12th Attempt

Paul and I headed out to The Gorge yesterday to attempt to get to Weeping Walls (also has been called Enchanted Gorge). We have had a lot of rain in the last week or so, and the waterfalls have come back to life. Everything is roaring. We bushwhacked to this spot. The creek was simply to high and powerful to cross. The water did some crazy rearranging of logs and trees here. I am talking 50 foot logs that were laying across the creek (probably for...

Giving Thanks (and new photos:) )

First off, I want to thank everyone for checking out my blog. Although there are no comments, I am seeing that more and more people are visiting. I also want to wish everyone a Happy and blessed Thanksgiving. Although I am spending this day alone (my wife is visiting her mom in Eugene, Oregon and all my family is in Orange County), I have a lot to be thankful for. I have met some very good friends this past year via Flickr and FredMiranda that I...

Snowy Treks

As promised (and advertised :) ), yesterday I made it up to the snow. A couple of friends and I headed up to The Gifford Pinchot National Forest. That forest is amazing! It is much more rugged than the Columbia River Gorges' forests, yet it is not far from there. The waterfalls are also just as impressive! Our destination this day was The Lower Lewis Recreational Area. Once we got outside of Carson, WA, we hit snow. It was a few inches, and by the...

Snow and Rain - plus a new website

Several months ago, I was doing some research on what type of weather we were going to get this year. I was unsure if we were going to get a repeat of last years' weather (lots of rain and some snow), or if it was going to be milder. Well, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) outlook, we are going to be A LOT more wet and colder than normal, thanks to La Nina. What that means is that the Pacific Northwest will...

Columbia River Jungle

Perhaps the correct name for this one? This one called to me today from my Aperture Library. I know that I am on a "waterfall kick" lately, and usually i avoid them like the plague unless it is late winter or spring time. This one is the same one I posted and called "Ipsoot falls", although I cannot make a claim to the name as I didn't' "find" it. It has been referred to as "Mowich Falls", though it has no official name. I think it will look good...

Workflow

Back again! It seems that I am going to have some extended downtime (won't be shooting everyday:( ), but my wonderful wife is getting me an XBOX, Battlefield 3 and Oblivion Skyrim this week, so I will have something to keep me busy, lol. Now that I got that out of the way, I worked a photo in Photoshop and took screen shots to show you how I went about this particular image. Just keep in mind that each photo I approach differently. Before I get too...

Daily Rant and a few fall photos

I have had some down time the last few days, so it afforded me the opportunity to work on some of the shots I took on Friday. I am excited about what I have captured. All of the adventures my camera has endured the last 3-4 weeks has significantly quickened my workflow in Photoshop. I used to spend 20+ minutes cloning out the dust on the sensor, but after taking a swim in the Pacific Ocean, taking a 3 foot fall onto some rocks at Silver Falls State...

Gorge Harvest

Yesterday, we headed back out to Spirit Falls on the Washington side of The Gorge. I was there last Friday, but I wanted to see the fall colors (if any) a bit more vibrant than last weeks' trip. We took the wrong entrance into the falls, which is ironic because Brian #2 has been there 4 times previously, and I was there last week. After following some game trails for a bit, we made it. Brian #3 hasn't really bushwhacked yet, so it was his "break...

Kiwandas' Last Light

Headed to Cape Kiwanda several weeks ago for a rare sight. During a week in the fall and a week in the spring, the setting sun will light up this tunnel with her light. You need two elements to get this shot; a low tide (we had a negative tide) and a sunset (we had a pretty much cloudless sky). If you had been to the Oregon Coast (or pretty much anywhere in the PNW), you will know that getting the sunset is the biggest challenge.This shot is a single...

Morrisson Colours

Going through my Aperture library on my computer to get rid of "garbage", it lead to me going through some old shots. Just like me to get off track - or starting another task while still in the middle of another one:). This one was taken while i was stopped on the I-5 exit heading home from The Gorge in May 2010. We were stopped due the bridge lifts. As chance would have it, we were stopped in the perfect vantage point. I hesitated to get out of...

Crater Lake

I have been to this magical place many times, and in every season. I still don't have a shot of it that I am entirely happy with. I visited this place with Brian Kibbons a few weeks ago. Now I know that it is obviously too dark for details, but I like the mystery to this one.The sunrise was pretty good, with nice colors. I think that Crater Lake is best in the winter with snow. That way it will reflect the light. I guess I will test that theory soon...

Coming this spring - and a little history

I have been at this photography deal for many years. It has been really a crazy journey. My dad used to have an SLR back in the 80s. I remember him toting that around when we would go on vacation, or to the beach, park, etc. It was a Minolta, and he had several lenses, flashes; the works. In 1987 (perhaps 86') I was 8 years old and I got a Kodak Reflections camera, which I still have to this day. It was a point and shoot little camera, but it was...

Overlooked, not Neglected

Lately, I have been pretty busy that I haven't really been able to work on photos. I have gone out shooting the last 4 full days. Between that and work, not much time to post/work photos. Add in that it was a bit of work getting all the prints and stuff ready for the PDXRaw show... Some of these images have been printed up, but I just haven't posted them online anywhere. Usually I post them here first and then over at 500px.com. I have found that...

Adventures in Washington

Today a buddy and I hit up a creek on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. This creek has many waterfalls along it, but there is absolutely NO TRAIL. I was in the water for about 5 hours, and my feet are all bruised up - but it was worth it.These falls have no names. I will have to come up with some names. We discovered another falls on our way out, just before sunset. For now, this is what I have process...

Spirit Falls from tonight

Just got back from Spirit Falls on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. This waterfalls is like 2 miles from the Columbia River, yet you would NEVER EVER know there was this crazy waterfall hidden down here. I hadn't ever been here before, and my buddy who went with me hadn't either. He saw an image on 500px of this waterfall and sent me an email, inquiring what and where this falls was located. I knew immediately the details of this...