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.

Morning light

I think there is a poem and a prayer somewhere in this image – grateful to start another day filled with light and shadow. T’was a great morning yesterday at an overlook of Lookout Point Reservoir near Lowell, OR.  A tip from a photographer friend got me up there and I plan on returning.  As always your comments are welcome.  Click on the image for a larger view on your screen.

Silence

“Silence is not the absence of sound, but the absence of self” Anthony Demelo

I totally lost myself in the sunset at the West Eugene wetlands last evening. Had the place to myself save for the skeins of geese. This is one of the shots from last night. I have another of the sunset but this one seemed to want to stand alone.  I welcome your comments. 

 

First Light, First Day

Started shooting early this morning at an overview of Lookout Point Reservoir on the road to Oakridge. I had stopped earlier at the Lowell Covered Bridge but there was nothing but dull gray sky so headed east along Highway 58, came over a rise and was greeted by a magnificent sunrise. Lit up the mountains and highlighted the lake water. What a treat to start a new year and I am hoping an omen for a great year to come.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL. 

 

Fog at Hult Lake

The Joy is in the Seeking and the Reward is to be here.

That was certainly the case this morning at a fog filled Hult Lake in the Oregon Coast Range.  Fog can add so much to images and I think aided these two. The first is of a stand of mature alder along the lake shore.  A very simple composition.

As you travel up the lake you come to a small tributary.  The soft light from the fog hanging in the trees and a few remaining leaves plus a really long exposure helped to make this image

Access to this area is really quite easy and if you go in late autumn or even winter there are very few people to contend with.  Such is not the case in the summer or early autumn then things tend to fill up.

Enjoy and thanks for looking.

Exploring the South Santiam

I got a lead from my friend Chris telling me about the photographic opportunities up the South Santiam River. I certainly know about the South Santiam after working as a hydrologist on the Willamette N.F. for years but I had never photographed up there so this was a bit of an exploration and certainly a treat. Additionally, as I said last year this is about the time my mother passed a few years back and I try to go out and see what gifts she has for me.

I started the morning at Cascadia – it is park on the right bank of the river with a bridge crossing that makes for a nice composition. We had fog this morning in the Valley and it carried up thru the river valley. As I worked up this image I came to realize how much I liked it in Black and White.

I moved upriver toward House Rock CG and have a number of images from that area that I think turned out.  Will post some more as I finalize them.  Thanks for looking and reading and thanks to Mom for the image.  Click for a larger view and your comments are more than welcome.

 

 

Autumn morning

“It has a beauty all its own” Ray Atkeson

I left early this morning with a plan to shoot the morning light at Sparks Lake as it was my understanding that there was to be some broken clouds and fresh snow. Such was not the case. However as I waited out the changing light for a couple of hours I finally took note of the quote above on the monument sign at the overlook. Ray Atkeson was the Photographer Laureate of Oregon and produced some of the most iconic images of the Oregon Cascades that anyone has ever done.

I hoped the clouds would clear and give me a look at the South Sister in total but they got thicker and the light got flatter as the morning went on. So even though there was not a full on view of the mountain I think this is still a beautiful area on its own and it was a pleasure to spend a few hours just watching the scene unfold.

After a few more hours of looking and shooting I started back down the Cascade Lakes highway looking for autumn color. I got lucky and noticed a wonderful stand of yellow aspen at a closed campground named The Point. Walked down the hill and shot across the lake. I feel like there was some success after a long drive.

Perhaps next week I will go up the McKenzie River to Scott Lake and see if there are some autumn treats to be had up there.

Your comments are more that welcome and thanks for looking.

 

 

Foggy morning – Hult Lake

Once again fog filled the Valley and followed the hills of the Coast Range this morning. I decided to visit one of my favorite local spots to see if fall color was coming strong and to take advantage of how fog can enhance a scene. It was very dark when I arrived but after 30 minutes the light started to come on and I started shooting.

This first image has what I think of as an oriental orientation. Maybe that is me.

Wandering about on foot and in the car I came across a bit of a backwater pond with alder reflected in the still water.

Given the time of year it is I was thinking that autumn colored leaves would be scattered all over. There was some but I think viewing the patterns without the color makes for an interesting image.

As always your comments are more than welcome

 

Heart

Piercing the heart of things early this morning in the fog which blanketed the City