2012, Day 226 - Moody cool

I am a weather wimp when it comes to the heat but if you read my ramblings with any regularity that shouldn't come as a surprise.  Today was another warm one and it is supposed to get hotter as the week progresses so I delved months back to my trip to Sunriver this past winter and discovered this photo.  I pushed the dynamic range close to breaking but it was easier then my failed attempts at layer masking.  The goal was to create a sort of moody evening look to the scene and I think it came out rather nicely even if it is slightly melodramatic.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
25mm, f5.6, 1/8000 sec @ 200 ISO

2011, Day 343 - Pot of gold

A little flashback this evening to my trip to Bend a couple months ago.  At the time I wasn't thrilled with this image, I had five brackets none of which looked like a decent basis for a final image.  I admit, I am lazy, so I didn't want to put in the effort to save it.

Now, today, I was looking for a reason to procrastinate.  I've been working on my sister's wedding photos this week in almost all of my spare time and I wanted a reason to look at something else so back into the archives I went and decided to take another crack at this scene.  Ultimately, I  am happy with the final product given the constraints of the images I had at hand and more than anything I wanted to share a photograph that felt warm on this cold frosty day.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f5.6, merged layers of 1.6, 3.2, 6, and 13 sec @ 100 ISO

2011, Day 309 - Devil in the mirror

Perhaps the most breathtaking place on the Cascade Lake Scenic Byway is Devils Lake.  It is a small shallow lake that is more a large pond than lake but it is dotted with campsites that allow unobstructed views of its crystal clear azure waters.  With only faint ripples from a light breeze the clouds are reflected almost perfectly.  Add to the wooded surroundings volcanic rocks and gnarled skeletons of trees whipped by chill winter gales and you have a natural wonder just a few steps off the highway.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f22, 1/10 sec @ 100 ISO

2011, Day 308 - Where there's smoke

When we were driving through Deschutes National Forest the smell of smoke permeated the car before we could see it.  As we continued over a crest we saw a wall of smoke about a quarter of a mile away.  The sunlight was filtering weakly though and I insisted that we find a spot to pull over so I could get a better look.  Upon inspection it was clearly a controlled burn, there were fires set methodically throughout the trees but it was interesting nonetheless.

This is a landscape crop of a photo taken as a portrait.  I like the details better and the contrast between the trees in the fore and backgrounds.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f4, 1/1000 sec @ 320 ISO

2011, Day 307 - Precarious

Another photo from my trip to Bend, this was taken at Smith Rock State Park.  I had been before but last time I visited there were no rock climbers at all but this time there was almost always a climber in view.  Unfortunately I my shoulders are not especially stable, it doesn't affect my daily life but I suspect that it would be a really bad idea to try to take up rock climbing.  I've already dislocated my right shoulder once and both of them are susceptible making the risk an ill-advised one.

At some point I am going to have to finish sharing photos from this trip but it was so exciting.  Here in Portland we're used to our temperate rainforest environment and the high desert is so vastly different.  It makes me long to repeat a road trip I took a decade ago through the southwest stopping at all kinds of state and national parks.  Perhaps it is time to plan another such adventure...

Canon 1Ds Mark II, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
200mm, f5.6, 1/250 sec @ 200 ISO

2011, Day 305 - Following the path in front of you

This photo was taken on the Six Lakes trail in the Deschutes National Forest.  Many of the trees were stripped of their foliage, the evidence of a fire that ravaged the area is the recent past.  It was so different from the forested areas that we stopped at that day, here we could see the sky all along the trail, it was quite beautiful.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
19mm, f4, 1/320 sec @320 ISO

2011, Day 304 - Bright blades

I took this photograph along the trail by Dutchman Flat, part of the Cascade Lakes Scenic Highway.  It was still early in the morning, our first stop of the day, and I liked the way the morning light hit the grasses and colors, the blue sky, the green trees, the vibrant orange of the tips of the grass transitioning into a yellowed green as the nights get colder.  We knew at the time that we were fortunate, the weather was perfect during our long weekend in Bend.  The nights were chilly but the days were ideal in their coolness because it made hiking that much more invigorating!

