2014, Day 362 - Road ahead

I love a good vanishing point, it forces me to think about what's beyond the horizon or around the corner.  It is the result of a naturally curious disposition which is why I love photography.  Through the camera's lens you can explore light, shadows, perspective, angles, so many little variables that can drastically affect the final image.  This is why going on photo adventures with friends is such a great thing because you can all look at the same subject and see completely different ways of composing the shot.  The results are so varied that sometimes it doesn't even look like the same place despite the fact that you were only separated by a few feet.  Next year I look forward to continuing the fun!

Fuji X-E2, Fujinon 10-24/f4R OIS
10mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec @ 640 ISO

2014, Day 354 - Refuge

Earlier this week we had a bit of a break in the rain and I've been itching to get out and take some pictures.  One of my old standby locations is Ruckle Creek because there is rarely anyone else there, it isn't too much of a hike, and it is really pretty.  Given that the rain never really stopped, just got lighter, it was my top pick.  I've had an IR converted camera for a while and I've been playing with it quite a bit because, like using a macro lens, you learn to see the world differently.  Greens become brighter in the IR spectrum and blues become more dramatic.  It's a lot of fun to experiment and seeing the world in monochrome is a different kind of experience.

Fuji X-E2, Fujinon 10-24/f4R OIS
10mm, f11, 1 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 351 - Diversion

This afternoon I went out to the Columbia River Gorge with my buddy Jay.  We made a number of stops but I loved the contrast of a grass against the leafless trees and the ominous sky.  It was dark and moody and an accurate reflection of my general demeanor which means I was, uncharacteristically, quite happy.

Fuji X-E2, Fujinon 10-24/f4R OIS
12mm, f4, 1/240 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 307 - Conundrum

I am somewhat befuddled, well, more than usual.  I've dozed on and off for about three of the last forty hours and much makes no sense.  For years I've posted a photo of the day but, admittedly, it always gets a little confused when I cross the international date line.  At home it is Monday the 3rd but in Thailand it is Tuesday the 4th.  How do I transition from one to the other?  It has to be done and, the thing that makes sense in my sleep-deprived head, is to post once for the two days and double post on the way back.  I like this because it is less work now, always good, and I should have a much more expansive library to choose from in a few weeks.  So that's the plan, criticism should be gentle because my brain can't understand a whole lot at the moment...

Fuji X-E2, Fujinon 10-24/f4R OIS
24mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec @ 250 ISO

2014, Day 302 - Arcing

Through an infrared filter leaves look bright and white so when I looked at this picture I saw snow-covered trees.  That isn't at all what we're looking at as there was only the start of color on most of these trees but it has that effect which is, I think, rather magical.

Fuji X-E2, Fujinon 10-24/f4R OIS
10mm, f5, 1/125 sec @ 400 ISO

2914, Day 301 - Threading

Walking through the wood, the patter of rain drops on the leaves, the earthy sweet smell of the damp earth and the fallen leaves, the slight bite of the weather on your cheeks; this is fall in Oregon.  Things slow down a bit with reasonable caution as the ground gets a little bit slippery and, with that relaxed pace, we take in the change of seasons.  While the aspens have lost their leaves weeks ago the maples are climbing to their foliage, unwilling to admit defeat.  I like their defiance but am ready for a bit more color so until then I am focusing on black and white.

Fuji X-E2, Fujinon 10-24/f4R OIS
20mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec @ 1000 ISO

2014, Day 300 - Downy

I never tire of the abundance of ferns in the Pacific Northwest.  They're such simple and elegant plants, they grow so prolifically, and they lend everything an increased lushness that is soft and inviting.  I think that, in many ways, I'm a woodland creature at heart.

Fuji X-E2, Fujinon 10-24/f4R OIS
20.9mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec @ 3200 ISO

2014, Day 299 - Tower of light

I've had friends visiting this weekend and the forecast led us to believe that it would be nice this morning with rain this afternoon.  Given that information we headed out to the Columbia River Gorge to spend a little quality time outdoors.  Unfortunately the reality was the opposite of the forecast but it was still nice to get out into nature.  This is the bridge near Latourelle Falls and with the infrared conversion the trees are so bright and light and beautiful.  I'm still learning to anticipate how landscapes will look in this spectrum but not knowing has led to some exciting results!

