2012, Day 305 - Eeeeek!

Happy Halloween!  As I sat at my computer this evening trying to think of what would frighten me most I discovered I had it on my hard drive.  Brian Bonham in his Jayne hat lurking around an disused nuclear power plant!  I apologize in advance for all the nightmares this will cause but I thought it only appropriate today.

Seriously, we're going to miss you on our adventures Mr. Bonham.  We will have to plan an epic photo adventure on our return!

Canon 1D X, Canon 50/1.2L
50mm, f1.2, 1/400 sec @ 640 ISO

2012, Day 304 - Elvandar

I loved Peter Jackson's visual representation of The Lord of the Rings and I sometimes wonder where they got their inspiration.  Then I visit Silver Falls and see a scene that took computer animation to make in real life.  It is a place of stunning beauty and when I went the mist caused by the rain and the falls only served to magnify the magical feeling.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f16, merged layers of 1, 2, 4, and 8 sec @100 ISO

2012, Day 303 - Anchored

Another photo from my adventure at Cedar Creek with Brian Matiash, Nicole S Young, and Brian Bonham.  It was worth braving the rain because the light was so soft and seemed to highlight all the color in the leaves. Those unchanged by fall's touch were dark and helped to provide a sense of depth.  I love that the leaves are dotting the rocks, they provide nice highlights in otherwise dark details.

Canon 1D X, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
42mm, f11, merged layers of 2.5, 5, and 10 sec @ 100 ISO

2012, Day 302 - Grasping for fall

It isn't long before I will be off to Cambodia and one of my misgiving, albeit a minor one, is missing fall.  The colors in Oregon can be spectacular so when I was invited out yesterday I wanted to go and when I went out to run errands today I ended up at Silver Falls State Park again.  It is one of my favorite places in Oregon and I was hoping with the increased elevation that there might be some good color.  While I won't say that I was disappointed because there was some early color it hasn't peaked yet but it may not have time if these violent rain storms keep coming at us.

It was a nice escape but now I have to buckled down and get things done.  I want everyone else to make a concerted effort to share the splendor of fall with me so I can live vicariously through you.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f16, merged layers of 1, 2, and 4 sec @ 100 ISO

2012, Day 301 - Mothballed

Today I had the dubious honor of being stuck in a confined space with Brian Matiash, Nicole S. Young, and Brian Bonham.  Fortunately it was only a short drive out to Cedar Creek and the historic grist mill.  The weather was rather awful, at best it was drizzling and at worst it was pouring down on us, but we are stubborn people, photographers, and did our best to ignore the wet.  I guess we can be grateful that it was relatively warm but the chill seeps in when you're wet.

Ultimately we had a lot of fun, ran up and down the creek, stopped for a bit to eat, made fun of each other.  That is what weekends are about; friends, adventure, food and photography!

Canon 1D X, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
39mm, f16, merged layers of 6, 13, and 25 sec @ 100 ISO

2012, Day 300 - Rosie

It's hard to believe that Miss Rosie is twelve years old.  It was over a year ago that she was diagnosed with renal failure.  At the time the doctors didn't think she would last more than six months but here she is, over a year later.  Rosie has her good days and her bad, her appetite comes and goes, but she is always happy to see her Uncle Jeff.  When I visit she is affectionate and I usually get a little bit of goofy play for entertainment.  Today we got together to take their annual family portrait and I so wanted to get a good one because despite her strength so far time will get the better of her eventually.  Love you Miss Rosie!

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
70mm, f2.8, 1/20 sec @ 1250 ISO

2012, Day 299 - Up the spout

I just can't seem to resist Satsop, I suspect many are tired of seeing these images but my blog allows me to indulge my whims.  This is the reactor chamber, filled with ducts and rails like blood vessels and nerve endings.  The whole site seems to be some kind of giant, dead and decaying but still impressive in almost every way.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f5.6, 2.5 sec @ 320 ISO

2012, Day 298 - The old lady

I found this little lady in my house the other day and couldn't help but smile.  My grandmother wrote to me when I was a kid away from home and said in her letter that she wished she were a ladybug so that she could sit on my shoulder and share my adventures.  Sadly she passed away a few years ago so whenever I see a ladybug I think of  her.  This one's timing is perfect, it is just over a week before I leave for Cambodia so she still seems determined to accompany me on my travels.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS with 12.5mm and 25mm extension tubes
100mm, f11, 1/200 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 297 - Sliding

It's the bunny!  Yeah, I know, it is just a white plastic bag on a string, but that is what the dogs chase when racing.  Somehow it makes no difference that it is not something tasty, it's still exciting...