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
17mm, f4, 1/640 sec @ 320 ISO

2011, Day 300 - Dwindling

Some days come and go with little fanfare, especially here in Oregon.  The think blanket of clouds hides the arrival of the sun except for the gradual lightening of the day and it departs with the same anonymity but some days the clouds and the sun work together to give you a little treat, to remind you to slow down and take note.  This was taken at the end of our hike and is rather underexposed, we were in the home stretch and I was racing back to the car to get a better view of the sunset from a field just across the highway.  In the end we made it and it concluded and exciting and exhausting day.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f6.3, 0.4 sec @ 320 ISO

2011, Day 299 - Morning fog

I love the color of the light that you can see peaking out from behind the trees.  The truth is that this photo was taken in the evening on our hike back from Green Lake outside of Bend and the fog was a little addition in post but I like how it looks especially given that the past few days I've awaken to find Portland blanketed in misty fog.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
23mm, f16, merged layers of 2.5, 10, and 20 sec @ 125 ISO

2011, Day 298 - Scorched

On our way to Bend one of the numerous stops I requested was alongside the highway where there were obvious signs of a fire.  We passed sections of burnt shrubs and grasses, even some stands of long-dead trees that were burn to twisted wrecks reaching for the sky.  Unfortunately most of the land surrounding the highway is either private property or part of a reservation and being a law-abiding person I decided not to tempt fate.  This poor little bush lost its life to the flames but is now immortalized on digital film.

I played with the saturation of the sky, I wanted to show the contrast between the heavy orange clay earth and the richness of the skies.

Canon 1Ds Mark II, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
29mm, f5.6, 1/2000 sec @ 200 ISO

2011, Day 293 - Not all still waters

If you're on Google+ you might recognize this photo, I posted a behind-the-scenes image on Saturday.  This is Little Lava Lake, the source of the Deschutes River and despite being 130 acres it only reaches a depth of twenty feet.  Instead of eating lunch I ignored my friends in order to take this photo, fortunately they were distracted by the remains of the summer mosquitos so despite the delay I was able to get plenty to eat.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f22, merged layers of 2.5 and 10 sec @ 100 ISO

2011, Day 292 - Weathered

Desolation and alpine beauty surround Broken Top, an extinct volcano nestled amongst the Three Sisters.  Even though there is snow still clinging to the slopes and it is October the weather was relatively clement but there is little to shield you from the biting winds when they pick up.  I love how it ages the scattered debris, smooths it over time and keeps the grasses dotting the valley between these volcanic slopes.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f8, 1/60 sec @ 400 ISO

2011, Day 291 - Todd Lake

Across the highway from the Green Lake trailhead is an open field that surrounds Todd Lake.  We had hoped to time our hike so that there might be a decent sunset at Green Lake but because of the where the trail deposited us there would not have a good angle to see the sun go down so we rested there briefly but as we got back to the trailhead the sun was giving a rather spectacular display.

This is fourteen shots total with two exposures for each frame to capture details in the foreground and the skies.  Each frame was blended together and then the seven resulting images were stitched together.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
17mm, f4, merged layers of 1 and 4 seconds @ 320 ISO

2011, Day 290 - Tears of charity

This is a view of the valley that is home to Green Lake.  On the left is Charity, also known as South Sister, and at her summit is a crater lake called Teardrop Pool.  The youngest of the three sisters, Charity watches over this valley and enthusiasts who pass through to relax along the edge of the lake and enjoy its' azure waters.

To reach this point we had to hike about four-and-a-half miles and while the terrain was not steep there was an incline almost the entire way.  When you add stops for me to take pictures it does take some time, the better part of a half day in and out.  I took the series of photos that make up this panorama as we were departing.  The tufts of orange-yellow grasses, the rolling trail, the glimpse of Green Lake and Mount Charity all made for a breathtaking sight.  My hope is that you can feel a little bit of a grandeur that I felt when I crested the rise and first took in this alpine treasure.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
27mm, f11, 1.6 sec @ 100 ISO

2011, Day 288 - Stormy silence

We awoke in Bend to cloudy skies that came and went throughout the day.  One of our last stops was at Crane Prairie reservoir, while there are campsites, gas pumps, a lodge and docks for sail boats it was almost deserted.  We took a moment to walk out on the empty dock to enjoy the mild weather and the gathering clouds.  There is nothing so lonely as an abandoned summer resort...

I have to give the nod to Singh-Ray, their Vari-ND and multiple long exposures where used to create this photograph.  The look I wanted was one of calm so silky smooth water was essential.  Even though it was cloudy and overcast I needed to slow the camera down by about six stops to get the look I wanted.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f16, 3.2 sec @ 100 ISO

2011, Day 287 - High flow

Today we made the short drive to the Green Lake trailhead.  The trail hugs a fast moving stream with a number of small waterfalls.  It was about four-and-a-half mile hike each way and although it was uphill most of the way out it was a gentle incline and made the hike back to the trailhead quite leisurely.  This was one of the last photos of the day, there are a couple panoramas that look promising but those will have to wait until I get home when I will have more time and the beast to edit photos on; until then, enjoy!

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
17mm, f9, 3.2 sec @ 160 ISO