Fuji X-E2, Fujinon 10-24/f4R OIS
10mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec @ 400 ISO

2014, Day 81 - Churning

I went out to Panther Creek today with Nicole and Bonham.  We had no agenda, just a little time outdoors and hopefully a few pictures to go with it.  It is a nice way to approach photography because when you have no expectations you're open to what catches your interest.  Like this view of the water, I love the texture and sense of movement it conveys.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f22, 1/5 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 32 - Fortuitous flare

Sometimes things don't go as you expect but instead of getting upset or throwing away the results you should consider the results.  This is two photos that I took of Vista House and, during one of my first exposures, a car came around the bend and I ended up with half of the structure gone in headlights and some amazing colorful flare in the sky.  So shot the picture a few more times and I took Vista House from another exposure but the sky from the first and combined the two.

Canon 1D X, Canon 24/f1.4L Mark II
24mm, f1.4, merged layers of 10 and 13 sec @ 320 ISO

2014, Day 31 - Party falls

I am getting anxious to get out and make new photographs again.  Work has been crazy and that has been, mostly, a good thing but it leaves me with little time to do the things I would like to do.  It's hard to be upset though when so many people are struggling to keep food on the table so I have decided that, until things calm down a little bit, I am going to be okay with delving into my archives of unprocessed photos.

Canon 1D X, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
28mm, f2.8, merged layers of 2.5, 5, 10, 20, and 30 sec @ 320 ISO

2014, Day 23 - Crunchy

When I've gone to Panther Creek before and climb down to photograph the falls at eye-level I tend to take the pictures with a landscape orientation.  It is a wide series of falls and because of trees and the slippery nature of the wet moss it can be difficult to get the right distance from the falls and keep out of the spray.  Fortunately with the mossy ground frozen over and rather slick I had to move slowly and it allowed me more time than I would usually take to find compositions that I liked.  This one I enjoy because of the fallen tree and the lush greens in the foreground with the darker richer greens in the trees above.  I can still hear the crunch and snap of the icy carpet under my feet.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f5.6, merged layers of 1/6, 1/3, 0.6, 1.3, and 2.5 sec @ 100 ISO

2014, Day 5 - Frosted

When I got up this morning to walk the dogs everything was covered in a heavy layer of frost.  It was below freezing and the ground crunched underfoot.  It put me in mind of my recent visit to Panther Creek with Nicole and Nicci.  I love the view of the falls from down low and as I moved further downstream I quite liked the visual interest of the fallen trees in the foreground.  The obviously chilly water against the ice encrusted mosses and evergreens provided great contrast, it still looks lush but like the verdant quality of the falls was under attack by winter.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f10, merged layers of 0.6, 1.3, 2.5, 5, and 10 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 358 - Iconic ice

Even though there have been a number of shots of Multnomah Falls in the winter I am sharing my version.  It was cold and beautiful and there was almost no one there so it rather nice even though my fingers were getting chilled.  There are so many good vantage points but I think I like this view the best of all of them.

Canon 1D X, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
35mm, f11, HDR of 1/5, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6, and 3.2 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 357 - Clear coat

This evening I am dreaming of a white Christmas and am revisiting my trip out to Ruckle Creek a few weeks ago when we had a really good cold spell.  The flowing water froze to the landscape and it became an icy shell encasing the creek.  It was quite magical and I think I am ready for some more true winter weather.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f8, merged layers of 1.3, 2.5, 5, and 10 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 350 - Early bird

Last week as the Pacific NW was in the fading grip of the freezing weather system that passed through I made a morning excursion into the Columbia River Gorge.  My starting point was Vista House as the previous morning we had been treated to the most spectacular sunrise.  Unfortunately the event was not repeated but I did get a nice sunrise over one of my recent favorite starry night locations.  So this evening I share with you a different take on Vista House.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f8, merged layers of 0.3, 1.3, and 5 sec @ 320 ISO