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
200mm, f7.1, 1/1000 sec @ 500 ISO

2012, Day 296 - Swivel

This is where the magic happens, the reactor room that would be filled with steam and a rather unhealthy dose of radiation.  There were steel plates laying on the floor and it smelled of a foundry in the confines of this cavernous space.  The teams had been back cutting out more scrap and dragging it outside to be broken down into smaller pieces.  Those parallel yellow beams dominating the top of the image are part of a crane that could pass from one end to the other while rotating in the circular room.  There is so much to take in at a place like Satsop, I hope I can go back soon so I can try to take it all in again.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f5.6, merged layers of 2 and 8 sec @ 320 ISO

2012, Day 295 - Radar

Frankie got to go racing again today!  He was so excited to be out there with all his buddies and he did terrible in his first race; all he wanted to do initially was to play and by the time he figured out it was a competition he was way behind.  His second race went better but by the third race he knew what he was doing.  Unfortunately there are only three races in such a small meet so he didn't have time to improve on the second place finish of the final run.  Oh well, he had a great time and is now a very tired boy.

We hope you all had an equally fun-filled weekend!

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
200mm, f7.1, 1/1000 sec @ 500 ISO

2012, Day 294 - Junction

I wish I had the wherewithal to ask about this room.  It is a roofless alcove with the remnants of I-beams and pipes cut off at the walls.  Why build a room where everything comes together?  Why reinforce with I-beams?  Was this where steam traveled to make power or was this a junction on the way to one of the cooling towers?  Would there have been valves and pumps here?  I suspect that the reason the room is now empty is for the value of the scrap metal.  Maybe I will remember to ask if I make it back...

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f5.6, 1/100 sec @ 320 ISO

2012, Day 293 - Take a break

In one of the converted buildings at Satsop there are massive spaces that have been leased out to various companies.  This level is leased to a steel fabricator and as we walked through this table caught my eye.  Placed under a lamp so that is gets decent light in the middle of a giant open floor, it just looked peaceful.  Amid the sounds of trucks rumbling in and out two floors below I can imagine the chairs filled by people laughing while they take their breaks from the hard dirty work they do every day.  Maybe they flip through a magazine, play a game of cards, or just chat to pass the time.

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
160mm, f2.8, 1/10 sec @ 320 ISO

2012, Day 292 - The Steve Martin effect

Hubert!  I love this boy, he's my big baby.  At five years old he is still very much a puppy, racing around the   house, beating up his brothers, throwing toys around, he's nuts and it is wonderful.  Still, while he may not act his age Hubert is certainly showing it.  His beautiful blue coat is flecked everywhere with white, more than is usual for his age, but I think it makes him look distinguished.  Sadly, it is also a reminder than time stops for no one and he isn't the 20 month old pup afraid of his shadow that I brought home.  Time has made him better but I wish it didn't make him older.

Canon 1D X, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
70mm, f8, 1/200 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 291 - Gateway to hell

Before you is the door into the reactor chamber.  We were told that the due to the heat and the radiation one could only be allowed in for six minutes at a time.  Given that it took climbing a number of stairs I suspect that would not allow you to get much work done during the safety interval.  Outside Brian Bonham and Nicole S Young are chatting while setting up a shot but being the sneaky person I am, I hurried down the hall can captured this photograph.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
27mm, f5.6, 0.8 sec @ 320 ISO

2012, Day 290 - Bleeding sparks

There are workers pulling scrap metal out of Satsop Nuclear Power Plant; the income from the scrap helps maintain the site but it also removes some of the history.  I guess it is a necessary evil.  These workers were toiling in the rain, cutting the salvageable scrap in order to make pennies for each dollar invested.  Seems like a lot of work for relatively little reward.

