amazing – once in 150 years.

After being shut out this morning I decided to go out and just see what I could find.  That usually means a quick trip to the West Eugene Wetlands.  The sky was interesting and the morning light added some needed drama so it was really worth a short trip – always raises my spirits.

Another gift

Yesterday I put a post up on FB about morning light that I was fortunate enough to capture out at the West Eugene Wetlands.  Beautiful still morning with soft pastel light.  I found another image, looking west instead of toward the sunrise, and was very happy with an image that showed the reflection of the mountains and sky in the lake.

Additionally I gave myself the Christmas gift of a presentation of The Nutcracker by the Eugene Ballet Company.  I love that ballet and it was nice to see a good crowd.  Wonderful music and dancing and a great Christmas present – my thanks to all the folks that put it on. https://eugeneballet.org  Hope you can make your way to a seat next Christmas.

Have a wonderful holiday.

Winter roaming

“Perhaps what moves us most in Winter is some reminiscence of far-off summer …. What beauty in the running brooks! What life!”

Henry David Thoreau

I found that quote the other night while reading “In Wildness is the Preservation of the World”.  I think Thoreau got it wrong – at least wrong for me. I personally find great joy in all of the seasons although I have to admit that summer is my least favorite. I think I was able to find some of that joy and winter beauty on Fall Creek near Lowell on Monday – low water levels due to the recent cold snap and little or no rain so the beauty of tumbling water was everywhere I walked.

After hiking up the Fall Creek trail for a while and finding nothing real interesting I went back to the car and then walked upstream on the opposite bank and found this small tributary coming into the main channel.  I had tried unsuccessfully to photograph this small stream last year so I gave it another go from a different perspective and certainly at a much lower flow.  Tried to capture it set in the little grotto it feeds.

Lastly I went back up on the road bridge and found an upstream and downstream image of the main creek – the low flows really help to define the stream and I think add a lot to help bring out the stark, yet beautiful nature of winter in the Cascades.

Looking Downstream

Looking Upstream

If you click on any of the images you can get a larger view on your monitor.

A Yearly Collection of Favorites

These are some of the images I liked the best from this year of shooting.  If you click on an image you can enter a slideshow mode and easily move through them.  I still have the month of December left to shoot so this is potentially not all of the images from this year.

Thanks for letting me share these images from my travels this past year.

Fern Pattern

Bandon, OR

Perspective

Willamette Valley

Westfir, OR

Wetlands moonset

Santiam Pass

Wizard Falls, Metolius RV.

Seal Rocks

Sunrise field

Shore bloom, Sparks Lake

Sparks Lake sunset smoke

Sunset smoke

Sweet Creek

Lost Creek Falls

Kiger Gorge, Steens Mountain

Floating World – Alvord Desert

Trailbridge Reservoir

Clear Lake

Little Cat Feet

Mt. Washington

 

 

On a Clear day

Spent this morning in the McKenzie River drainage especially at Trailbridge Reservoir and at Clear Lake which is one of the sources of flow for the river.  I went today because the forecast called for a relatively clear and dry day and for the most part they got it right.  I was hoping to shoot snow covered conifers reflected in the still waters of Clear Lake but that was not too be.  There was snow on the ground and on the trail along the lake but it had been rained on and was just a crusty mess.

On the way to Clear Lake I noticed the scene below at a pullout near Trailbridge Reservoit.  Nice way to start the morning.

It was dripping rain when I got to Clear Lake but there was sun scattered through the clouds and it lit up portions of the bank and the lake.  I first thought the boat in the image below was a rental from the resort but it turned out to be privately owned.  Met the owner – he was out for some fishing – may be the last time this year as more storms are headed our way beginning tomorrow and continuing all week.  To me the boat added some nice interest to the image and I was glad I was there in time to include it.

Comments are always welcome and as usual you can get a bigger view of the images by clicking on them.

Halloween treats

A few years ago my Mom passed away on Halloween and so it has become a special day of remembrance for me and to top that off my nephew, Tim, and his darling daughter, Gwen, were both born on this day.

Over the last few years I have taken the camera out to see what treats Mom has in store for me that I can pass along to Gwen and Tim.  This morning I met my friend Leslie from Sisters at Big Lake up near Hoodoo Ski area.  We got there in time for sunrise – painting the sky and just casting a bit of light on Mt. Washington.  Very cold up there – Leslie said it was 17 when she left Sisters, it was in the mid-20’s when out shooting. That is a rim of ice along the shoreline.  I have noticed that one tends to forget how cold you are when framing up a shot – that is until you finish.

Thanks for the Halloween treat Mom.