2013, Day 347 - Feathers of water

This is from my visit to Panther Creek with Nicole and Nicci a little over a week ago.  After photographing the falls from the ice-covered moss I explored the other views.  There is a secondary lower waterfall that I hadn't investigated previously and I wasn't about to attempt to get down to the bottom given the rather slippery purchase but I liked the little evergreen on the downed log and the frosty branches as a contrast so this is what I came away with.  The dusting of snow on the trees, the greens of the mosses not encased in a glittering prison and the feathered look of the water as it hits the pool at the bottom of the falls.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f7.1, merged layers of 1.6, 3.2, and 6 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 343 - Crisp

As a continuation from yesterday's post, this is the wide shot of Ruckle Creek yesterday morning.  The ice is thick with just a dusting of snow across the top but the mosses and ferns are still bright and green under that layer of frozen spray.  It was beautiful, tranquil, and I ended up staying for an hour despite the biting winter winds.  This kind of magic doesn't last long but it is worth the effort.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f8, merged layers of 1, 2, 4, and 8 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 342 - Translucent lace

Sometimes it is worth pushing yourself.  I woke up this morning at five o'clock warm in my bed with two of the four dogs snuggled tight against me and I asked myself "Do I really want to get up and brave the freezing weather for a few pictures?"  But the freeze is supposed to be coming to an end and I hate having regrets so I got up to take the dogs for a walk before heading out the door.

I drove out to Vista House first.  Lately I seem to be stopping there a lot but we had a dazzling sunrise yesterday and I was hoping for a repeat performance.  It didn't happen.  But I did get some nice pictures and caught the sunrise.

Then I drove out to Latourell Falls where I slid on some hidden ice but got some great views as well.  There were a number of other places to stop but I headed straight for Multnomah Falls.  When I got there I encountered a few other people, almost all with cameras and tripod, and one guy told me he went yesterday morning but it was so packed with people (again, mostly photographers) that he left and returned today.  It was beautiful and the ice buildup was quite impressive.

When I returned to my car it was time for a tough decision, wether or not to go out to Ruckle Creek.  It is a bit of a hike in and the area is so sheltered it might not be that great.  Still, it was only a fifteen minute drive away and another ten minute walk to so I decided to make the most of the morning.  When I arrived I stopped dead in my tracks.

I had been visiting some of the biggest and most spectacular waterfalls in the gorge this morning and Ruckle Creek was by far the most beautiful.  The problem with being so impressive is the volume and velocity of the water disrupts a lot of the ice buildup and the little streams lack the flow to keep them from freezing entirely.  But Ruckle Creek has about the perfect balance of grandeur and with slow enough water movement to have really good accumulation.  I spent over an hour moving around and taking pictures from different angles; each was so different.  Then I had to switch lenses and focus more on the details.  I was wet and cold but completely entranced by the beautiful that I didn't care.

The ice took on a lacy quality.  Thin and going from opaque to translucent, it has so much delicate texture and detail to enjoy.  I love that the rocks were incased in ice and I can't tell if there is more ice forming or if the existing ice was melting but it was beautiful and I am so happy that I decided to leave the comfort of my warm bed and cuddle dogs for a little winter adventure this morning.

Canon 1D X, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
35mm, f5.6, 1/2 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 339 - Frosty falls

Panther Creek is a favorite location in part because it is easy to get to the creek and in part because it is beautiful.  Notice I said it is easy to get the the creek?  That's because it takes a bit of climbing to get to the falls and it isn't too bad when the weather is nice but it is a bit more challenging when it is covered in ice and snow.  The descent wasn't too bad but the ascent was particularly difficult because many of the best or easiest hand and foot holds were icy but with a little patience and creativity it wasn't too bad.  The other tricky thing was all the ice surrounding the lower part of the falls thanks to the spray from the falling water.  I was limited to the flat areas because even though they were icy I wasn't going to slide into the frigid water.  Still, it was worth it and I was very careful so there was little chance of falling.  Although it was snowing it wasn't heavy enough to make it through the dense trees down to the falls in most places and I suspect if it was then I wouldn't have been able to get access safely without more equipment.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f8, merged layers of 1, 2, 4, and 8 sec @ 100 ISO