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
200mm, f5.6, 1/640 sec @ 320 ISO

2012, Day 289 - Nuclear moon

It is really hard to resist sharing pictures from last week's trip to Satsop.  I have visions of it when I sleep, the place was amazing and overwhelming.  This is another shot of the interior of the completed cooling tower.  Thanks to the distortion of the lens you can see the walkway straight ahead and part of the wall behind the camera.  While the effect is odd I like that you can see the entire opening of the tower and the high fog hovering at the top.  The water dripping down the inside of the walls and the texture of the concrete is just remarkable.  When it was quite you could hear the echos of people breathing, coughing, mumbling to themselves, their footsteps, and the sharp clicks of camera mirrors flipping up and down throughout.  It was like being inside a giant living clock.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f11, merged layers of 1/50, 1/13 and 1/6 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 288 - Get in my belly

Can you see all the little bitty people?  From right to left you can see Nicole S Young, our guide Nate, Chris Germano, Brian Bonham, and Brian Matiash.  I love the sense of scale they provide and while many in the group wanted shots unadulterated with people I thought they were great.  True, Brian Matiash is no model and this image shows him to be the menacing dwarf that he is, but I think it helps everyone who has never been to such a site appreciate how massive it is.  Now I keep imaging Ryan Reynold's severed head falling and cutting through the tower like in the X-Men prequel thanks to my little sister, much appreciated Laura!

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f11, 1/13, 1/6 and 1/3 sec @ 320 ISO

2012, Day 287 - Ascend

Under normal circumstances we would have been allowed to climb to the top of the cooling tower but because of the rain they were reluctant to permit the climb.  Amy Heiden was probably the most disappointed in the group but because there was so much high fog the visibility wouldn't have been very good although I suppose that might have made things interesting as well.  Nevertheless, we all had fun trying to capture the massive scale of these monolithic structures.  When I was looking at the tower these stairs reminded me of a giant zipper in appearance.

Canon 1D X, Canon 24-105/f4L IS
24mm, f5.6, 1/250 sec @ 320 ISO

2012, Day 286 - Straining

Today I had an epic day of shooting with Brian Matiash, Nicole S Young, Arno Jenkins, Christopher Germano, Brian Bonham, Amy Heiden, Joe Azure, and Tressa Crozier at the Satsop Nuclear Power Plant.  Construction started in the early 80s and but the project was abandoned and is now used as an industrial park.  The structures still stand although some components are being removed for its scrap value.  It's too bad that it cannot be better preserved but at the same time remarkable that it is preserved at all.

This is a composite of the last photos of the day inside the unfinished second cooling tower.  The weather was great and terrible at the same time because it was raining lightly and we had low hanging fog all day but it lends a dreamy quality to the photos.  Unfortunately it also means that we all got pretty we and that many of the outdoor photo opportunities couldn't be fully realized.  Oh well, it was still tons of fun and it gives us all an excuse to return.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f5.6, merged layers of 1/80, 1/40 and 1/20 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 285 - Fall of summer

It seems that fall is here.  The leaves are changing and tomorrow we're supposed to get the first real fall rain. I was hoping that the weather of the last few weeks would last forever.  Cool nights, comfortable days, and sunlight.  We know for certain that the days will be getting shorted and soon it will be dark when we get to work and dark again when we leave.  But at least it makes for beautiful night photography!

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 24-105/f4L IS
24mm, f8, 1/50 sec @ 400 ISO

2012, Day 284 - Switched

Rolling past, stopping briefly to load and unload cargo, this rail yard sees almost constant activity.  Forklifts whir past leaving trails of light in their wake and people walk up and down the rows of containers to inspect them, their flashlights bobbing with each step.  All this activity is noisy; trains rumble in, the incessant beeps of vehicles in reverse, the slow drone of the container lifts.  It is life, albeit in a mechanical form, and its careful choreography is enough to make any type A person catatonic with pleasure.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 24-105/f4L IS
45mm, f5.6, 0.8 sec @ 400 ISO

2012, Day 283 - More than cousins

This is Frankie's half sister Kira.  Actually Kira is more than a half sister, they share the same father and Frankie's mother is a littermate to Kira maternal grandfather.  Kira is still learning to chase the lure, she gets distracted by the idea of playing with her brother and still frequently run off the course to find him.  There's no judgment here, she doesn't have to race or be competitive in any way, she just needs to have fun!

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II

200mm, f4, 1/1000 sec @ 320 ISO

2012, Day 282 - Weathered

The other night I just happened upon this small old industrial area.  It is tucked away near a small highway and the train freight yard.  The buildings have this great close-set old time look, it looks almost like the Hollywood old west to my eye.  Unfortunately time was short and this was the best shot taken on my brief stop but it is somewhere I plan on returning to photograph more when time permits.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 24-105/f4L IS
60mm, f5.6, 5 sec @ 400 ISO

2012, Day 281 - Depot

I love exploring the world at night.  Everything looks so different and you notice details you might not otherwise.  Scenes like this are fun to explore, I wish Waldo was hidden in here somewhere so that I could give everyone a reason to really examine all the little details.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 24-105/f4L IS
24mm, f5.6, 1 sec @ 400 ISO

2012, Day 280 - Unloaded

This evening I was craving a photo adventure.  I haven't had time to go out just to shoot in quite a while so after running some errands I ran down to a big freight yard.  There seems to be a lot of heavy industry around there and I couldn't help but notice this loading bay.  I loved the exposed timbers of the roof, the concrete, the corrugated metal, it is a feast of texture and the contrast is great.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 24-105/f4L IS
35mm, f5.6, 1 sec @ 400 ISO

2012, Day 279 - Blushing

When I look at this flower and all the little florets inside I think of velcro.  Those little loops look like the hook part of the pairing.  I love the way the light is hitting the flowers and the rest, all those details that would otherwise be a distraction, are left in the shadows.  Fall is coming and the landscape will soon be changing!

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f8, 1/200 sec @ 320 ISO

2012, Day 278 - Feathered flight

We all know that moths are the sometime fuzzy looking cousins to butterflies but did you know that they have scales?  They're longer than those of fish or reptiles and give the appearance of feathers but they are most certainly scales.  Still, it gives them a somewhat cuddly look, don't you think?  And those big eyes make them look so innocent.  If ever there was an adorable insect it's the moth.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS with 12.5mm and 25mm extension tubes
100mm, f11, 1/200 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 277 - Crouching spider

I can't help but think about the coming of Halloween.  Today it was cool and really windy and it reminds me of ideal weather for trick-or-treating with leaves blowing across the road and candles flickering in pumpkins. And what better for Halloween than a big fat spider?  Because of the strong gusts many of the spiders abandoned their webs for more secure shelter out of the elements but I found this brave soul and coaxed him in for a little session.  He obliged but I think was overwhelmed by the attention and I suspect he was relieved when I returned him safe and sound to his web.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS with 12.5mm and 25mm extension tubes
100mm, f11, 1/200 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 276 - Deluge

I love that fall is coming and that you can feel it in the air.  The mornings are crisp and the evenings are cool but the days are still sunny and comfortable.  In no time it will be Halloween, the trees will be golden in the evening sun and the crunch of leaves with accompany each step.

This was taken on a trip out to Silver Falls, one of the most magical places in Oregon.  Every time I go it is like walking through a fairy tale.  The landscape is lush, even in winter, and diverse.  It is a paradise for nature lovers and I often regret not making the trip frequently enough.  Maybe I will return soon, when the leaves are starting to change, and enjoy the tranquility.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f5.6, 1.6 sec @ 100 ISO

2012, Day 275 - Three points

It's a desaturated kind of day.  I am not sure why, maybe because I've been on the run all day and I want a little calm and clarity.  Because there have been so many distractions that despite my constant movement there seems to be a inordinately small amount of accomplishment.  Don't get me wrong, a lot happened and it was all addressed properly but it has been a day of rushing from one appointment to another.

I took this picture in a spring time exploration of North Portland's industrial  waterfront.  There are so many pockets of heavy industry with many little circuitous roads to access them that one needs the spirit of adventure on their shoulder.  Some places are devoid of interest and filled with generic and soulless warehouses and others are like this, old but well maintained.  I am so happy for the shorter days, it's time to hit the road again soon.

Canon 1Ds Mark II, Sigma 50/f1.4EX
50mm, f5.6, 1/2 sec @ 200 ISO